- Industry
- 3 min read
Balm for troubled minds: Chennai gets centre for mental health research
Nearly 150 million individuals in the country are estimated to have mental health issues. But only 10% get the treatment needed.
“There is a lot of knowledge and rhetoric about the treatment gap. But now we need to bridge the know-do gap using practice-based evidence,“ says Vandana Gopikumar, co-founder, The Banyan.
Persistent mental ill health could have multi-dimensional negative consequences ranging from diminished participation in the workforce or social life to poor physical health, she adds.
“In India, where 70% live on less than $2 or lesser, mental illness is often a pathway to abject poverty and homelessness.“ The centre aims to use innovations that have worked, set up demonstration sites and take to scale some of these approaches in collaboration with multiple stakeholders including the government, users of the mental health systems and civil society organisations.
TISS has been working with The Banyan to strengthen personnel working in the field of mental health.“We are going to be working on setting up such service centres like the one being launched for women and people with mental health issues in four states Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Assam. TISS will be the knowledge partner for research, training and policy advocacy,“ says S Parasuraman, director, TISS, adding that they will be networking with other institutions and agencies in those states.
The new centre also aims to create value-based mental health services for vulnerable communities, so that the disadvantaged are supported. “These include people languishing in mental hospitals with limited or no access to a life beyond, and the homeless mentally ill,“ says Gopikumar. “The district mental health programme could use support and we are happy to partner with the government in infusing further energy into a comprehensive design that mandates both medical and social care.“
Health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan feels there is a ne ed for the government to partner with such centres. “TN is the only state which has mental health units in all the districts but still there are many challenges to be faced. We are looking at initially expanding and creating facilities in five districts such as Theni, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram so that people needn't travel all the way to Chennai for treatment,“ he says. Collaborating with The Banyan would also help capacity building, he feels.
“We also want to help people return to their homes because often the family doesn't want the patient after they have been cured. At the Institute of Mental Health about 300 to 500 beds of the 1,500-bed facility are occupied by people who have recovered from mental illness,“ says Radhakrishnan. “So we need to work with NGOs that have commitment and capacity .
For SFL, which is funding the facility, it is all about making a difference. “CSR has given us the opportunity to plan and structure our social sector engagement to maximise impact, strengthen partnerships and and our society more inclusive,“ says Arathi Krishna, joint MD of the company .
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