The MINDS Foundation

Last updated
The MINDS Foundation logo. MINDS Foundation logo.jpeg
The MINDS Foundation logo.

The MINDS Foundation, a nonprofit located in India, uses a grassroots approach to eliminate stigma and provide educational, medical, and moral support for patients with mental illness in rural India. (1) The organization conducts ongoing research and develops curriculum to expand education about mental health and increase the number of trained staff who can support patients with mental illness. MINDS works with a broad team of directors, advisors, field workers and assistants and receives support through a variety of foundations, grants and NGOs. Since its creation in 2010, MINDS has increased the level of education and treatment with regards to mental illness, overcoming many of the challenges of rural health work in India.

Contents

Approach

MINDS uses a three-phase approach for education, treatment and reintegration.

Phase 1 focuses on community-wide education held in each village by social workers, MINDS staff and Community Mental Health Workers. After a short 45-minute film explaining the basics of mental illness and the effectiveness of treatment, there are facilitated discussions and Q&A sessions which focus on de-stigmatization of mental illness. Research suggests that lack of health education in rural India contributes to serious misunderstandings, stigma and denial about the existence and causes of mental illness. [1] According to current studies, psychologists believe education programs about mental illness are one of the most effective ways to reduce this stigma and encourage patients to receive the treatment they need. [2]

Phase 2 focuses on effective, free treatment for any mentally ill person who wishes to receive help. MINDS is committed to working in relation with communities and hospitals across Gujarat and, therefore, provides free daily transport to local hospitals, free consultation with local doctors and free medication. Furthermore, to ease the treatment process, families of patients are welcome to accompany the patients to the hospitals and doctors appointments. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 70-90% of all global mentally ill patients who receive treatment partially or completely recover. [3]

Phase 3 focuses on each patient's reintegration into the local community after treatment. With the help of Community Mental Health Workers, patients receive continued medical support and education. Families of patients also benefit from support and education during this transition. The Phase 1 education and de-stigmatization pave the way for this third phase of MINDS work.

Programs and Research

In addition to the three-phase program running in villages across Gujarat, India, MINDS continually develops programs and conducts research to expand programing. Below is a summary of current, developing programing.

Community Mental Health Worker (CMHW) Training Community Mental Health Workers (CMHWs) work as advisors and mentors in each village where MINDS programming is run. The CMHWs go through extensive training that focuses on identifying mental illness, connecting patients to hospital care, advising and educating families of mentally ill, supporting the phase 3 reintegration process and facilitating phase 1 education workshops. The training for CMHWs was developed in partnership with the Nossal Institute for Global Health, adapted from An Introduction to Mental Health: Facilitator's Manual for Training Community Health Workers in India by the Nossal Institute for Global Health & BasicNeeds [4]

Teacher Training Currently MINDS is developing a training program, based on the WHO advocation of Task-Shifting, which trains teachers at local schools to identify and support mentally ill youth. [5] The program follows a four-step model focused on understanding why mental illness is a problem, identifying possible signs of mental illness in students, supporting students through active listening and de-stigmatization of classrooms and referring students to CMHWs for further consolation and screening.

Gender Workshops Additionally, MINDS is considering how discussions and education about gender-specific concerns surrounding mental illness and well-being could further deepen the Phase 1 programming. [6]

Published ResearchKnowledge of and Attitudes Toward Clinical Depression Among Health Providers in Gujarat, India. [7]

Perceptions of Traditional Healing for Mental Illness in Rural Gujarat. [8]

Organization and Administration [9]

In order to manage field work, project development and research, MINDS has a multi-level organizational system that combines full-time employees with professional volunteers and advisors around the world. The core team, associates and field team manage the non-profit, monitor the three-phase education treatment & reintegration program and organize ongoing research. The Global and Indian Board of Directors, consisting of notable professors and professionals, monitor the progress of MINDS and support the key values of the NGO. Lastly, the Advisors offer professional advice for program development and research.

In addition to the year-round team, board and advisors, MINDS runs a Leadership Development Development Program where interns from across the US partner with members of the core team to receive training and hands-on experience in marketing, publicity, research and program development. The program aims to develop future leaders in the non-profit arena.

For students and professionals looking for field experience, the MINDS Fellowship Program allows volunteers to work in Gujarat on research and programing projects.

History

The MINDS Foundation was founded as nonprofit in August 2010 and is registered in Massachusetts as an NGO; additionally it partners with an NGO of the same name located in India, and thus is run through global offices. [10] Currently MINDS runs programs in 19 villages in Gujarat and will expand to other villages in the near future.

In India, there is no official mental health policy and resources are extremely limited, with only 0.3 psychiatrists/100,000 people and just 0.06% of the national health budget going towards mental illness education and treatment. [11] Furthermore, rural areas in India tend to be some of the most neglected: out of 626 districts in India, only 125 have any sort of mental health program in place. [12] Health resources in India are usually funded, provided and accessed through the private sector. [13]

Partners and Sponsors

The MINDS Foundation partners with Mount Sinai School of Medicine for program advice and review. MINDS also partners with Sumandeep Vidyapeeth University, located just outside Vadodara. Starting in July 2011, MINDs began working with the Departments of Psychiatry and Community Medicine at Diharaj General Hospital, which provides treatment support and local staff. [10]

The MINDS Foundation has campus chapters at Wesleyan University [14] and at GlobeMed at University of Washington. [15]

The MINDS Foundation also receives sponsorship, funding or donations from: The Mentor Network, [16] The International Monetary Fund, [17] Newman's Own Foundation, [18] Gray Matters Capital, [19] Google Grants, [20] Hill Holiday, [21] Korn Ferry International, [22] Podio, [23] The Salesforce Foundation, [24] Fried Frank Legal Support, [25] Proskauer Rose LLP, [26] Thomson Reuters Foundation, [27] Health Radio, [28] The Next Mile Project, [29] the Partricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, [30] MC Mass Challenge, [31] Dell Social Innovation Challenge, [32] StartingBloc, [33] mHealth Alliance [34] and the Gulbenkian Mental Health Platform. [35]

Further reading

NPR: In India, Stigma of Mental Illness Hinders Treatment [36]

The Wall Street Journal: India's Mental Health Challenge [37]

Halabol Voices: The MINDS Foundation: Fighting the Mental Illness [38]

Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform: The MINDS Foundation [39]

India West: Youthful Approach to Battle Mental Illness Stigmas: Raghu Kiran Appasani [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Alliance on Mental Illness</span> American nonprofit organization

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States-based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives" and its vision as "a world where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares". NAMI offers classes and trainings for people living with mental illnesses, their families, community members, and professionals, including what is termed psychoeducation, or education about mental illness. NAMI holds regular events which combine fundraising for the organization and education, including Mental Illness Awareness Week and NAMIWalks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health</span> Level of psychological well-being

Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health includes subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, trauma, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others. From the perspectives of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and to create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how one defines "mental health". Some early signs related to mental health difficulties are sleep irritation, lack of energy, lack of appetite and thinking of harming yourself or others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Mental Health (Singapore)</span> Hospital in Singapore

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH), formerly known as Woodbridge Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital in Hougang, Singapore.

Schizophrenics Anonymous is a peer support group to help people who are affected by schizophrenia and related disorders including bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic depression and psychosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in India</span>

HIV/AIDS in India is an epidemic. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimated that 2.14 million people lived with HIV/AIDS in India in 2017. Despite being home to the world's third-largest population of persons with HIV/AIDS, the AIDS prevalence rate in India is lower than that of many other countries. In 2016, India's AIDS prevalence rate stood at approximately 0.30%—the 80th highest in the world. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is primarily via a "drug cocktail" of antiretroviral drugs and education programs to help people avoid infection.

A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals, to prevent admissions, and to provide support in homes, jobs, education, and community. These individuals were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs, which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing, psychiatric rehabilitation, supported or transitional employment, sheltered workshops, supported education, daily living skills, affirmative industries, dual diagnosis treatment, individual and family psychoeducation, adult day care, foster care, family services and mental health counseling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Mental Health University Institute</span> Hospital in Quebec, Canada

The Douglas Mental Health University Institute is a Canadian psychiatric hospital located in the borough of Verdun in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is also a teaching hospital affiliated with McGill University.

Global mental health is the international perspective on different aspects of mental health. It is 'the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving mental health and achieving equity in mental health for all people worldwide'. There is a growing body of criticism of the global mental health movement, and has been widely criticised as a neo-colonial or "missionary" project and as primarily a front for pharmaceutical companies seeking new clients for psychiatric drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community health worker</span>

A community health worker is a member of a community who is chosen by community members or organizations to provide basic health and medical care within their community, and is capable of providing preventive, promotional and rehabilitation care to that community. Other terms for this type of health care provider include lay health worker, village health worker, community health aide, community health promoter, and health advisor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern State Hospital (Washington)</span> Hospital in Washington, United States

Eastern State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital established in 1891 in Medical Lake, a small community 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Spokane, Washington. The original building was a Kirkbride Plan and the current building has a similar floor plan with male and female wings extending out from the main building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Hospital</span> Hospital in Utah, United States

The Utah State Hospital (USH) is a mental hospital located in eastern Provo, Utah, United States of America. The current superintendent is Dallas Earnshaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India HIV/AIDS Alliance</span> Indian non-governmental organisation

Founded in 1999, Alliance India is a non-governmental organisation operating in partnership with civil society, government and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India that protect rights and improve health. Complementing the Indian national programme, we build capacity, provide technical support and advocate to strengthen the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV programmes to vulnerable populations: sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people, hijras, people who inject drugs (PWID), and people living with HIV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness and mental health</span>

In a study in Western societies, homeless people have a higher prevalence of mental illness when compared to the general population. They also are more likely to suffer from alcoholism and drug dependency. It is estimated that 20–25% of homeless people, compared with 6% of the non-homeless, have severe mental illness. Others estimate that up to one-third of the homeless have a mental illness. In January 2015, the most extensive survey ever undertaken found 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States. Depending on the age group in question and how homelessness is defined, the consensus estimate as of 2014 was that, at minimum, 25% of the American homeless—140,000 individuals—were seriously mentally ill at any given point in time. 45% percent of the homeless—250,000 individuals—had any mental illness. More would be labeled homeless if these were annual counts rather than point-in-time counts. Being chronically homeless also means that people with mental illnesses are more likely to experience catastrophic health crises requiring medical intervention or resulting in institutionalization within the criminal justice system. Majority of the homeless population do not have a mental illness. Although there is no correlation between homelessness and mental health, those who are dealing with homelessness are struggling with psychological and emotional distress. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conducted a study and found that in 2010, 26.2 percent of sheltered homeless people had a severe mental illness.

The Banyan is a non-governmental organization based in Chennai, India that was founded in 1993 by Vandana Gopikumar and Vaishnavi Jayakumar to cater to mentally-ill and homeless women in the city.

Vandrevala Foundation is an NGO established by Cyrus Vandrevala and Priya Vandrevala in 2008. In 2009, the foundation launched the "Mental Health - India" initiative to raise awareness and provide services for emotionally distressed individuals.

Mental health in the Philippines is a survey of the status of psychological, psychiatric, and emotional health care in the Philippines from both past and present programs.

Mental illnesses, also known as psychiatric disorders, are often inaccurately portrayed in the media. Films, television programs, books, magazines, and news programs often stereotype the mentally ill as being violent or unpredictable, unlike the great majority of the actual mentally ill. As a result, some of the public stigmatize the mentally ill and believe that the mentally ill should be shunned, locked away in mental institutions, heavily medicated, or a combination of the three. However, not only are most of those with psychiatric disorders able to function adequately in society, but many are able to work successfully and make substantial contributions to society.

Bell Let's Talk is a campaign created by the Canadian telecommunications company, Bell Canada, in an effort to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada. It is the largest corporate commitment to mental health in Canada. Originally a five-year, $50 million program to create a stigma-free Canada and drive action in mental health care, research, and the workplace, Bell Let's Talk was renewed in 2015 for five years with a target of committing $100 million, and in 2020, the initiative was renewed for a further five years, and a commitment of $155 million. The most prominent part of the initiative is "Bell Let's Talk Day," an annual one-day advertising campaign where money is donated to mental health funds based on the number of social media and communication interactions that include the branded hashtag, #BellLetsTalk, or its Canadian French equivalent, #BellCause.

Numerous studies around the world have found a relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. There are higher rates of mental illness in groups with lower socioeconomic status (SES), but there is no clear consensus on the exact causative factors. The two principal models that attempt to explain this relationship are the social causation theory, which posits that socioeconomic inequality causes stress that gives rise to mental illness, and the downward drift approach, which assumes that people predisposed to mental illness are reduced in socioeconomic status as a result of the illness. Most literature on these concepts dates back to the mid-1990s and leans heavily towards the social causation model.

The Live Love Laugh Foundation is a non-profit organization that deals with mental health issues. It was founded in 2015 by Deepika Padukone as a non-profit NGO to bring awareness to mental health in India. In 2016, the organization launched a program called "You Are Not Alone". Facebook is working with the organization to prevent suicides from being livestreamed.

References

  1. ↑ Magnier, Mark (5 July 2013). "India battles misconceptions on mental illness". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ↑ Mann, Caroline; Himelein, Melissa (2008). "Putting the person back into psychopathology: an intervention to reduce mental illness stigma in the classroom". Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 43 (7): 545–551. doi:10.1007/s00127-008-0324-2. PMID   18286216. S2CID   25194036.
  3. ↑ "About Mental Illness". www.nami.org. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Archived from the original on November 4, 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ↑ The Nossal Institute for Global Health & Basic Needs'. An Introduction to Mental Health: Facilitator's Manual for Training Community Health Workers in India.
  5. ↑ World Health Organization (2008). "Task Shifting: Global Recommendations and Guidelines".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ "gender education research intern".
  7. ↑ Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2014). "Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Clinical Depression Among Health Providers in Gujarat, India". Ann Glob Health. 80 (2): 89–95. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2014.04.001 . PMID   24976545.
  8. ↑ Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2014). "Perceptions of traditional healing for mental illness in rural Gujarat". Ann Glob Health. 80 (2): 96–102. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2014.04.013 . PMID   24976546.
  9. ↑ "Our Team". The MINDS Foundation. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 M, Anu (2013-10-10). "The MINDS Foundation: Fighting the Mental Illness". Halabol Voices.
  11. ↑ Seervai, Shanoor (2013-10-21). "India's Mental Health Challenge". The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Christie (2012-09-12). "Reimagining Psychiatry in Rural India". The Atlantic.
  13. ↑ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Government of India (2005–2006). "National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3): India" (PDF). NFHS-3. 1: 436.
  14. ↑ "The MINDS Foundation". Wesleyan University. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "MINDS Foundation". GlobeMed at University of Washington. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "The Mentor Network" . Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "IMF -- International Monetary Fund Home Page". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Newman's Own Foundation | the Power of Philanthropy to Transform Lives". Newman's Own Foundation. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "GrayGhost Ventures". Gray Ghost Ventures. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "Grants for Nonprofit Organizations | Google Ad Grants – Google". Google Grants. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "Hill Holliday". www.hhcc.com. Hill Holliday. Archived from the original on October 7, 1997. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Korn Ferry | Organizational Consulting". Korn Ferry. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Podio: Project Management and Collaboration Software". Podio. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Salesforce". salesforce.org. Salesforce. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "Fried Frank > Home". Fried Frank. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "It's our business to understand yours - Proskauer Rose LLP". Proskauer. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  27. ↑ "TrustLaw Connect". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  28. ↑ "Health Radio" . Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Next Mile Project – Restoration, Renovation, and Home Improvement". Next Mile Project. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship". Wesleyan University. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "Home". MC Mass Challenge. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "Verb U". Dell. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  33. ↑ "The StartingBloc Fellowship". Starting Bloc. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  34. ↑ "mHealth Alliance" . Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  35. ↑ "Gulbenkian Mental Health Platform" . Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  36. ↑ Kennedy, Miranda. "In India, Stigma Of Mental Illness Hinders Treatment". NPR.org. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  37. ↑ Seervai, Shanoor (2013-10-21). "India's Mental Health Challenge". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  38. ↑ M, Anu. "The MINDS Foundation: Fighting the Mental Illness". Halabol Voices. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  39. ↑ Gulbenkian. "The MINDS Foundation". Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  40. ↑ LaVigne, Diana. "Youthful Approach to Battle Mental Illness Stigmas: Raghu Kiran Appasani". India West. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.