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Meeting
on Saturday 14 January 2006 at Karmayog
Topics
discussed
- Issue
of stigma & discrimination toward mental health in society
-
Possibility of using influential figures within society to
create awareness for the need to step forward and the importance
of early action
-
Focus on education in schools (target
specific grades, etc) & colleges
- Funding
- Identifying
& targeting specific sensitive areas & specific target
groups need to be identified
- The
broadness of Mental health encourages the joint effort and joint
services of psychologists, counselors, Occupational Therapists,
etc. This also includes involving the local workforce, such as
school counselors.
- Create
awareness in the area of children. Some learning disabilities
in children may lead to other future complications, hence the
importance of focusing on prevention to recognize early stages
of disability, rather than only focus on treatment.
- Suicide
prevention campaigns & Suicide help lines. Help lines should
be 24 hours. Issue of ethics & confidentiality regarding help
lines and the effectiveness of them. Briefly discussed the importance
of a screening and selection process for volunteers who are in
charge of these help lines.
- The
issuing of Disability certificates
-
What loopholes make this process ineffective?
-
The misuse of these certificates e.g. someone may be certified
as mentally ill when they are in fact not.
-
Examine the process of issuing the certificates, what the
certificates actually say & the validity of these certificates.
-
The possibility of these certificates to be used as a subsidy
for drugs & for insurance
- The
importance of examining the current situation from the perspectives
of professionals as well as the clients themselves.
- Briefly
mentioned the possible effectiveness of using the media to create
awareness.
- The
importance of half way homes in Mumbai & in India, particularly
for parents, relatives and carers who need to leave patients/clients
for some period of time. At present there is no such home in Mumbai.
Plan
of Action – Focus on 4 key areas
- Disability
Certificates need to be examined and ensure its validity &
appropriateness for clients
- The
provision of space for a half way home for clients – BMC
- Creating
awareness in schools & colleges. Involving school teachers
& counselors for early detection of problems etc.
By
Akila Maheshwari
akilamaheshwari@yahoo.com
www.namiindia.com
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