Latest news with #MSChellamuthuTrustandResearchFoundation
Time of India
26-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
‘Madurai's happy schooling a model for other states'
Madurai: Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are looking towards Madurai's Happy Schooling initiative as a model for their schools, said Dr C Ramasubramanian, founder of MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCT and RF) here on Saturday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He was addressing a training session on conversational intelligence (CI), which focuses on building trust with students through day-to-day conversations. It was held for 24 school headmasters on Saturday, under the Happy Schooling project, a collaborative initiative by Madurai corporation, MSCT and RF, and HCL Foundation. "There is an outbreak of psychological problems in society," he said, attributing much of it to post-pandemic isolation and reduced interpersonal conversations due to increased screen time. He pointed to the rising suicide rates and instances of drug abuse among children as symptoms of a crisis. The initiative seeks to tackle this by training 150 teachers and school heads on CI, equipping them better to identify and support students facing mental stress. "It is more the teacher's responsibility than the parents to notice if a child is struggling," Dr Ramasubramanian added. He emphasised the need to go beyond intelligent quotient and emotional quotient and focus on social intelligence and CI. The one-year project, with a budget of ₹50 lakh, aims to reach 11,649 students across 24 schools. It includes awareness sessions for parents on positive parenting and a wellness curriculum for students. "Currently, there is one school counsellor for every 3,000 students," said Dr G Gurubharathy, project consultant. "We plan to offer diploma courses to interested teachers and train them as qualified counsellors," he said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "All psychological problems are treatable, curable, and preventable, provided it is identified early," Dr Ramasubramanian stressed. However, due to stigma, families often turn to religious places before seeking medical help. "Once the problem is identified, counselling must begin at the earliest," he said. Calling it one of the most satisfying initiatives he was part of, Dr Ramasubramanian said Happy Schooling in Madurai is among the few running successfully in the country.
The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Volunteers wanted for Speak2us mental health helpline initiative
MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation has called for volunteers for its Speak2us helpline initiative which was a dedicated mental health helpline. According to a press release, Speak2us mental health helpline Project Director S. Selvamani said that the trust was founded in 1992 by Senior Consultant Psychiatrist C. Ramasubramanian. As part of its mental health initiatives, the trust in a joint initiative with HCL Foundation established Speak2us to support people in distress and provide safe and supportive psychological first-aid services for people who were in distress. The helpline fully managed by dedicated and trained volunteers was in the process of identifying suitable dedicated volunteers to enhance the quality of the services. Interested persons could apply. The minimum qualification was a Bachelor's Degree. Those who are fluent in Tamil and have strong empathy skills for handling the phone calls can apply. The deadline for receiving the applications was May 31. For more information, interested persons can contact 73050 33372, the press release said.
