George Institute hosts discussion on life skills for teen mental health

A symposium in Hyderabad highlighted the need for community-based mental health interventions for adolescents in urban slums. Experts emphasised life skills education and programmes like ANUMATI 2.0 to build resilience and address gaps in school-based support systems.

Hyderabad: The George Institute for Global Health India recently hosted “Addressing Adolescent Mental Health Using Life Skills Education: ANUMATI – An intervention in urban slums in India”, a policy symposium in Hyderabad.

The symposium brought together government representatives, non-governmental organisations and voices from the community, including parents, adolescents, and school principals, to discuss scalable, community-driven approaches to strengthen adolescent mental health in urban slums in India.

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Focus was on the role of life skills education in building resilience among adolescents living in urban slums, who face growing pressures from daily life stressors faced by adolescents, family dynamics, lack of parent and child communication and challenging socio-economic environments.

The George Institute for Global Health India research director Prof Pallab Maulik, said, “It is critical to roll out interventions like ANUMTI 2.0 in community-based settings, especially in urban slums, as many adolescents are missed by school-based programmes”.