BENGALURU: Nimhans, which has been appointed the nodal centre for the upcoming Tele Mental Health Assistance and Nationally Actionable Plan through States (T-Manas) initiative, announced in the Union Budget, will act as a 24x7 mental health facility.
A statement by Nimhans said, “The vision of T-Manas is to provide immediate mental health intervention to people in mental distress, particularly those in remote and underserved areas of our country. The vision is also to link T-Manas with existing in-person mental health services to provide a comprehensive continuum of care.” Technical support will be provided to the institute from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru.
The institute has been chosen as the nodal centre, due in part to its experience of running multiple helplines and training professionals as part of the helplines. It has also been a central figure in providing mental healthcare, especially through the pandemic.
“... in the wake of Covid-19 effect on mental health, we need an innovative, contemporary strategy that will reach people in a timely manner to alleviate their psychological distress, to address common mental health problems, to swiftly identify severe mental illness and suicidality and obtain timely professional help,” the institute said.