Prathama Raghavan, one of our MHTP – 7 participants is a Disability and Mental Health Practitioner consulting with children, young people, families, and schools for their well – being and working towards nurturing safe spaces for all ways of being.
In her article, she explains how consulting with children and young people on the Spectrum forced her to examine these ideas of ‘normal’ and taught her how to be an ally to the Autistic Community.
Jehanzeb Baldiwala and Raviraj Shetty from the Mental Health Team at Ummeed Child Development Center recently conducted a short term training on Narrative Ideas and Practices in Kolkata.
Here’s the five-day shift shared by Kolkata Group to describe their journey of exploring the first module of Narrative training in July 2018.
The 5-day Shift
Jittery, curious, excited were we
Before we met Jehanzeb and Ravi.
Landscapes, spaces, maps and stories,
Kept us wondering ‘what were these!?!’
Lost in translation, and sometimes in groups,
We landed up among the constellation of ‘new(s)’.
Cups of tea – black, white and sweet –
Picnic baskets, and homely treats.
Some from here, and some from there,
Together, we were everywhere.
Circular, classroom, and disarray
Chairs and minds moved in everyway!
Unfolding, piecing, bit by bit,
What we knew but weren’t doing it
Just like this…but in our own way…
Validated thankfully by R & J!
Identity, Action and Landscape
We’ve come to a place of no escape…
From wonderful ideas, metaphors and agency,
Stories shifting, new, and sparkly!
– Jyotika, Sweta, Asimayan, Mihika & Shaneel
Kolkata, July 2018
Narrative Dots
Work in progress gradually
Each of us is inevitably
Standing tall with possibility
Over landscapes of action and identity
Decentered yet influential
Always non judgmental
The problem we externalise
Images and words help us visualise
Mastering the art of Storying
Over the course of loitering
Know how, skill and action
Kolkatans live up to the artsy reputation
The Mental Health Team at Ummeed collaborated with community workers from Sahyog to understand mental health in their context through narrative practices. The first block of two days saw a rich exploration of ideas, practices in the community that may or may not support people’s mental health and the workers’ hopes for their communities.
Prateek Sharma covered stories that attempt at shifting perspectives on mental health by viewing it as much more than a pathological entity. Here is the final piece where he talks about narrative therapy, which blooms this outlook and opens up a progressive approach to care.
“The development of narrative therapy gained speed during the time when the feminist movement was influencing ideas of mental healthcare. Consequently, a lot of self- identifying feminist professionals use narrative approaches in their treatments. One of the most remarkable works featuring the use of narrative approaches was with the aboriginal communities in Australia, who have endured centuries of abuse, violence and suicide. A prolonged series of studies established that in the most horrific of situations, people still possess the resilience to survive, and can be helped if their ability to deal with the pain is identified.”
Greetings!
Inviting everyone to join us for our next Narrative Gathering “Kahaniyon Ka Shor”.
Shahid who is presently exploring narrative practices through the Community Mental Health Training program. Shahid along with his SHOR poets will transport us into blurring the boundaries between stories and poems.
Come and join in creation of a collective SHOR.
Date: August 11th Saturday
Time: 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue: Ummeed Training Facility
Zoom is available for those who cannot come in person.
Greetings!
Inviting everyone to join us for our next Narrative Gathering “Saath Saath – Narrative Ideas Ke Saath”
Rakesh Doshi and Sonali Jain are partners in work, life and with Narrative Ideas and Practices. They will share their journey with Narrative Ideas and Practices and their context of life and work.
Date: July 14th Saturday
Time: 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue: Ummeed Training Facility
Speaker Bio’s :
Sonali Jain : She is the Project Director of Ra Foundation, an NGO facilitating residential school education for children from vulnerable and underprivileged backgrounds. An MSW from Nirmala Niketan, she has completed the Community Mental Health Training Program from Ummeed in 2015-16.
Rakesh Doshi : He is a trainer with Ernst and Young Foundation (EYF), a CSR initiative of Ernst and Young. EYF offer scholarships to Xth standard students from Municipal and Government aided schools, who have scored 80%+ in their Xth exams and are from the weaker economic section of society. He has completed the Community Mental Helath Training Program from Ummeed in 2016-17.
The Mental Health Team at Ummeed alongwith the MHTP – 7 participants celebrated the Pride month engaging in a conversation to re-imagine a queertopian world. What would a world look like if seen from a lens of queerness?
People in the room wrote letters to a world they hope for which was facilitated by our participant Prathma and Raviraj.
Ummeed Child Development Center in collaboration with SETHU announces an introductory workshop in Narrative Ideas and Practices.
The 2-day workshop will be held in Goa on 24th and 25th August 2018.
For more details kindly refer to the flyer below.
The Mental Health Team at Ummeed is conducting a two-day Introductory Workshop on Narrative Ideas and Practices in Mumbai on the 6th and 7th of August 2018.
For more details, refer to the flyer.
