Andhra Pradesh to launch gatekeeper training to improve mental health & prevent suicides

Visakhapatnam: Perhaps for the first time in the country, Andhra Pradesh government has launched Project Ease (emotional assessment of students by educators) to prevent suicides among young people. The major objectives of the programme are to improve mental health and reduce the number of suicides in the state by taking advantage of gatekeeper training.

The gatekeeper training is recommended by the World Health Organisation as well as by the Union government in its recent National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NSPS).

By launching the project, AP will be the first state in the country to adopt the recommendation made in the NSPS. The health department joined hands with the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) for this initiative. About three lakh educators will be trained as gatekeepers in the QPR model – question, persuade and refer - under this programme.

Speaking to TOI, Andhra Pradesh medical advisor – NRI affairs, Dr N Vasudeva Reddy, said the project will be rolled out in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati on a pilot basis. “The project will train about three lakh educators,” said Dr Reddy.

Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) founder and director Nelson Vino Moses said the state government approached the AAPI, which in turn contacted the SPIF to do something about mental health and suicides in Andhra Pradesh.

“The gatekeepers are trained to pick early signs of people having suicidal tendencies. By having a conversation with them, providing emotional support, and persuading them to get help can prevent a majority of the suicides. About 150 master trainers will be trained first under the programme. Then the training programme will be then extended to nodal teachers and consequently to other educators. First year medical students will also be trained under this project. About 140 telecounsellors, who the victims may reach out to at the last minute, will be trained. Doctors and mental health professionals will also be a part of the programme. The project will be an addition to the ongoing governmental mental health efforts in the state,” said Moses.

The SPIF founder added that mental health handbooks will also be distributed to parents and students under the programme, which covers mental health awareness, importance of protective factors, and emotional regulation. There are several other stakeholders in the programme, including QPR Institute, AIIIMS Mangalagiri, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Indian Psychiatric Society, Unicef and TISS.