Atmiyata: Addressing Mental Distress in India

In Gujarat, India, NGO Atmiyata has successfully scaled a community-led approach to addressing youth mental health. Listed as one of the World Health Organization’s 25 good practices for community outreach mental health services, the program relies upon an expansive network of trained volunteers to facilitate psychosocial support and reduce mental health stigma amongst rural populations.

With continued implications for the promotion of Sustainable Development Goal 3 in rural settings, this case study explores how Atmiyata has successfully scaled and retained quality control, of volunteer-led public health initiatives. Although Atmiyata’s intervention faces various challenges, including the need for more predictable funding, it successfully addresses the social determinants of mental health within India’s unique (and complex) sociocultural environment, including the impacts of gender, religion, and caste. This is particularly crucial for hard-to-reach populations.