HYDERABAD: In a first, the Telangana Minority Residential Schools (TMREIS) has embarked on a plan to set up a comprehensive, Mental Health programme for the over 1.3 lakh students across 200 plus schools and colleges in the State.
TMREIS has tied up with Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), a healthcare NGO to help build capacity and to run its helpline services. Releasing the Mental Health Awareness poster on Thursday, B Shafiullah IFS, Secretary of TMREIS said that this is one of the first structured mental health programmes by a government residential school.
The mental health of students has taken a toll across all age groups after the pandemic. Examination-induced stress, anxiety about performance, child sexual abuse, the tendency for suicide & behavioural issues are commonly encountered in schools. The key components of the mental health programme would be to first build capacity, establish a helpline, provide suggestion boxes at each school and conduct live skills sessions on an ongoing basis.
About 250 teachers have been identified as counsellors after a careful selection process. They have undergone an extensive orientation programme by Dr Lavanya Mirala, a senior clinical psychologist with HHF. Post the orientation, the teacher-counsellors will be able to identify signs and symptoms of students having any mental health-related issues, which they will immediately red-flag to a dedicated helpline.
As a part of the plan, suggestion boxes will be kept in each school. Students can write a note in the boxes on their grievances, feedback, and any mental health issue. The teacher counsellors will open the boxes and address the issues reported on a regular basis.
Counselling sessions will be conducted by a team of qualified psychologists whenever necessary. Students can directly address their issues by calling the helpline number. The teacher-counsellors will also conduct life skill sessions with students on handling examination-related stress, and anxiety in classrooms and provide fortnightly feedback to the helpline on the student’s state.