Teachers trained in model initiative

As the welfare of the society depend greatly on the overall well-being of children, the mission of educating teachers in child and adolescent mental health has critical public health implications. Dr Paul Russell and his team at CMC, Vellore have field tested a first of its kind programme in the country to train school teachers on mental health in Dindigul district. The programme was started in 2010. The focus of the programme is to enable teachers to acquire skills in preventive, protective, remedial and curative aspects of child and adolescent mental health through early intervention. They should be able to provide supportive measures to reduce the severity and duration of distress, besides, referring the cases to health experts. With the help of check lists and a reference manual that Russell developed, over 900 teachers from 470 schools (government and private) have so far been sensitised in a phased manner. The data from the schools are now being studied and validated at CMC. Final compilation is expected to provide more insights into the mental status of children in the district. Russell feels that the Dindigul-CMC model can be emulated across districts in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India with minimum financial burden, existing human resources, and existing technology. What is needed is a concerted effort by the government. With most schools, including those in remote areas, having Internet access, teachers can interact with child experts online.