SAMA Dissemination Event
NIMHANS, India
June 2024
In June 2024 we held the SAMA Dissemination Event in NIMHANS, India. This was a participatory, full-day event where the SAMA team presented our findings from Project SAMA. Alongside this, discussions surrounding scaling up SAMA and the necessary steps for advancing school mental health initiatives were held. There were 43 attendants at the event including researchers, and representatives and heads of various organizations.
The day started with the SAMA team presented on the following topics:
Context for School Mental Health Research: Prachi Khandeparkar, Psychologist and Project Lead at Sangath (Goa & Maharashtra), discussed the global and Indian context.
Methods and Insights from SAMA: Dr. Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK, shared the research methods and insights.
Implementation through Lay Counsellors: Dr. Poornima Bhola, Professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, explained how SAMA was implemented through lay counsellors.
Filming in SAMA: Prof. Paul Cooke from the Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures at the University of Leeds, UK, presented on the role of filming in SAMA.
Process Evaluation and Feasibility Testing Findings: Dr. Janardhana, Professor in the Department of Psychiatric Social Work at NIMHANS, shared the findings from process evaluation and feasibility testing.
Following Dr. Janardhana's presentation, a panel discussion took place. The panel included:
Dr. Zoya Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Adolescent Health.
2. Srija A., Indian Economics Service, Ministry of School Education and Literacy.
3. Uma Suresh, PSW Practitioner, Chennai.
The panel discussed the need for school mental health programs, existing initiatives, the mental health implications of the proliferation of coaching centers, and the challenges in training and sustaining recruited counsellors.
Prof. Tolib Mirzoev, Professor of Global Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, discussed the importance of advocacy and advocacy messages.
Prof. Paul Cooke also screened a documentary film created by a SAMA school and summarized the use of films in advocacy.
Throughout the day, discussions were held, covering topics such as working with parents of a child with disability, the pressure on private schools to integrate coaching for competitive exams, methods to improve parental engagement, and strategies for upscaling SAMA's work. It was emphasized that SAMA must continue its engagement with stakeholders and schools.
Padmashri Dr. C. R. Chandrashekhar, Retired Senior Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NIMHANS and founder of and psychiatrist at SAMADHANA Counselling Centre, Bengaluru, provided the concluding remarks. He reiterated the alarming increase in adolescent mental health disorders and underscored the necessity of programs like SAMA.
Final reflections:
We would like to thank everyone that took part in this event, which yielded many positive and productive discussions. Overall, all stakeholders were appreciative of SAMA's work and concurred on the urgent need for mental health programs like SAMA in schools across India. They unanimously agreed that SAMA should be extended to more schools and should continue organizing events for stakeholder engagement and ongoing discussions.