Innovation details
The NALAM project is built upon a wellness-oriented, multi-interventional approach to mental health, which moves beyond the traditional case-identification, treatment of symptoms approach to mental health problems, and instead tries to holistically address the social determinants which are related to these issues. The approach consists of a combination of social care with clinical care which includes:
Social care services
- Rights and welfare entitlement facilitation e.g. disability allowances, citizenship documents, land rights, pensions, loans
- Links to wider community resources e.g. leisure, recreation, social groups, health services and education
- Livelihood facilitation e.g.employment placements, referrals to training and skills development programs, interest-free loans for self-employment, livelihood aids such as tailoring machines, livestock, etc
Clinical care
- Screening and referral to services
- Supportive counseling (focusing on strengthening therapeutic alliance, building rapport, and peer support)
- Home based follow up and after care
- Brief group based mental health promotion interventions.
The project recruits, trains and incentives community level social mobilizes, referred to as NALAM mobilizers, who not only build relationships with community members who may have a mental illness, but also work with a larger group of the most marginalized in their communities to promote well-being.