Manodarpan launched for mental well-being of students

In view of the fact that children and adolescents are vulnerable to heightened level of stress, anxiety and fearfulness, along with a range of other emotional and behavioural issues in these Covid times, the government today announced the launch of its initiative, Manodarpan.

Manodarpan will cover a wide range of activities to provide psychosocial support to students for their mental health and well-being during the Covid outbreak and beyond. A working group, having experts from the fields of education, mental health and psychosocial issues as its members, has been set up to monitor and address the mental health issues and concerns of students through conselling, online resources and helpline. The national toll-free helpline (8448440632) will be managed by a pool of experienced counsellors/ psychologists and other mental health professionals and will continue beyond the Covid-19 situation.

Further, a webpage named, Manodarpan has been created on the website of the ministry of human resource development. The webpage contains advisory, practical tips, posters, podcasts, videos, do’s and don’ts for psychosocial support, FAQs and online query system.

The following components are included in the Manodarpan initiative:

1. Advisory guidelines for students, teachers and faculty of school systems and universities along with families
2. Web page on the MHRD website, which will carry advisory, practical tips, posters, videos, do’s and don’ts for psychosocial support, FAQs and online query system
3. National level database and directory of counsellors at school and university level whose services can be offered voluntarily for tele-counselling service on the national helpline.
4. National toll-free helpline by the MHRD for a country wide outreach to students from school, universities and colleges. This unique helpline will be manned by a pool of experienced counsellors/ psychologists and other mental health professionals; and will continue beyond the Covid-19 situation.
5. Handbook on psychosocial support: Enriching life skills and wellbeing of students to be published online. The booklet will include FAQs, facts and myths, and will also cover ways and means to manage emotional and behavioural concerns (from young children to college youth) during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
6. Interactive online chat platform for contact, counselling and guidance by psychologists and other mental health professionals which will be available for students, teachers, and families during COVID-19 and beyond.
7. Webinars, audio-visual resources including videos, posters, flyers, comics, and short films to be uploaded as additional resource materials on the webpage. Crowd sourcing from students all over the country will be encouraged as peer support.

Click here for Manodarpan website

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