TODAY -
Grass root level approach for sustainable development
- Part 4 :: Mental health -
By Grace Laikhuram *
Health:
General health awareness: Sampark imparted health awareness training to members of the SHGs.The training focused on
- Basic health, personal hygiene, sanitation
- Reproductive system and contraceptive methods
- Common illness, prevention methods and first aid
- Nutrition, cleanliness and facilities available at government medical centres
- Linkages with public health centres
After attending the health training, most of the women have learnt to adopt a clean and hygienic way of life.
Mental health support:
To promote holistic development of the rural poor, Sampark initiated several health related activities by designing a mental health support programme organising health camps.
Mental health programme is a pilot study conducted in three panchayats covering 29 SHGs. Stigma ,poverty and lack of access to health care often result in psychological distress in women being regularly unrecognized and untreated.
Common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression often go unrecognized and untreated in the community. Using developmental framework, the primary objective of the project is to study the effectiveness of mental health intervention in reducing psychological distress and disability.
Mental health intervention programme:
42 leaders from the SHGs were selected for training them as leaders to facilitate the counseling sessions. Participatory tools such as role play, group discussions were used. The training topics included the relationship between the body and mind, common physical health issues, modules of counseling sessions in groups.
Impact of mental health support
Group members' feedback and opinion on the counseling interventions
- They felt that sharing their problems and family issues with others makes their mind lighter
- Find the awareness programme regarding common diseases and their treatment, existence of good hospitals and cleanliness and nutrition
- Yoga exercises help them feel mentally very light, reduced body pains, eat and sleep well, reduce bad habits such as chewing tobacco and betel nut and using snuff powder.
- Since they were eating sleeping well, their health improved and in turn this led to improved family conditions
To be continued....
* Grace Laikhuram, doing Post Graduation in Mass Communication, contributes regularly to e-pao.net. The writer can be reached at grace(dot)laikhuram(at)gmail(dot)com
This was webcasted on 14th January 2009.
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