Triggering Conversations About Mental Health

Abstract

Background Work Done in India: The Indian partner of the SICRG-funded project has done work in the area of de-stigmatization of mental illness. The Prakashdoot project, which aims at spreading public awareness about depression and alcohol use in a difficult to access population through use of a DVD followed by FAQs, is described. Prakashdoot DVDs show impact on public understanding of mental distress and pave the way to a less stigmatizing society. Dwij Puraskar, another effort along similar lines, with a difference, is also described. Stigma is a complex construct with cognitive (stereotypic beliefs), affective (fear, shame, embarrassment), and behavioral (avoidance—social distance) components (Sovani 2009). Finally, the paper ends with narratives emerging from roundtables held with students from India studying psychology and education. Jorm (2000) introduced the concept of mental health literacy, defining it as public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders. Its components are the ability to recognize disorders, beliefs about causes, knowledge about self-help and professional interventions, and attitudes that facilitate help seeking. Background Work Done in Canada: The Canadian partner of the same SICRG-funded project has done prior work in the area of inclusion and exclusion under the Belonging project. Photographs are used as a way to develop a visual portrayal of where students feel included and excluded, using a photovoice methodology (Cabassa et al. 2013, Catalani and Minkler 2010). In a workshop conducted in Vancouver in July 2016, both Dr. Sovani and Dr. Stack spoke of their experiences while working with marginalized communities in India and Canada, respectively. Dr. Sovani used a unique presentation style that comprised entirely of picture slides and no text. She used this to illustrate how the experience of a group such as persons with chronic mental illness can be de-stigmatized using unique public awareness strategies and went on to describe to the largely Canadian audience what efforts were being made at the Institute for Psychological Health. Interestingly, the participants in the workshop had no difficulty at all understanding the predicament of a person with chronic mental illness and the efforts that need to be taken by the patient, the caregiver as well as society to ensure their smooth inclusion back into the social fabric. The universality of the experience of stigma thus came through very clearly. As a counterpoint, Dr. Michelle Stack and her students discussed how native Indian populations get marginalized on their own land and the manner in which people identify them by their rather unique facial features which stand apart from the Caucasian look of others who settled in Canada much later. Many participants then shared personal stories of both kinds, viz. struggling with societal nonacceptance, and consequently, personal nonacceptance, of their mentally ill or American Indian native status. Current Work: Challenging stigmatizing narratives about mental illness is key to the wellness of communities (Wahl 2003). Through our work, we test methods to assist professionals and students to de-stigmatize their language with an aim of expanding public understandings of mental health. Work on the SICRG project involves initial roundtables with students of psychology, education, and media, which have commenced at both study sites, i.e., India and Canada, using news media portrayals. This paper will highlight some of the trends that are emerging from all three groups. Implications are also discussed vis-a-vis student mental health (Stack 2007) and public awareness and sensitivity. As part of the SICI project, the two researchers actively engaged with students from the “other culture,” i.e., Dr. Sovani with the Canadian students and Dr. Stack with the Indian students. The processes involved are described.

This paper may be subsumed under the area of social sciences and education, specifically public health education.