Athma Hospitals and Research, a private psychiatric institute, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Srimad Andavan Arts and Science College to establish a ‘Mind Club’ to offer counseling to students on mental health.
The club is aimed at raising awareness about mental health issues and self-destructive behaviour such as substance abuse. “We will be training students to become advisers in personality development, so that young people can understand how to lead healthy lives, physically and mentally, from their own peers,” J. Karan Louis, community psychiatric counselor, Athma Hospitals, told The Hindu.
The closure of schools and college and shift to online classes had affected the mental health of many students, added Mr. Louis. “We have seen increased cases of smartphone addiction, because the devices have become mandatory for online education. Instead of using the smartphones for studying, many children have got addicted to non-stop gaming, online gambling and even pornography during lockdown," he said.
“We are keen on setting up the Mind Club programme in all colleges in Tiruchi district,” said K. Ramakrishnan, managing director and chief psychiatrist, Athma Hospitals.
Geetha Rajasekar, director, Athma Hospitals, Ammangi V. Balaji, secretary, and M.Pitchaimani, principal, Srimad Andavan College and other senior officials were present at the MoU signing ceremony.
