School Mental Health Program in Tarapore, Dist Palghar during 2007-08

Objectives

To create awareness of scholastic difficulties among the school authorities including the teachers and the parents to facilitate early detection of morbidity
To plan interventional strategies for prevention and treatment aimed at students as well as teachers.
To Assess the ultimate impact of this work on improving the health status, academic output as well as the personality of the individuals involved through Homoeopathic interventions.

Results

Improvement was seen in

Confidence of the children having anxious disposition or complaints because of anticipations
Ability to relate with classmate/ teachers / parents about their internal stress in various situations
Attendance because of reduction in somatic complaints/ menstrual complaints especially in females
Performance at exams as compared to previous levels
Levels of stress in teachers in understanding the academic issues of school children
Awareness in teachers about various learning difficulties in school children.

Background	On the occasion of ‘World Mental Health Day’, in October 2005, the Psychiatry Department of the Dr. M. L. Dhawale Memorial Homoeopathic Institute and *Muskaan* (TISS) had conducted an orientation workshop for school teachers from Palghar and Boisar to create awareness on the mental health status of students. *Muskaan* is the child and adolescent guidance centre of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. On seeing the enthusiastic response and co-operation of the teachers, the Department of Psychiatry decided to take up school mental health as a project. The following two areas were taken up for a detailed study Rationale of the project : The adolescent years are the formative years of life in which habit patterns, emotional attitudes and fundamental ways of reacting to life are established, thus enhancing their personality and laying a foundation for adulthood. Schools play a crucial and formative role in the sphere of cognitive, language, emotional, social and moral development of children. The need for school-based interventions is to provide an experience that strengthens the children’s coping abilities to counter the environmental stress and the disadvantages encountered in their growing years. It is the teachers, who at the grass root level with appropriate training and support, can identify and refer the children in need of help or function as counselors to help children troubled by mental health or academic problems.
Year	2007
Objectives	4. To create awareness of scholastic difficulties amongst the school authorities including the teachers and the parents to facilitate early detection of morbidity 5. To plan interventional strategies for prevention and treatment aimed at students as well as teachers. 6. To Assess the ultimate impact of this work on improving the health status, academic output as well as the personality of the individuals involved through Homoeopathic interventions.
Areas and places of interventions	22 schools of Palghar and Boisar were visited and survey of almost 6000 students studying in VI, VII, VIII, and IX Standards was conducted. From 2007- a complete School Mental Health Program was designed and implemented in 3 schools of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s (NPCIL) Tarapur Atomic Project Station (TAPS) project. Boisar. Maharashtra
Methodology	1. Survey of the school population 2. Screening :Physical and Psychological assessment of child with the use of specially designed screening sheets for physical / psychological assessments 3. Orientation –Students/ Teachers/ Parents: Oriented the children about difficulties through group discussion 4. Understanding teacher’s experiences and difficulties in handling children and plan intervention as per the need through group discussion 5. Understanding parental perspectives of the difficulties with children through group discussion 6. Identifying the various issues from the various assessment done with the help of input by teachers/students /parents through group discussion, some role play / skit 7. Planning for Life Skill Modules –Activities /assessment 8. Intervention by the subject experts like Clinical Psychologist, Remedial Educators and Homoeopathic intervention as per the problem identified. 9. Follow up with Teachers and Students : Evaluation with the help of teachers through academic assessment 10. Evaluation of overall activity : Outcome in terms of changes in emotions / thinking / behavior
Result	Improvement was seen in 1. Confidence of the children having anxious disposition or complaints because of anticipations 2. Ability to relate with classmate/ teachers / parents about their internal stress in various situations 3. Attendance because of reduction in somatic complaints/ menstrual complaints especially in females 4. Performance at exams as compared to previous levels 5. Levels of stress in teachers in understanding the academic issues of school children 6. Awareness in teachers about various learning difficulties in school children.