NIMHANS raises a volunteer corps

Those signing up will help people with mental health issues get sound medical advice

Health patrol: NIMHANS volunteers, in picture, will aid distressed people get professional help

There is a gap in the availability, accessibility and affordability of mental health services, and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Centre for Well Being here is working to bridge it by grooming people from various walks of life — teachers, engineers, homemakers and others — to take its programmes to those in need.

The first batch of 23 participants completed a four-month ‘Well-being volunteer programme’ last week. Explaining the concept, E. Aravind Raj, Assistant Professor of Psychiatric Social Work at NIMHANS, said that the effort was to build a pool of volunteers from different backgrounds who would help remove the stigma surrounding mental health.

The modules covered in the course included a school mental health programme, stress management, basic counselling skills, and identification and treatment of mental illness. The course educated participants about sleep hygiene and handling ‘displacement of stress’ in the workplace. Mr. Aravind Raj said some volunteers were also shortlisting job opportunities for patients with mental illnesses.

Starting a centre

Programme volunteers have referred more than 50 patients to NIMHANS and the NIMHANS Centre for Well Being (NCWB). They also plan to create a volunteer cell at NCWB.

Engineer-turned-communication consultant Arun Tharakan (38), who enrolled in the programme, wants to learn more about mental health. He is keen to understand the mental health of cab drivers, and wants to work with cab aggregators to study drivers who clock over 12 hours a day. “Their mental state plays a role in how they drive,” he said.

Champa Shetty (42), who is pursuing her Ph.D in Psychology in theatre, has completed the NIMHANS programme.

She says that portrayal of mental health in the media needs to change. “Many of the plays that I have directed involve social issues. I am planning to direct a play on depression, for World Health Day. Mental illness needs to be looked at just like any other disease. People who need help should not hesitate to reach out to professionals,” she says.