At a time when stigma and worry of judgement come in the way in which of looking for mental health care, Thiruvananthapuram has a number of spaces that provide support and guidance to navigate the state of affairs.
The Orange Room
Sherin Noordheen (second from left) together with her workforce at The Orange Room
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Sherin Noordheen had causes sufficient to start out Let’s Live, a youth mental health NGO, in 2018 – the suicide of her father and her battles with melancholy and a complete lot of private points. “Most people attempt suicide not because they want to die, it’s just because they don’t have the strength to live,” she believes. A 12 months later, she opened The Orange Room, a “non-judgemental space” for younger individuals to open up about mental health-related points. But the pandemic compelled the house to shut down. However, on June 2 this 12 months, The Orange Room was reopened with CSR support of Speridian Technologies.
“This is a space for people to unburden their problems before qualified professionals. We also have weekly mental health awareness programmes for the public,” says Sherin, a graduate from kanthari, the training and coaching institute in Thiruvananthapuram, and a former IT skilled.
A breakout programme of The Orange Room is Unfiltered, a mental health consciousness mini-series for schools launched in July with the support of the District Administration. “Most colleges don’t want to discuss mental health because their priority is academics and exams. Thanks to the District Administration we could reach out to the campuses,” she says.
Sub-collector Alfred OV is the nodal officer of Unfiltered that has been rolled out in 5 schools — Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, National College, LBS Institute of Technology for Women and MG College. It will probably be launched in 5 extra schools.
Unfiltered, which has two seasons, encourages college students to have open conversations about mental health. Season 1 has 4 episodes of which one is for the lecturers. Season 2 will probably be about trauma-related mental health care.
Mental health champions, college students who’ve a flair for the trigger, are chosen from every faculty and are skilled in life abilities and mental health at The Orange Room. “They are made proficient enough to help others or they act as bridge between students and the solution provider,” she says.
Sherin notes whereas relationship points prime the checklist of issues they attend to, in addition they take care of instances involving substance abuse, unsupportive household, sexual orientation, on-line grooming, sexual extortion and so forth. The house is for these aged beneath 29. Those beneath 18 need to be accompanied by father or mother/guardian.
Orange Room is positioned close to Nanthancode. Contact: 0471-4068177, 8078944613 (@the_orange_room_tvm). An inter-college Mental Health Champions Debate will probably be held on October 10 at Muffin Bakes, Pattom, from 10am.
Kappiness
Founders of Kappiness (from left) Sneha Padayan, Prabin PB and Jickson Punnoose
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It was over two years in the past that three associates, Prabin PB, Sneha Padayan and Jickson Punnoose, who’ve a background in social work, opened Kappiness, a one-of-its-kind mental health café and therapeutic centre. It is an initiative of NADI Foundation, an NGO began by Prabin in 2021. “NADI has been focussing on tribal education, mental health and community development. Kappiness was conceptualised as a space to provide online and offline support for mental health issues in an environment that is not a hospital or clinic. Those who walk in can interact with experts as if they are catching up with friends. That’s why we named it Kappiness, which combines kappi or coffee with happiness. The logo also blends these aspects,” says Prabin.
A session at Kappiness Mental Health Cafe and Therapeutic Centre at Vazhuthacaud
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Kappiness dwells on two facets – consciousness and service. “Among the awareness programmes is the monthly screening of movies that deal with mental disorders followed by discussions on it led by an expert. Then we have panel discussions or talk shows and therapeutic workshops involving dance, art, pottery etc. We also conduct mental health medical camps, especially in colleges, which include open mic, experience-sharing sessions, music, dance, psychological assessments, movie screening where they have to decode a character etc. At the end of the sessions we ask participants to recollect a traumatic experience, write it on a piece of paper and deposit in the trauma box so that they let go of that incident.”
Kappiness additionally has offline (on weekends) and on-line remedy classes led by certified medical doctors. “For the offline sessions, we have four curated spaces at Kappiness — sharing space, garden oasis, garden retreat and mud house and clients can choose the space they prefer. They can share their problems with experts over a cup of coffee,” he says. There is a music nook as nicely. “We have designed Kappiness in such a way that just being there should make the clients feel good,” he provides.
Kappiness will quickly open branches at Kazhakoottam and Kochi. Appointments are by reserving solely.
It is positioned close to Carmel School, Vazhuthacaud. Contact: 9656191761 (@kappi_ness)
Navem
Krishnendu BS, founding father of Navem
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Where dance meets wellness and mental health. That is how Krishnendu BS defines Navem, her initiative that makes use of Expressive Art Therapy, particularly Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), ‘for personal growth, emotional well-being and transformation’. Even although it has been seven years since she opened the house, it’s in the current years that extra individuals have come to know of it. The 31-year-old holds a diploma in DMT from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “I learnt classical dance till Class 10 and restarted it by learning kathak while pursuing my undergraduation. That was a turning point since it became an outlet for my pent up emotions and personal issues. It made me confident and resilient. When I did the DMT course, I also became comfortable in my body. I realised how beautiful it is to have a space where I can express my emotions without being judged by anyone. I wanted such a space in Thiruvananthapuram and that led to Navem,” she says.
A session at Navem
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Navem is coined from the letters in the Malayalam phrases nadi (river), veru (root) and maram (tree). “Through DMT, I realised how free it is to dance for yourself,” she says. Explaining the remedy, she says, “It is not just stress, abuse or trauma that affect our body; every emotion creates an impact. This psychotherapeutic approach is about connecting the mind and body through movements.”
Navem conducts workshops and coaching, largely for small teams, with individuals having related issues put in the identical group. “Some need help with anger management; some want to beat loneliness. The groups meet once a week and besides dance, they bond over art, drama, creative writing etc. It doesn’t matter whether you can dance, draw or write. This is a non-judgemental space.” She additionally holds lessons for larger teams outdoors of Navem and works with all age teams, with classes tailor-made for people and teams.
A Dance Movement Therapy session at Navem
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“We often get people referred by doctors for individual or group sessions.”
Navem is positioned close to CET, Sreekariyam. Contact: 7736064346 (@navem_dmt_kerala)
