Virtual mental health programme gaining popularity

Virtual mental health programme Tele MANAS was launched by the central government with the support of Nimhans and IIIT-B. The programme, offers free services, is supposed to have centres across India. The pilot program launched last year. The Tele Mental Health Programme (Tele Manas) helpline has now seen a surge in calls for such problems, with over 21 lakh calls received so far.

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is running this helpline and free consultation is being provided for various mental health issues. The International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-B) is providing technical support to this helpline.

In Karnataka Tele Manas unit is functioning in the centers of Bangalore and Dharwad, and the Tele Manas helpline is helping in resolving mental health issues. The video consultation has also received a good response, and there is a proposal to expand this service said, Prof. T.K. Srikanth, Head of e-Health Research Department, IIIT-B.