By Tasneem Sara | Project Leader
MENTAL HEALTHCARE FOR ADOLESCENTS
World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
On this occasion AWAG takes the opportunity and shares its experiences on the issue of Mental Healthcare with adolescents.
Ahmedabad Women’s Action Group (AWAG) is committed to working with women and adolescents, especially those exposed to violence of any kind. AWAG’s work with women from the underprivileged sections of society, especially post riots, brought to light the psychological distress experienced by women and their children and the urgent need to provide psychological counselling to them. The vulnerability to mental disorders was found to be closely linked with the quality of life, the risk being greater in cases of those exposed to violence. On an average each year the project provides individual counselling support to 300-350 adolescents from one to two semi-government schools from the areas of Bapunagar, Rakhial, Gomtipur, Saraspur and Ramol.
The said areas are economically backward areas wherein parents of these children are predominantly labourers. Majority of the parents are illiterates and do not have the capability to understand or guide their children during mental distress. The common adolescent issues known are adjustment problems, relationship issues, educational issues, low self-esteem, family issues etc. which seemed to be very difficult to cope with both for the adolescent and the parents. This leads to high drop-out rate and weak academic performance.
To start with, the Counsellors conduct orientation sessions and reach out to adolescents from Class 9 to 12 of the selected school. The entire Class is educated on types and symptoms of mental illness. If the child is experiencing any of the symptoms, she/he is encouraged to enrol their name for individual counselling session. In addition, teachers also assist in identifying children who need extra psychological support. Following this, each child is allotted time for one-to-one counselling. The sessions address children’s emotional needs and equip them with relevant coping mechanisms.
Counselling provides them with:
In adolescents where severe Mental Health symptoms are visible, they are provided free treatment by the consulting psychiatrist.
Thus, the project has 2-pronged approach to reach to the adolescents thereon providing them a better understanding of mental health leading them towards cure through counselling and medical help as per need.
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