Mental Health Care

53 Tele-MANAS cells established to provide mental health services: Govt

Thirty-six states and Union territories have set up 53 Tele-MANAS cells to provide mental health services and more than 15.95 lakh calls were handled through the helpline till November 22, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The National Tele-Mental Health Programme (NTMHP) was launched on October 10, 2022, to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services in the country, he said. Responding to a question, he said the government has established a dedicated Tele-MANAS or Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States cell at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune to extend tele-mental health assistance and support to all armed forces service personnel and their dependents. Armed forces personnel on dialling the Tele-MANAS toll-free helpline number --14416 -- from any part of the country would be connected to the state Tele-MANAS Cell, from where their call would be re-directed to the dedicated Tele-MANAS Cell at t

Mental wellbeing paradox: How cost, stigma hinder therapy access in India

A survey has revealed that while 83 per cent of surveyed individuals believe mental health issues carry no shame, 81 per cent feel embarrassed to admit they are undergoing therapy

World Mental Health Day: Why employers must act on mental health now

The World Health Organization reports that around 15 per cent of working-age adults live with a mental health disorder

Most employees feel companies can do more to address mental health: Report

Even as the corporate sector in India is taking steps to address mental health issues at workplaces, a majority of employees believe companies could do more to improve their overall well-being, a survey report said on Saturday. Over 79 per cent of those participated in the survey opined their organisations could do more to address mental health issues and well-being, according to the report by HR services and workforce solutions provider Genius Consultants. "We must recognise that employee well-being is not just a trend, but a crucial aspect of organizational success. The data reveals that a significant number of employees are grappling with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed in their work environments. Companies need to take proactive steps to foster a supportive atmosphere that prioritises mental health and work-life balance," Genius Consultants Chairman and Managing Director R P Yadav said. The report is based on a survey carriied out between August 5 and September 2, 2024, among ..

Over 170,000 suicides in India: Why experts say mental health isn't enough

Experts highlight poverty, debt, domestic violence, addiction, and social isolation as key contributors to suicide in India, urging policymakers to include them into their prevention strategies

Delhi govt to expand mental health counseling services to all govt schools

The Delhi government on Friday directed the government schools to conduct mental-health check-ups of the students for their well-being by introducing comprehensive counseling services, according to an official statement. Delhi Education Minister Atishi instructed the Directorate of Education (DoE) to draft a blueprint for the initiative following the success of a pilot phase that provided counseling to over 20,000 students across 20 schools, said the statement. Atishi directed the DoE to prepare a blueprint for expanding counseling services to all government schools here, ensuring timely support for the students' mental health needs, it said. She said that the pilot phase ran for a year in which the Educational and Vocational Guidance Counselors (EVGC) and school psychologists worked with the students to maintain their mental health, said the statement. Atishi mentioned that group sessions and social-emotional learning programs helped the students manage stress and stay emotionally

Climate change is fueling a different type of anxiety, say therapists

In her book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, Sarah Ray describes a student who had such severe "self-loathing eco-guilt" that she stopped consuming much at all, including food

NIMHANS to start comprehensive rural mental health programme 'NAMAN'

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and the Ashraya Hastha Trust have signed an MoU with multiple stakeholders to implement a comprehensive rural mental health programme named "NAMAN" in two different taluks in India, officials said on Saturday. As of now, the programme is being implemented in Munsiyari taluk of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and Belur taluk of Hassan district of Karnataka to cater the mental health needs of the whole population of the two taluks. This will also help them to test the feasibility of rolling out such a programme across the country, they said. The programme plans to follow a lifespan approach, which would cover the entire population from womb to tomb, officials said. According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), the national launch of the Comprehensive Mental-Health-Action-Programme for Rural Communities would be held on December 18. The proposed "NAMAN" programme will be completed within

82% young Indians say parents would be supportive in mental therapy: Study

The survey also said that parents play a vital role in a family to discuss and fight mental health issues

Over 2,000 cured patients still housed in mental hospitals, says NHRC

More than 2,000 cured patients are still housed in mental hospitals in the country when they should not stay there even for an extra day, NHRC chairperson justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra said on Wednesday. The NHRC chief said this in his address during a national conference on mental health held at Vigyan Bhawan here, in the presence of Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Pravin Pawar, among other dignitaries. "A hospital is not a place where cured patients should be allowed to stay even for a single extra day," justice Mishra said. In his address, he made a reference to a report prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), based on visits made by teams of the Commission and its special rapporteurs, from July 2022 to January 2023, of various mental healthcare institutions in the country. "The report indicates that there are more than 2,000 cured patients in mental health hospitals when there should not be even one cured patient in a hospital. A hospital is not a

Mental healthcare call centre in Srinagar receives over 10,000 calls

About 70 per cent of the 10,000-odd calls made to a mental healthcare call centre here were by women, with a study suggesting the digital facility has made it easy for women to talk about their issues from home without being stigmatised. The call centre under the central government's Tele MANAS initiative was established at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Rainawari here in November last year. Since its launch, the call centre has received more than 10,000 calls. "About 70 per cent of those calls were from women," Dr Arshad Hussain, a renowned psychiatrist working at the institute, told PTI. He said the institute conducted a study to ascertain why a majority of the distress calls were made by women. "What could be happening is that women may be finding it easy to call from their homes and talk about their distress without being stigmatised," Hussain said. "Recently, we had a guest faculty here. We were told that in other centres, there are more men calling. This

Policy action needed to promote mental well-being of adolescents: Experts

Immediate policy action is needed for promoting the mental well-being of adolescents and a crucial aspect of school-based mental health is the sensitisation of teachers, according to experts. Sajjan R, the director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Bihar, said, "Promoting the well-being of students is crucial to their mental health, educational attainment and holistic development. This is also the focus of the NEP 2020. The role of schools and teachers in ensuring this cannot be emphasised enough. Resilience and well-being are being included in all our teacher trainings, and the first orientation of 40,000 teachers has recently been completed, he said. Sajjan made the comments at a day-long conference on Promoting Adolescent Wellbeing in Every School: Bihar Leads the Way, which saw brainstorming sessions amongst policymakers, educators, and mental health experts to help devise strategies to meet the urgent need. "We hope to reach every middle school

Facebook announces 2022 Community Accelerator participants in India

Four-month programme provides selected community leaders of Facebook groups with training, mentorship and funding

Elevating Corporate Wellbeing: Supporting mental health intervention in tech industry

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Buy an adequate OPD cover to take care of mental health treatment

Most of these ailments are treated on outpatient basis, so just a hospitalisation cover won't suffice

1 in 8 people globally live with mental disorder: WHO

About one in eight people in the world live with a mental disorder, said the WHO in a landmark report released on Friday calling for urgent action on transforming mental healthcare

Osaka's mental health discussion a year ago resonates at French Open

Several professional tennis players credited Osaka with helping bring the subject out of the shadows for their sport

This celebrity rehab & wellness centre is all set to launch their third high-end establishment

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Indians' perception of mental health increased significantly: Survey

The perception of mental health among Indians has increased significantly, claimed a new survey, which found as many as 92 per cent of its respondents agreeing to seek treatment

K'taka cabinet approves implementation of Mental Healthcare Act for Covid

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the implementation of the Karnataka State Mental Healthcare Act 2021, which will go a long way in helping the society deeply affected by the Covid pandemic