SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Oct 11: The Central Institute of Psychiatry, under an initiative by the National Mental Health Programme, is set to begin the Tele-MANAS (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States) Cell, a free round the clock tele-mental health service to provide counselling on calls.
As per information, the Central Government has started the ‘National Mental TeleHealth Programme’. Under this, psychiatrists associated with ‘Tele Manas Cell’ will help people facing mental health issues and traumas through telephonic counseling. Any person will be able to get advice related to mental problems by calling a free helpline number.
Under the ‘National Mental TeleHealth Programme’, a total of six Regional Co-ordination Centers including NIMHANS have been set up across the country in collaboration with the respective state governments. In Jharkhand, CIP will be the Regional Coordination Center and will monitor cells in Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Talking in this regard, Dr Nishant Goyal, CIP said, “This was the first time that the Union Fiscal Budget this year mentioned that telephone counseling will be provided by the government. The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bengaluru and National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) will provide the technical support.”
When questioned about the requirement and training of tele-counselors, Dr Goyal, “A set of counselors will be trained by mentoring institutes to provide counseling, conduct remedial exercises and refer patients to the appropriate doctors. The counselors handling the phones should have a minimum qualification of MA in Psychology or Social Work.”
Notably, a toll-free, 24/7 helpline number (14416) has been set up across the country allowing callers to select the language of choice for availing services. Service is also accessible with 1-800-91-4416. The calls would be routed to Tele-MANAS cells in the respective state and union territory. Officials expect the numbers to be fully operational by the end of the month.
Dr Goyal further stated that candidates have been invited for walk-in interviews for several posts under this programme. Further details can be accessed on the website of the institute.
