Mariwala Health Initiative convened a high-level workshop today with the objective of mainstreaming conversations on mental health and its intersections with other prevailing socio-economic and environmental issues. Highlighting the need for a rights-based, psychosocial approach to mental health, the workshop underlined the need to move away from a narrow, biomedical approach to mental health to one that is more inclusive and holistic.
Raj Mariwala, Director, Priti Sridhar, CEO and Anam Mittra, Lead of New Initiatives. Other speakers at the event were Dr. Achal Bhagat, Psychiatrist, Apollo Hospital, Priscilla Giri, Researcher, DLR Prerna, a Darjeeling-based NGO that works on various community initiatives.
Raj Mariwala, Director, Mariwala Health Initiative, said, “Mental health is a development issue and must not be viewed in isolation from the prevailing socio-economic and environmental landscape. Priti Sridhar, CEO, Mariwala Health Initiative, said ‘’There is a need to step back and stop looking at mental health as an individual issue. Each of us experience society from our respective social locations.Dr. Bhagat Psychiatrist, Apollo Hospital said, “When talking about mental health, what one does not say is as important as what one does say. Conversations that layer the myths about mental health need to be avoided. These are: linking mental health to incapacity; correlating violence and mental health problems.
Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) is a personal philanthropy of Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Chairperson, Marico Limited. MHI is an advocacy, capacity building and grant-making organisation working on mental health, with an emphasis on making mental health services accessible to marginalised people and communities.
