DESTIGMATISING MENTAL HEALTH
A System Design Approach
Duration: 2 Weeks
Project Info: System Design Workshop
My Role: Design Research, System Mapping, Conducting Interviews, Conducting Card Sorting Activity, User Journey Map, Organisation Design.
Project Overview
The 2-week project was undertaken as a part of the workshop module System Design at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
The project aimed at understanding how the mental health system works. There are different levels of mental health conditions, among which mental distress in daily life is much common. Our objective was to identify one area of intervention and propose a solution for it.
Mental Health is equally important as Physical Health, yet there are stigmas and myths associated with it. People hesitate to talk about it and struggles to accept it when suffering. With an aim to destigmatize the problem and contribute towards the well-being of both ourselves and society, we tried to study the whole system and picked the adolescent group as our area of intervention. The project intends to identify coping mechanism among adolescents when facing mental distress and provide a probable solution for the same.
Project Timeline
Mapping the Mental Health System
Defining Boundaries
Primary
Research
Outcome
Analysis &
Insights
Secondary Research
Identifying Problem Statement
Week 2
Week 1
Systems Mapping
Mapped the mental health system and found positive and negative loops
Narrowed it to one particular problem area and expanded the loop further
Problem Statement
To overcome the barrier of unheard stories through care service for the urban adolescent age group.
Who?
Adolescents group is highly vulnerable to Mental Health condition. They are at the transitioning stage and go through major biological change.
Why?
They don’t have the right platform to share their mental distress experiences. Their stories are often unheard.
How?
To provide them with services where they can share their experiences with peers.
What?
A physical or digital platform where adolescents come together and speak about their mental health condition without being judged.
Secondary Research
Adolescence (10–19 years) is a unique and formative time
It is an age of transition
Multiple physical, emotional and social changes, including exposure to poverty, abuse, or violence, can make adolescents vulnerable
They explore their independence and develop a sense of self
They have Identity vs Role confusion according to the 5th stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychological development
They are at greater risk of mental health conditions due to their living conditions, stigma, discrimination or exclusion, or lack of access to quality support and services
At any given point in time, nearly 50 million Indian children suffer from mental disorders.
Primary Research
Interview with experts
Rebekah Athaide
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Master in Counseling Psychology
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5 years of experience in the Corporate field
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Currently part of Srishti’s Wellness Team
Govind Ganesh
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Master in Counseling Psychology
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Specialize in marriage & family Therapy
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Currently part of Srishti’s Wellness Team
Dr Vineeth E
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M.D. Psychiatrist (NIMHANS)
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Expert in CBT, family therapy, etc.
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Visiting doctor at People Tree Marga Hospital
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People in the age group 16-19 years deals with anxiety, confusion, their role in society on a daily basis.
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They constantly deal with peer pressure for better performance
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Social Media influence affects their true image
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Gaps between interpersonal relationships complicate the things
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Lack of awareness about emotional hygiene
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They deal with unfinished emotions and trauma
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Passive or over-aggressive behaviour is quite common
Insights
Interview with students
To understand the student perspective and empathise with their mental distress journey, we conducted a semi-structured, informal interview with them. We talked to 15 students who were currently in the 1st and 2nd year of their undergraduate courses at Srishti. As they are experiencing the major change from transitioning from school to college, settling in different cities and adjusting to the new environment. We intended to understand the main challenges and distress they faced during this shift and what were their coping methods.
After the analysis of interviews and data collected, we found common patterns in them which focused on what were the main triggering events, what is their emotional state at that particular time and how do they cope with these challenges and distress. To understand and make it more coherent and visible we converted them into the journey maps. This helps us in unfolding the data and plan our next interaction with experts and students.
Card Sorting activity
After interviewing the experts and students, we focus on the coping methods students generally opt for before considering external help. To understand it in more detail we used card sorting activity as a tool to find relations and order of different coping methods.
Analysis & Insights
After the card sorting activity, we analyse that during any kind of mental distress, people generally opt for an emotional release first like crying, sleeping, introspecting, journaling, etc. If they are not able to cope up after that they seek physical release in the form of dancing, gyming, exercising, talking with friends, or substance use. Going to the therapist or a counselor is the last option if the pain became unbearable. This interpretation gives rise to the Pipeline Model in which if people follow the action in line without going here and there then the chance of them recovering is easy and fast.
Pipeline Model
Outcome
After thoroughly understanding the insights and suggestions we got from the primary and secondary research, we aimed to make a notable impact on the system. We came up with a tangible solution which can help the adolescents group and where they can express their concerns and problem without any hesitation. Often a time people suffering from mental distress are reluctant to share the stories with others. But it becomes easy when the stories are shared in a proper atmosphere and with the people who have experienced/experiencing the same. Hence, we came up with the proposal of ASTHA.
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A community-based Mental well-being organisation will run by the students, for the students.
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It will be governed by the adolescents mostly comprise of urban school and college students.
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They would have various local affinity groups (AG) managed by the main committer where the students with similar experiences will volunteer.
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Student volunteers would be the main point in handling the local affinity groups and arranging different activities and events to spark the new dialogue/conversations or to keep the existing one continue.
This kind of independent group will help them to reach out to more people and will grow the community in itself. The local affinity groups will be under the guidance of the advisory committee, student committee and wellness team. The platform to connect with similar kind of people will bring confidence among the student and will motivate them to speak about their distress more openly and positively.
ASTHA - A Mental Well-being Organisation for Students
AG - Affinity Group
Team: Animesh Bondre & Mrunali Ogriwala