iCALL’s ReYou is a chat-based initiative for youth suicide prevention by iCALL with support from Zoom Cares. The broad objective of this initiative is to create a safe, effective, accessible, and affordable service delivery response for addressing youth mental health concerns with a focus on crisis concerns such as suicide and self-harm. Through a web-based chat line, the service aims to provide immediate psychosocial and therapeutic support to youth who might be in a crisis or a situation where their safety is threatened or experience overwhelming emotions.
In recent years considering the psychosocial context, there has been an increasing acknowledgment of the importance of accessing mental health support for our well-being. One’s youth is especially considered one of the most important phases of life for mental health because the majority of mental disorders start in childhood or adolescence and many of them have a chronic or recurring history (Kessler et al., 2007). Data shows that at least 20% of young people are likely to experience some form of mental illness such as depression, mood disturbances, substance abuse, suicidal behaviors, eating disorders, and others (WHO, 2011). In India, suicide is one of the leading causes of death among the youth, as also reported in Accidental Deaths & Suicides (NCRB, 2021).
Against this backdrop of rising youth mental health concerns, especially crisis concerns about suicide and self-harm, and a large mental health treatment gap in India, iCALL proposed to develop a technology-assisted intervention for addressing youth suicide and self-harm, in collaboration with Zoom Cares. The initiative resulted in the creation of an evidence-based chat service (further integrated into iCALL’s services) and user-friendly mental health content. This synchronous chat-based service is run by qualified counsellors who are trained to handle situations of crisis and provide the immediate care that is needed to de-escalate the crisis, creating an environment of calm, safety, and empathy. The service can be availed free of cost between Monday and Friday from 9 am to 9 pm. The young individuals can be connected to the chat line when in distress and our counsellors will work with them to develop an action plan and achieve a calmer, more manageable state of mind. In addition, the counsellors will provide adequate referrals whenever required to services such as NGOs, one-stop crisis centres, support groups, etc. (based on the national crowdsourced list of services and mental health professionals compiled by iCALL) in their regional area. The counsellors would also encourage the young individual to follow up with any of the services (phone, email, or chat) in case of further distress.
Objectives of the Chat-line:
- To provide therapeutic and psychosocial support for youth mental health concerns, especially issues of suicide and self-harm through chat-based synchronous service;
- To provide accessible, affordable, and good quality technology-assisted service for youth mental health;
- To provide immediate care to youth in situations of crisis.
About the Partners:
iCALL, TISS: iCALL is a field action project initiated by the School of Human Ecology, TISS, and is a national-level technology-assisted helpline service. iCALL provides counselling, support, information, and referral to individuals in emotional and psychological distress over the telephone, email, and chat. The service currently runs six days a week, from Monday to Saturday, from 10 AM to 8 PM. Apart from service provision, iCALL engages in various research, capacity-building, and outreach efforts independently and in partnership with State Governments and NGOs across the country.
Zoom Cares: Zoom Cares is a social arm of Zoom, launched in 2020 to solve humanity’s biggest challenges by deploying funding, technology, and technical expertise to help solve educational and social inequities and climate change.
References:
Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI). National Crime Records Bureau. (2021). Retrieved from, https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/ADSI-2021/adsi2021_Chapter-2-Suicides.pdf
Kessler, R. C., Amminger, G. P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Lee, S., & Ustun, T. B. (2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: A review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20(4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0b013e32816ebc8c
Young people: health risks and solutions. Fact sheet no. 345. World Health Organization (2011). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs345/en/index.html
is a psychological helpline that aims to provide high quality telephone counselling and internet based support services which will significantly improve mental health and the well being of individuals as well as the community.
