CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Monday launched ‘Mananala Nallaatharavu Mandram’ (MaNaM), a mental health program, to prevent suicides and address mental health problems among students of all government medical, dental and paramedical colleges of the state.
The initiative was launched at an event held as part of World Suicide Prevention Day at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. Its objective is to create public awareness about mental health, its bio-psycho-social determinants, the problems and the services available to address them.
Speaking to TNIE, Dr P Poorna Chandrika, director of the Kilpauk Institute of Mental Health in Chennai, said that under the program, peer counselors would be involved to identify students with mental problems and provide them with support. The counselors would be trained in life skills, coping skills and stress management techniques so they can spread the word among their peers, a news release said.
While a monitoring committee and an empowerment committee will work together with peer counselors (MaNaM ambassadors) who will identify students in need, a helpline number will also be launched to provide students with immediate psychological support.
The empowerment committee will act as a democratic and inclusive platform to share students’ experiences and concerns informally during regular committee meetings, and the monitoring committee will monitor, review, and facilitate the other panel’s activities and receive feedback. of the MaNaM ambassadors about the process of teaching, learning and extracurricular activities at the institute, the statement added. The psychiatry department of the respective medical school will function as a hub department for MaNaM volunteers.
