January 22, 2018
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) India- Workshop on Adopting Working Group (AWG): Addressing mental health needs responsive to local and cultural contexts A four-day workshop on Adopting Working Group (AWG) was conducted by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) India in Chennai from January 22-25, 2018. The purpose of this workshop was on adaptation process of the Standard MHFA module to contribute our knowledge, skills and expertise to the process of adaptation of the Standard MHFA program in India. The 13 participants from various states in the country included mental health first aid trainers, educationists, mental health NGOs, Human Resource and Development consultant, counsellors, clinical psychologists and para mental health professionals. Since 1992, M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCTRF), the Madurai based NGO, has been providing technical inputs giving lot of technical supports to NGOs in mental health the country and abroad to evolve cultural and evidence based training modules for promotion of positive mental health programme. At the workshop, representatives from the trust shared several life changing experience of persons with mental disabilities through Private and Public Partnership as a successful model for Mental Health First Aid in India. Gloria Claessen, international trainer from Australia, began the session with a self-introduction and provided an overview of the origin of MHFA (started in 1997 by Betty Kitchener and Professor Tony Jorm in Australia) and its current presence in over 22 countries, with the India chapter started in 2017. She facilitated a working group on major and minor psychiatric disorders, highlighted the need for evidence based research and also collected Indian perspectives on the above disorders from the group discussion. Erinda Shah, chief in charge, MHFA India, supported participants (working group) in the discussion points in on the various evidence and cultural based contextual issues in India. M. Ramu, Senior Consultant, MSCT&RF, shared his vast experience in the mental health programmes implemented by the trust in related areas such as awareness, identification, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, livelihood and integration of persons with mental disability in the Indian contexts. He contributed substantially to the discussions and shared his experience in working with models of rehabilitation such as community based, institutional based and other supportive programmes to address mental health crises. Mr. Ragunathan, care giver and a member of Subitcham (family fellowship of persons with mental disabilities) promoted by MSCT&RF, provided the much needed caregivers perspective and shared his involvement in the cause and the sustained lobbying and advocacy initiatives to address the needs of the family members of persons with mental disabilities. The workshop deliberations could help MHFA evolve the MHFA Indian module for AWG to increase mental health literacy in India. M. Ramu, Senior Consultant, MSCT&RF
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