At a time when stigma and fear of judgement come in the way of seeking mental health care, Thiruvananthapuram has a host of spaces that offer support and guidance to navigate the situation.
The Orange Room
Sherin Noordheen (second from left) with her team at The Orange Room
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Sherin Noordheen had reasons enough to start Let’s Live, a youth mental health NGO, in 2018 – the suicide of her father and her battles with depression and a whole lot of personal issues. “Most people attempt suicide not because they want to die, it’s just because they don’t have the strength to live,” she believes. A year later, she opened The Orange Room, a “non-judgemental space” for young people to open up about mental health-related issues. But the pandemic forced the space to close down. However, on June 2 this year, The Orange Room was reopened with CSR support of Speridian Technologies.
“This is a space for people to unburden their problems before qualified professionals. We also have weekly mental health awareness programmes for the public,” says Sherin, a graduate from kanthari, the education and training institute in Thiruvananthapuram, and a former IT professional.
A breakout programme of The Orange Room is Unfiltered, a mental health awareness mini-series for colleges launched in July with the support of the District Administration. “Most colleges don’t want to discuss mental health because their priority is academics and exams. Thanks to the District Administration we could reach out to the campuses,” she says.
Sub-collector Alfred OV is the nodal officer of Unfiltered that has been rolled out in five colleges — Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, National College, LBS Institute of Technology for Women and MG College. It will be launched in five more colleges.
Unfiltered, which has two seasons, encourages students to have open conversations about mental health. Season 1 has four episodes of which one is for the teachers. Season 2 will be about trauma-related mental health care.
Mental health champions, students who have an aptitude for the cause, are selected from each college and are trained in life skills and mental health at The Orange Room. “They are made proficient enough to help others or they act as bridge between students and the solution provider,” she says.
Sherin notes while relationship issues top the list of problems they attend to, they also deal with cases involving substance abuse, unsupportive family, sexual orientation, online grooming, sexual extortion etc. The space is for those aged below 29. Those below 18 have to be accompanied by parent/guardian.
Orange Room is located near Nanthancode. Contact: 0471-4068177, 8078944613 (@the_orange_room_tvm). An inter-college Mental Health Champions Debate will be held on October 10 at Muffin Bakes, Pattom, from 10am.
Kappiness
Founders of Kappiness (from left) Sneha Padayan, Prabin PB and Jickson Punnoose
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It was over two years ago that three friends, Prabin PB, Sneha Padayan and Jickson Punnoose, who have a background in social work, opened Kappiness, a one-of-its-kind mental health café and therapeutic centre. It is an initiative of NADI Foundation, an NGO started by Prabin in 2021. “NADI has been focussing on tribal education, mental health and community development. Kappiness was conceptualised as a space to provide online and offline support for mental health issues in an environment that is not a hospital or clinic. Those who walk in can interact with experts as if they are catching up with friends. That’s why we named it Kappiness, which combines kappi or coffee with happiness. The logo also blends these aspects,” says Prabin.
A session at Kappiness Mental Health Cafe and Therapeutic Centre at Vazhuthacaud
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Kappiness dwells on two aspects – awareness and service. “Among the awareness programmes is the monthly screening of movies that deal with mental disorders followed by discussions on it led by an expert. Then we have panel discussions or talk shows and therapeutic workshops involving dance, art, pottery etc. We also conduct mental health medical camps, especially in colleges, which include open mic, experience-sharing sessions, music, dance, psychological assessments, movie screening where they have to decode a character etc. At the end of the sessions we ask participants to recollect a traumatic experience, write it on a piece of paper and deposit in the trauma box so that they let go of that incident.”
Kappiness also has offline (on weekends) and online therapy sessions led by qualified doctors. “For the offline sessions, we have four curated spaces at Kappiness — sharing space, garden oasis, garden retreat and mud house and clients can choose the space they prefer. They can share their problems with experts over a cup of coffee,” he says. There is a music corner as well. “We have designed Kappiness in such a way that just being there should make the clients feel good,” he adds.
Kappiness will soon open branches at Kazhakoottam and Kochi. Appointments are by booking only.
It is located near Carmel School, Vazhuthacaud. Contact: 9656191761 (@kappi_ness)
Navem
Krishnendu BS, founder of Navem
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Where dance meets wellness and mental health. That is how Krishnendu BS defines Navem, her initiative that uses Expressive Art Therapy, especially Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), ‘for personal growth, emotional well-being and transformation’. Even though it has been seven years since she opened the space, it is in the recent years that more people have come to know of it. The 31-year-old holds a diploma in DMT from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “I learnt classical dance till Class 10 and restarted it by learning kathak while pursuing my undergraduation. That was a turning point since it became an outlet for my pent up emotions and personal issues. It made me confident and resilient. When I did the DMT course, I also became comfortable in my body. I realised how beautiful it is to have a space where I can express my emotions without being judged by anyone. I wanted such a space in Thiruvananthapuram and that led to Navem,” she says.
A session at Navem
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Navem is coined from the letters in the Malayalam words nadi (river), veru (root) and maram (tree). “Through DMT, I realised how free it is to dance for yourself,” she says. Explaining the therapy, she says, “It is not just stress, abuse or trauma that affect our body; every emotion creates an impact. This psychotherapeutic approach is about connecting the mind and body through movements.”
Navem conducts workshops and training, mostly for small groups, with people having similar concerns put in the same group. “Some need help with anger management; some want to beat loneliness. The groups meet once a week and besides dance, they bond over art, drama, creative writing etc. It doesn’t matter whether you can dance, draw or write. This is a non-judgemental space.” She also holds classes for bigger groups outside of Navem and works with all age groups, with sessions tailored for individuals and groups.
A Dance Movement Therapy session at Navem
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“We often get people referred by doctors for individual or group sessions.”
Navem is located near CET, Sreekariyam. Contact: 7736064346 (@navem_dmt_kerala)