The Telangana Minority Residential Schools (TMREIS) have started a plan to establish a thorough mental health programme for the more than 1.3 lakh students spread across 200 plus schools and colleges in the state for the first time. To build capacity and start operating a helpline service, TMREIS has partnered with the healthcare NGO Helping Hand Foundation (HHF). This is one of the first structured mental health programmes offered by a government residential school, according to B Shafiullah IFS, Secretary of TMREIS, who released the Mental Health Awareness poster on Thursday, December 29. The issues affecting the mental health of students will be quickly resolved with the right training and a helpline. Following the pandemic, students' mental health has suffered across all age groups.
Exam-related stress, performance anxiety, child sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts and behavioral issues are all issues that are frequently seen in schools. Building capacity, establishing a helpline, putting suggestion boxes in each school and regularly holding live skills sessions are the main principles of the mental health programme. After an extensive selection process, approximately 250 teachers have been identified as counsellors. The Senior Clinical Psychologist with HHF, Dr Lavanya Mirala, has put them through an extensive orientation programme. Following the orientation, the teacher-counsellors will be able to recognise the warning signs and symptoms of any mental health-related issue among students and they will immediately report this information to a dedicated helpline.
Suggestion boxes will be kept in each school as part of the plan. Students can leave notes in the boxes about their complaints, feedback and any issues pertaining to their mental health. The teacher counsellors will regularly open the boxes and deal with the issues raised. When necessary, a group of licensed psychologists will lead counselling sessions. Students can call the helpline directly to address their problems. The teacher-counsellors will also hold life skills sessions with students to help them deal with exam-related stress, deal with anxiety and a sense of hopelessness in the classroom and provide feedback to the helpline every two weeks on the mental health of the students.
