Taking a step forward towards the implementation of Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) services on the ground level across the country, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) on Friday, February 24, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mpower, a mental health initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust.
Tele-MANAS is a 24/7 mental healthcare facility (14416) which was launched under National Mental Health Programme (NMHP).
To support the programme’s implementation, Mpower has taken up the responsibility of setting up, operating and managing all day-to-day affairs at the Tele-MANAS centres. Mpower will be provided with the necessary access to the platform, operating guidelines, training and mentoring, monitoring and framework needed to operate the centres.
The collaboration is expected to integrate Tele-MANAS services locally and make qualified professionals and expert mental health counselling services available to individuals who need them.
“There is no health without mental health, and the pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues among people of all ages. We are looking forward to seeing how we can expand Tele-MANAS to the length and breadth of India,” said Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS.
She added, “Our goal is to make sure that the Tele-MANAS services are accessible to all, and in this journey, we are happy to look at Public Private Partnerships with strong knowledge of the space. At Tele-MANAS, we offer counselling services in 20 regional languages. We have a framework and look forward to Mpower expanding this programme in various States.”
The two-tiered structure of Tele-MANAS includes State Tele-MANAS cells (Tier 1), which are staffed with qualified counsellors and mental health professionals. Specialists in Tier 2 are accessible at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for in-person consultations and through e-Sanjeevani for audio-visual consultation.
