Delhi: IHBAS joins central scheme to address mental health issues

New Delhi: Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) has started the Centre’s mental health scheme, Tele-Manas. Currently, there are five regional coordination centres along with 51 cells of states and Union Territories.

Under IHBAS, there are six states and UTs, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Leh and Ladakh. People can call the toll-free helpline numbers (14416 or 1-800-91-4416) and select a language of their choice to avail of the service 24x7.

Dr Rajinder Dhamija, director, IHBAS, told TOI, “IHBAS has got a major role to play in this scheme by acting as a regional and state centre as well as a mentoring institute. These states have their own centres and manpower and IHBAS is playing the role of a mentor for them.”

“Every centre has 20 counsellors. When someone calls, first the counsellor answers it and attempts to solve the problem. If the person is not satisfied, then the call is connected to a psychiatrist. If the issue is still not resolved, the person is taken to a hospital for counselling,” said Dr Om Prakash, professor, IHBAS.

The scheme aims to provide free tele-mental health services across the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas. “We expect 90% of the issues to be resolved during the first call. Counselling won’t be restricted to cities and we will be able to reach different strata of people,” said Prakash.

The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore providing technology support.

“Delhi is the second state to start the scheme after Bengaluru. As of now, we are operating with our existing manpower. However, the Centre has provided us Rs 30 lakh to expand the service and hire more people. We will be recruiting 20 professionals and purchasing more equipment,” said Dhamija.