C/o FT 'Inside the rise of the mental-health volunteer movement'

INDIVIDUAL

|

   INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES              

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

 SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

GROUP

'Amid a surge in demand for psychological support that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Blue is one of many people without formal psychiatric qualifications — including volunteers and health workers — who are stepping in to deliver interventions.' 'Sangath became one of the first projects to run a randomised control trial (RCT) of task-sharing in mental health in 2007. “It’s not a compromise,” said Nadkarni, “it’s an idea backed by solid research evidence.”' [FT]

'Known as task-shifting or task-sharing, the trend has grown across healthcare as services grapple with a stark mismatch between resources and demand. The World Health Organization estimates that there is a global average of 13 mental health workers per 100,000 people, but in low-income countries this can fall to fewer than two. But a number of studies suggest that simple interventions, such as benches where people can sit with a sympathetic listener, can be at least as powerful as expensive clinical approaches, easing the burden on specialist workers.' [FT]

'About us - Sangath: Our vision is a world where every person has access to quality and affordable mental health care. Our signature principles are to leverage community and health system resources to deliver psychosocial interventions for the prevention and care of mental health problems. We address a wide range of mental health concerns across the life course, from cognitive development in childhood to self-harm and depression in youth, to drinking problems, psychoses and dementia in adults.  ... Our name: ‘Sangath’ (सांगात) means togetherness and consensus. It signals our mission – to take an integrated and participatory approach to addressing mental health challenges.'

'Health policymakers are increasingly seeking to replicate projects pioneered in the developing world, a process that has been dubbed “frugal innovation”.' '“Every $1 invested in a service like this gives you about $9 in return — both for the individual and the society combined,” he added.' 'Initiatives such as the Friendship Bench and the Common Elements Treatment Approach devised by Johns Hopkins University, a mental health intervention that can be delivered by trained and supervised lay providers in low and middle-income countries, are collectively reaching millions of people and have proved their worth in multiple studies. But funders still tended to focus on setting up clinical projects rather than bringing about systemic change in resource allocation or medical payment models that would drive widespread adoption.' [FT]

My source:

Sarah Neville, India inspires project saving lives in Texas. FTWeekend, 21-22 December 2024. p.4.
https://ft.com/content/a187719c-ccbb-4af9-8d22-8e70b65098cf

n.b. While these efforts are ongoing, there is a crisis and a crisis of confidence in student mental health nursing as a specialty: 

Beyond the Student Mental Health Crisis: A Collaborative Transatlantic Symposium

Virtual 1200-1830 25th March 2025. (Too expensive for me.)