The MINDS Foundation, a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
located in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, uses a
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
approach to eliminate
stigma and provide educational, medical, and moral support for patients with
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
in rural India. (1) The organization conducts ongoing research and develops curriculum to expand education about mental health and increase the number of trained staff who can support patients with mental illness. MINDS works with a broad team of directors, advisors, field workers and assistants and receives support through a variety of foundations, grants and
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s. Since its creation in 2010, MINDS has increased the level of education and treatment with regards to mental illness, overcoming many of the challenges of rural health work in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Approach
MINDS uses a three-phase approach for education, treatment and reintegration.
Phase 1 focuses on community-wide education held in each village by social workers, MINDS staff and Community Mental Health Workers. After a short 45-minute film explaining the basics of mental illness and the effectiveness of treatment, there are facilitated discussions and Q&A sessions which focus on de-stigmatization of mental illness. Research suggests that lack of health education in rural India contributes to serious misunderstandings, stigma and denial about the existence and causes of mental illness. According to current studies, psychologists believe education programs about
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
are one of the most effective ways to reduce this
stigma and encourage patients to receive the treatment they need.
Phase 2 focuses on effective, free treatment for any mentally ill person who wishes to receive help. MINDS is committed to working in relation with communities and hospitals across
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and, therefore, provides free daily transport to local hospitals, free consultation with local doctors and free medication. Furthermore, to ease the treatment process, families of patients are welcome to accompany the patients to the hospitals and doctors appointments. According to the
National Alliance on Mental Illness
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States-based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoca ...
, 70-90% of all global mentally ill patients who receive treatment partially or completely recover.
Phase 3 focuses on each patient's
reintegration into the local community after treatment. With the help of Community Mental Health Workers, patients receive continued medical support and education. Families of patients also benefit from support and education during this transition. The Phase 1 education and de-stigmatization pave the way for this third phase of MINDS work.
Programs and Research
In addition to the three-phase program running in villages across
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, MINDS continually develops programs and conducts research to expand programing. Below is a summary of current, developing programing.
Community Mental Health Worker (CMHW) Training
Community Mental Health Workers (CMHWs) work as
advisors
An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...
and
mentors
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
in each village where MINDS programming is run. The CMHWs go through extensive training that focuses on identifying
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, connecting patients to hospital care, advising and educating families of mentally ill, supporting the phase 3
reintegration process and facilitating phase 1 education workshops. The training for CMHWs was developed in partnership with the Nossal Institute for Global Health, adapted from ''An Introduction to Mental Health: Facilitator's Manual for Training Community Health Workers in India by the Nossal Institute for Global Health & BasicNeeds''
Teacher Training
Currently MINDS is developing a training program, based on the
WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...
advocation of Task-Shifting, which trains teachers at local schools to identify and support mentally ill youth. The program follows a four-step model focused on understanding why mental illness is a problem, identifying possible signs of mental illness in students, supporting students through active listening and de-stigmatization of classrooms and referring students to CMHWs for further consolation and screening.
Gender Workshops
Additionally, MINDS is considering how discussions and education about gender-specific concerns surrounding mental illness and well-being could further deepen the Phase 1 programming.
Published Research
''Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Clinical Depression Among Health Providers in Gujarat, India.''
''Perceptions of Traditional Healing for Mental Illness in Rural Gujarat.''
Organization and Administration
In order to manage field work, project development and research, MINDS has a multi-level organizational system that combines full-time employees with professional volunteers and advisors around the world. The core team, associates and field team manage the non-profit, monitor the three-phase education treatment & reintegration program and organize ongoing research. The Global and Indian
Board of Directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, consisting of notable professors and professionals, monitor the progress of MINDS and support the key values of the NGO. Lastly, the Advisors offer professional advice for program development and research.
In addition to the year-round team, board and advisors, MINDS runs a Leadership Development Development Program where interns from across the US partner with members of the core team to receive training and hands-on experience in marketing, publicity, research and program development. The program aims to develop future leaders in the non-profit arena.
For students and professionals looking for
field experience, the MINDS Fellowship Program allows volunteers to work in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
on research and programing projects.
History
The MINDS Foundation was founded as
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
in August 2010 and is registered in
as an
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
; additionally it partners with an NGO of the same name located in India, and thus is run through global offices.
Currently MINDS runs programs in 19 villages in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and will expand to other villages in the near future.
In India, there is no official mental health policy and resources are extremely limited, with only 0.3 psychiatrists/100,000 people and just 0.06% of the national health budget going towards mental illness education and treatment. Furthermore, rural areas in India tend to be some of the most neglected: out of 626 districts in India, only 125 have any sort of mental health program in place.
Health resources in India are usually funded, provided and accessed through the private sector.
Partners and Sponsors
The MINDS Foundation partners with
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eigh ...
for program advice and review.
MINDS also partners wit
Sumandeep Vidyapeeth University located just outside
Vadodara
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
.
Starting in July 2011, MINDs began working with the Departments of Psychiatry and Community Medicine at Diharaj General Hospital, which provides treatment support and local staff.
The MINDS Foundation has campus chapters at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
and at GlobeMed at
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
.
The MINDS Foundation also receives sponsorship, funding or donations from: The Mentor Network, The
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
,
Newman's Own
Newman's Own is an American food company headquartered in Connecticut. Founded in 1982 by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner, the company donates all of its after-tax profits to charity through the Newman's Own Foundation, a private non ...
Foundation,
Gray Matters Capital
Gray Matters Capital is an impact investing foundation founded by Bob Pattillo. Its mission is to achieve "An education leading to a purpose filled life for 100, Million Women by 2036." GMC is based in Atlanta, Georgia with global offices in Nai ...
,
Google Grants
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. It can place ads both in the result ...
, Hill Holiday,
Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1969 and as of 2019, operates in 111 offices in 53 countries and employs 8,198 people worldwide. Korn Ferry operates through four business segm ...
International,
Podio
Podio supplies a web-based platform for creating no code solutions and automate workflows. The feature set includes organizing team communication, business processes, data and content in project management workspaces according to project needs.
Hi ...
,
The Salesforce Foundation,
Fried Frank Legal Support,
Proskauer Rose
Proskauer Rose LLP (formerly known as Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, LLP) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1875 and currently employs more than 800 attorneys in twelve offices worldwide.
P ...
LLP,
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Thomson Reuters Foundation is a London-based charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, a Canadian news conglomerate. The Foundation is registered as a charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London.
Antoni ...
, Health Radio, The Next Mile Project, the Partricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, MC Mass Challenge,
Dell Social Innovation Challenge, StartingBloc, mHealth Alliance and the Gulbenkian Mental Health Platform.
Further reading
NPR: ''In India, Stigma of Mental Illness Hinders Treatment''
The Wall Street Journal: ''India's Mental Health Challenge''
Halabol Voices: ''The MINDS Foundation: Fighting the Mental Illness''
Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform: ''The MINDS Foundation''
India West: ''Youthful Approach to Battle Mental Illness Stigmas: Raghu Kiran Appasani''
References
{{Reflist
Health care quality
Mental health organisations in India
Disability in India