By Dimithri Wijesinghe
The Ohana Project is a community mental health initiative that looks at inequalities in accessing information about mental health as well as the availability of services to access, “leaving no one behind”.
We spoke to the team behind the project, a passionate collective of individuals brought together by a common purpose of making the conversation of advocating for health to be viewed as holistic and inclusive of physical, mental, and social wellbeing in a sensitive and encouraging nature.
The team is a combination of multidisciplinary professionals from diverse backgrounds including medicine, psychology, counselling, education, and public health, but connected on the commitment and passion for the common cause.
When we spoke to Nilushka Perera, a core team member and behavioural health researcher and educator who provided that the need for this initiative came about as a way of addressing the gap in community-level understanding of what mental health is, she said: “Mental health services are usually either extremely tailored for mental illness or a specific condition, but there isn’t anything about how it is part of your overall health and wellbeing.”
The manner in which the team hopes to address the variety of issues that exist and emerge in Sri Lanka comprises five categorised steps: Research and evaluation; building a mental health network; awareness, education, and advocacy; training and capacity building; and resource development.
Elaborating on the steps, a management psychologist and mental health advocate Iranjali Abeyratne said: “There is a lack of evidence-based practise in Sri Lanka. So we hope to incorporate research and evaluation into our work and have a monitoring and evaluating framework to make sure the impact is captured and measured accurately to build policy and practice.”
Notably, the project also hopes to focus on a disaster response element as one of their work streams, said counselling psychologist Nivendra Uduman. Further elaborating, he said: “Psychological first aid is something that we want to promote not just for health professionals, but also for anyone to learn in general. This is not only to be applied to major disasters, but even to day-to-day crises.”
The approach is holistic and elaborate, with thought being put into a variety of essential areas.
Reaching the masses
To tackle such issues, there is a need for a sustainable initiative consistent of a strong and coherent network of mental and allied health professionals, mental health advocates, and persons with lived experiences. Further, a better understanding of the mechanisms surrounding mental health/ill-health such as the importance of early identification and intervention is crucial. And given that Sri Lanka is a rapidly developing country, there is a pressing demand in managing and developing human resources.
In addition to facilitating all of the above, The Ohana Project further prioritises the accessibility and availability of information which is a crucial part of advocacy and dissemination of knowledge. While rather new, The Ohana Project has not been idle and they currently have multiple campaigns in the works.
. Ammai Mamai – maternal mental health campaign
Scheduled for late April 2019 to promote maternal mental health and to create more awareness on the issue.
. Rethink: Gender-Based Violence – an interactive workshop training programme
For frontline health professionals and administration around attitudes, perceptions, and first steps in addressing issues around gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.
For frontline health professionals on breaking bad news in a sensitive manner.
. Safe Spaces – a series of support groups
Tailored around general mental health issues and specific health struggles, the support groups will be multilingual and will be launched in May 2019.
. Reach Out – public workshops for awareness
Once in two months, there will be a workshop around a key mental health topic conducted for the public. The first workshop was conducted under the theme “Depression; nuts and bolts II” on 10 April 2019.
A community mental health initiative for the promotion and strengthening of mental health services in Sri Lanka.
Meet the team
Behavioural health researcher and educator Nilushka Perera
Nilushka currently works in maternal and child health impact research.She has experience in project management and conducting research in health, educational, and community settings in Sri Lanka and the UK. Her interests are in prenatal mental health, digital healthcare, and behavioural health in developing countries. At The Ohana Project, she leads and manages research, evaluation, operations, and resource development.
Counselling psychologist and educator Nivendra Uduman
Psychologist and mental health advocate Kartini Booso
Psychologist and theatre practitioner Chalana Wijesuriya
Management psychologist and mental health advocate Iranjali Abeyratne
Medical doctor and mental health advocate Cheroni Pullenayegam Vidanage
Cheroni is a medical doctor and mental health advocate skilled in clinical research, medicine, clinical psychology, and health psychology. She is passionate about addressing the need for mental health, which is often overseen in clinical/medical practice. At The Ohana Project, she leads the “Breaking Bad News” training and capacity building programme.
Mental health advocate and jewellery designer Sara Nazoor
Clinical psychologist and educator Shalindi Pandithakoralage
Shalindi is a clinical psychologist currently working in the field of adult and adolescent mental health. She has experience working in government and non-government clinical settings and psychosocial projects in Sri Lanka. Her main interests are in the areas of community mental health, caregiver mental health, and social equality. At The Ohana Project, she is involved in community outreach programmes where she leads the support group campaign “Safe Spaces”.
Counsellor and advocate Ardlay Mohammed
Ardlay is a counsellor and Shanthi Margam Youth Centre Assistant Centre Manager. She is a practicing counsellor since 2016 and is a trainer, mentor, and facilitator for several community-based mental health projects. She is also trained in first aid, CPR, and psychological first aid. At The Ohana Project, she is involved with workshops, advocacy, and awareness and capacity building.