This year, World Mental Health Day carries the theme "Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change" (World Federation for Mental Health). It captures what we believe at Life Pulse Team: listening is not a small gesture, it is the first step toward feeling better. Behind many smiling faces are stories that have not been told yet, and burdens carried in silence by people who have not found someone to listen without judging.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than a billion people worldwide are living with a mental health condition, with anxiety and depression the most common. It is a big number, but it carries a simple message: you are not alone, many others are going through what you are going through, and asking for support is not weakness. It is courage.
Wounds that do not bleed
Since 2014, Life Pulse has stood on the front line: providing first aid cover at events and training people in first aid and CPR. Over twelve years we have learned that some wounds cannot be seen. Many people reached our first aid post physically unhurt, yet exhausted inside, needing above all someone to listen.
That is where Jisr began: extending the first aid we know so well from the body to the mind, and offering psychological first aid in the same spirit our team is known for, quick to respond and human in every encounter.
What is Jisr?
Jisr, Arabic for "bridge", is a Bahraini volunteer initiative and a program within Life Pulse's Nasmaak ("We Hear You") project. It offers one-to-one psychological support sessions online, completely free and fully confidential, to every adult aged 18 and over in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In each session you talk with a trained support provider who listens without judgment and helps you sort your thoughts, ease what you are carrying and find your next step.
Because trust comes first, the platform is built to protect your privacy: your session is confidential and your data is protected under our privacy policy. And to be clear, Jisr offers psychological first aid and initial support. It does not replace specialist mental health services, and it is not an emergency service.
From the opening to today
Jisr opened three months ago at a ceremony attended by charitable, social and volunteer organisations, in partnership with Lazem Holding Group, which trained our support providers, and with support from Bahrain's National Civil Protection Platform, Skype Medical Devices Establishment and KIMS Bahrain Hospital. Since then the platform has run quietly while we tested, improved and learned, until it was fully ready. Today, on World Mental Health Day, we are opening Jisr to everyone.
From the Jisr launch ceremony
How to book a session
First: go to the Jisr booking page.
Second: choose a support provider and a time that suits you, and answer a few short questions about your safety.
Third: you receive a confirmation and a session link, and join at your appointment time from wherever you are.
A message on World Mental Health Day
If you have been telling yourself "I need someone to talk to", this place is for you. You do not need to be in crisis to talk; it is enough to feel that you need someone to listen. And if someone you love has changed lately, or keeps saying "I'm fine" a little too often, ask them again, sincerely, and send them this article. Your question may be where their journey begins.
Thank you to our partners and supporters, to every volunteer and support provider who believed in the idea, and to the tech team who turned it into a real platform. Jisr is more than a website. It is a promise we have made to ourselves: that everyone who knocks on our door finds an ear that listens and a heart that understands. You are not alone. We hear you.
Read also: Keys to a balanced mental health
Jisr is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 999. For children, the Child Helpline is 998, and for Psychiatric Hospital appointments call 17279311 (Ministry of Health).
About the author: Ebtisam Ali Al-Dubaini is President of Life Pulse Team, a volunteer group in the Kingdom of Bahrain that has worked since 2014 in first aid, first aid training and event medical cover under the motto "Passion, Creativity, Ambition". In 2026 the team launched Jisr, a mental health support platform within its Nasmaak project.