Schiezophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), Chennai’s intervention programmes with youth have found mention in Unicef’s document Mental Health of Children and Young People.
The United Nations International Children’s Fund has showcased two of SCARF’s programmes – Prevention and Early Intervention for Psychosis (PEPP) and Resource Centre for Youth Mental Health Services (rYMs).
The document compares SCARF’s performance in PEPP’s with that of a similar programme in Canada, both of which “were running parallel for several years”. The document further said, “Fewer young people with first-episode psychosis dropped out in Chennai than in Montreal.”
R. Thara, vice-chairman of SCARF said the First Episode Psychosis Clinic as it is called at the institution aimed catch the condition early and intervene before it becomes chronic. “Scarf was the first in India to have set up such a clinic and has trained a few centres in India and Guyana. The clinic was an outcome of 10 years of work with Canada,” she explained.
“The first six months after the onset of psychosis is very critical. What we see is that a good therapeutic relationship between a professional counsellor or psychologist (case manager) and the young person really seems to help. Even if they stop medicine if they continue to have this relationship it really helps them. It also helps us understand them better,” she added.
The rYMs programme was developed by Shiva Prakash Srinivasan, consultant psychiatrist and head (Clinical Services and Training), the Department of Youth Mental Health at SCARF. “The programme was started to bring about engagement of the youth. One way was by creating a safe place for young people to come together. The place is meant to act as facilitator, engage young people in conversation around mental health. If they have any questions, then we have trained volunteers and if they need support they will be redirected to the services – such as childline or domestic violence,” he explained.
The programme aims to destigmatise mental health safe spaces in childcare institutions as well. The Juvenile Mental Health Services in childcare institutions will help youngsters learn not only about mental health but also life skills such as building empathy and improving communication skills, Dr. Shiva Prakash said.
The programme envisages reaching out to young people in colleges and community centres. “We want to take this out into the community so that eventually the conversation is not about mental health issue but about the kind of support needed for us to do better,” he added.
Published – December 03, 2024 01:02 am IST
