http://www.indiamentalhealthalliance.org/

India Mental Health Alliance - IMHA, Mumbai (2026)

30/03/2026

We are grateful to still be carrying the energy from our first Alliance meet and greet lunch hosted at a member organisation- 's community centre in Mumbai last week.

With nearly 50 attendees from the mumbai region, it was a room full of intent, openness, and a real desire to connect. There was something powerful in how easily conversations flowed, how generously people shared, and how quickly it felt like the start of building something together.

What stayed with us from the event:

*Each ones individual sharing about areas of work & impact, as well as aspirations from the alliance
* Collectively identifying areas of priority when it comes to the support alliance member organisations need the most
* ⁠When we asked how many people were meeting each other for the first time, almost every hand went up
* The connections carried beyond the room, with conversations, photos, and exchanges continuing on the WhatsApp group

It did not feel like a formal gathering, but like the beginning of a collective space and experience; co-created with a shared understanding, that being part of a collective offers the safety, support and scaffolding needed to build a lasting mental health ecosystem.

This is just the start, look out for our next regional meet and greet announcement. If you are not already a member organisation we invite you to consider joining. Visit our website for more details!

21/03/2026

Collective care, shared humanity, and the belief that wellbeing is something we build together — this is what the spirit of Eid reminds us of.

As communities come together across distances, differences, and lived experiences, we are reminded that care does not exist in isolation. It is shaped by connection, strengthened through empathy, and sustained when we show up for one another.

Eid Mubarak from all of us at IMHA!

02/03/2026

It was incredible to see clinicians, academics, researchers, lived-experience advocates, and community-based organisations from across the world come together to discuss the urgent and rising challenge of su***de and suicidality.

With India now accounting for the highest number of su***des globally, and su***de becoming the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 worldwide, the need for coordinated , effective and equitable approaches was emphasised by everyone. Each year, over 1 million young people reach out to crisis and child helplines—an indicator of both need and unmet support.

Key themes highlighted during the discussions included:

• The growing scale and complexity of su***de among adolescents and young adults despite measures taken in the last two decades.
• The urgent need for community-anchored, preventive and widespread approaches that go far beyond mental health practitioners.
•Strengthening capacity for frontline workers and mental health systems alongside MHP’s.
• Centring lived and caregiver experience in program and policy design
• Risk factors for su***de emphasized by Prof. Keith Hawton (University of Oxford): alcohol use, gambling, domestic violence and abuse, loneliness and isolation, and su***de bereavement
which are beyond mental illnesses.

It was a privilege for Neha Kirpal, Co-Founder, IMHA, and Dr. Kavita Arora, Founding Cohort, IMHA, to listen to the discussions and also engage in deep conversations with many of the speakers on shaping capacity-building programmes at IMHA.

A heartfelt thank you to Dr Soumitra Pathare, Dr Prabha Chandra, Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Dr Vikram Patel, Gregory Armstrong, Dr Vikas Arya, Dr. Helen Herrman, Dr. Thara, Dr Lakshmi as well as colleagues from Sneha, for your generous insights and spirit of collaboration.

Here’s to continuing conversations that centre compassion, evidence, and lived experience at the heart of su***de-prevention , intervention and postvention efforts in India.

11/02/2026

We’re delighted to share that India Mental Health Alliance's Founding Trustee, Vasvi Bharat Ram, will be speaking at two key national and global forums this month, contributing a much-needed mental health perspective to broader conversations on education, philanthropy, and social change.

On 14–15 February, she will join the Harvard India Conference for a session on Reimagining Learning in the Indian Classroom, bringing a mental health lens into conversations on technology, learning outcomes, and the future of India’s education ecosystem.

On 18 February, she will speak at The Philanthropist Roundtable, a closed-door convening co-hosted with the MacArthur Foundation on The Next Decade of Indian Philanthropy: Capital, Collaboration, and Social Justice, highlighting why mental health must be embedded into broader developmental agendas.

Across these platforms, Vasvi emphasises a crucial idea: mental health is cross-sectoral, influencing—and influenced by—every system we build for India’s future.

07/02/2026

This month, the India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA) was featured in India Today’s special Republic Day edition, marking 77 years of India. In this thoughtful piece, Vasvi Bharat Ram highlights the urgent need for sustained funding in mental health, the long-term ecosystem building it can enable, and IMHA’s vision for shaping the future of mental health in India.

Here’s a deeper look at the feature — read more.

27/01/2026

Last chance to sign up our learning session with Dr. Shekhar Saxena (Former Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health & IMHA Steering Member)! Learn how to move beyond theory and embed mental health into the DNA of your organization’s existing projects.

Participants will gain insights on:

• Mental Health Essentials: Acquiring a baseline understanding tailored for non-specialist, cross-sectoral teams.

• Seamless Integration: Methods to layer mental health wellbeing into the existing framework of your organization's current projects.

• Diverse Field Applications: Case studies across various domains, including education, youth-led development, and violence prevention work.

Session Details:

📅 Date: 28 January 2026

🕒 Time: 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM

👥 Eligibility: This is a closed-door event exclusively for Alliance Members.

Secure your spot: link in bio!

21/01/2026

🌟 Virtual Learning Session with Dr. Shekhar Saxena: Register Now!

Register today for a specialised learning session on creating systemic impact across communities. This session on 28th January focuses on the practical aspects of embedding mental health within diverse, cross-sectoral initiatives.

This discussion will be anchored by Dr. Shekhar Saxena, a world-renowned figure in global health systems. Dr. Saxena currently serves as the Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is a Steering Member of IMHA.

Participants will gain insights on:
• Mental Health Essentials: Acquiring a baseline understanding tailored for non-specialist, cross-sectoral teams.
• Seamless Integration: Methods to layer mental health wellbeing into the existing framework of your organization's current projects.
• Diverse Field Applications: Case studies across various domains, including education, youth-led development, and violence prevention work.

Session Details:
📅 Date: 28 January 2026
🕒 Time: 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
👥 Eligibility: This is a closed-door event exclusively for Alliance Members.

Secure your spot now! Link in Bio.

MentalHealthIndia DrShekharSaxena

21/01/2026

🌟 Virtual Learning Session with Dr. Shekhar Saxena: Register Now!

Register today for a specialised learning session on creating systemic impact across communities. This session on 28th January focuses on the practical aspects of embedding mental health within diverse, cross-sectoral initiatives.

This discussion will be anchored by Dr. Shekhar Saxena, a world-renowned figure in global health systems. Dr. Saxena currently serves as the Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is a Steering Member of IMHA.

Participants will gain insights on:
• Mental Health Essentials: Acquiring a baseline understanding tailored for non-specialist, cross-sectoral teams.
• Seamless Integration: Methods to layer mental health wellbeing into the existing framework of your organization's current projects.
• Diverse Field Applications: Case studies across various domains, including education, youth-led development, and violence prevention work.

Session Details:
📅 Date: 28 January 2026
🕒 Time: 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
👥 Eligibility: This is a closed-door event exclusively for Alliance Members.

Secure your spot today! Link in Bio.

MentalHealthIndia DrShekharSaxena

15/01/2026

It is encouraging to see lived experience being centred as expertise in mainstream cultural spaces. At both the Jaipur Literature Festival and The Hindu Lit for Life, conversations on mental health are foregrounding vulnerability, care, and how personal journeys can inform systems of healing.

Lived experience expertise is central to IMHA's approach and work. Our Founding Cohort Member Neha Kirpal will be part of these panel discussions, contributing to this growing shift in how mental health is understood and spoken about.

12/01/2026

Dialogues around mental health systems cannot be one-off—they must be sustained, responsive, and led by the ecosystem itself.

The response to our recent sessions for Alliance members and practitioners affirmed this clearly. Listening closely to our community, the nest set of conversations are curated to to address some key questions emerging from our members.

We begin this month with a closed-door session for Alliance members led by Dr. Shekhar Saxena (Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health, Harvard; T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Steering Member IMHA), followed by a conversation hosted by Alliance member PATH in February.

These are not isolated sessions—they are part of an ongoing commitment to strengthening mental health work, together.

More details coming soon.

MentalHealthIndia CollectiveImpact EcosystemBuilding

14/08/2025

We continued The Being and The Doing – Series 3 with our third session, exploring what connection and breaking through with difficult to reach adolescents can look like.

Discussions during the session revolved around navigating confrontation, managing confidentiality, and responding to feelings of betrayal when there may be ruptures. Participants reflected on the gradual process of establishing rapport, the importance of involving and working with parents, and the unique role school counsellors can play in supporting young people through their challenges.

This programme is presented in partnership with .health and

Register for the upcoming sessions in the series – link in bio.

Join us to deepen your therapeutic presence, reflect on your practice, and engage with the nuances of being and doing in the therapy room.

| | Amit Sen | .arora.insta | | | .kirpal | | .typsy | Shalini Gupta | Manisha Dhawan | | .dua

31/07/2025

We opened The Being and The Doing – Series 3 yesterday with our first session: “Maybe If I Fix It: Exploring Narcissistic Abuse”, featuring Ipsita Chatterjee, founder of Thehraav: Unwind Your Mind.

Presented in partnership with Amaha and Children First, the session marked a powerful start to the series—bringing together mental health professionals to witness trauma-informed care in action.

Through a recorded therapy role-play, participants explored the layered experiences of a client navigating narcissistic abuse, marked by idealisation, fear, self-blame, and the cycle of over-functioning in hopes of repair.

The session invited deep reflection on how a person’s context shapes their experience, especially in relation to narcissistic abuse. Participants engaged with ways to resource clients—particularly through building and exploring social support systems. The conversation also unpacked power dynamics between therapist and client, and how narcissistic abuse can uniquely manifest in the context of Indian families.

Register here for our upcoming sessions in the series: https://rzp.io/rzp/Pq87wess

Join us to deepen your therapeutic presence, reflect on your practice, and engage with the nuances of being and doing in the therapy room.

Vasvi Bharat Ram| Ashish Bharat Ram | Amit Sen | Dr Kavita Arora | Amit Malik| Dr Shelja Sen | Neha Kirpal| Amitav Virmani | Kairavi Bharat Ram| Shalini Gupta | Manisha Dhawan | Karan Malik | Bakul Dua

India Mental Health Alliance - IMHA

30/03/2026

21/03/2026

02/03/2026

11/02/2026

07/02/2026

27/01/2026

21/01/2026

21/01/2026

15/01/2026

12/01/2026

14/08/2025

31/07/2025

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