Guwahati: MINDS, University of Leeds host meet on mental health

Guwahati: MINDS India, a Guwahati-based mental health society, and the School of Psychology at University of Leeds, UK, jointly hosted a consultative meet on March 4 at Bamunimaidam in Guwahati. The event aimed to spread awareness about substance abuse and prevent mental health risks among the youth population of Assam.

The meeting, held in Bamunimaidam, had ‘Pathways to Recovery- Educational Material on Prevention and Recovery from Substance Addiction’ as its theme.

The results of a study headed by Professor Anna Madill and her aides (Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Paul Cooke, and Tolib Mirzoev of University of Leeds) have helped to develop a substance-use rehabilitation recovery model called ‘Pathways to Recovery: Educational Workshop on Prevention and Recovery from Substance Addiction’. The study utilised photovoice research to gain psychological, social and cultural insights into substance abuse and prevent addiction.

The study and the consultative meet are part of a research project, ‘The Big Picture’ undertaken in 2018-2019 by University of Leeds, MIND India  and Nirmaan Rehabilitation Centre.

The consultative meet was designed to provide inclusive psycho-social support at rehabilitation centres and organisations across Assam. It was attended by Rashmi Baruah Gogoi, CEO of the State Anti-Drug and Prohibition Council, and various dignitaries high profile dignitaries of Assam.

Funded by a UKRI ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant and Welcome Trust Institutional Partnership Award via the University of Leeds UK, this research project is looking at 150 stakeholders in the state to start executing the awareness campaign for a drug-free Assam.

Additionally, this joint venture is also seeking to inspire changes in drug policies of Assam.

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