In South Asia, nurses (who are predominantly female) are often best placed to provide direct mental health support to people and shape services so they are as effective as possible. But in the region, nurses, and especially psychiatric nurses, are greatly undervalued and sit at the bottom of a hierarchy of decision-making power that’s dominated by doctors (who are predominantly male).
To change this situation, we are providing mental health training to nurses and campaigning for decision makers to involve them in the shaping of services. We are also tackling the stigma and prejudice that often exists even in these healthcare settings, by improving knowledge and understanding about mental health support and therapies.
”Jaya Mental Health helped me understand the importance of offering person-centred care on the ward. Being a good listener and caring towards those we work with can really make a difference in their process of recovery”
Pratikshya Rai, Staff Nurse,
Psychiatric Inpatient Unit
Nursing Mentorship Project
We have developed a new, evidence-based mentorship framework for both newly registered and experienced nurses and successfully implemented this at Bhaktapur Hospital, Nepal. This initiative has played a key role in supporting nurses’ professional development, offering specialist training designed to strengthen nursing leadership capacity in Nepal.
This framework is significantly improving the experience of newly registered nurses at the hospital, whilst also supporting skill-sharing between junior and senior staff. As a result, it has helped cultivate a more confident, capable, and resilient nursing workforce.
To learn more about the outcomes and insights from the Nursing Mentorship Project, please see our full report:
Report
Encouraged by the success of this initiative and with strong endorsement from local nursing bodies, we are now expanding this mentorship model to other healthcare providers and nursing employers across Nepal and into other countries in South Asia. Our goal is to build a stronger, more connected, and empowered nursing community throughout the region.
My Safe Space “Aafnai Thau” -
A platform led by nurses, for nurses
According to the Nepalese Department of Health Services, Nepal desperately needs an additional 45,000 nurses. However, Nepalese nurses are poorly paid, work in rigid hierarchical healthcare services dominated by doctors, and burnout is common.
Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ‘My Safe Space’ project provides a platform for both qualified and student nurses to connect, get support, and to grow both personally and professionally. Nurses can access the first ever community-based information resource centre solely dedicated to the nursing profession in Nepal. They are also able to access one-to-one or group counselling therapy as well as workshops and training sessions focussing on mental health, confidence building and leadership.
”As nurses, our experience is not always recognised and appreciated by others. Jaya Mental Health has helped me realise that I am of value to myself and others.”
Rekha Karanjit, Staff Nurse
Some of our achivements
Trauma centre for trafficked and abused children, Kathmandu, Nepal
– we trained the centre’s staff to offer effective treatment which is non-confrontational, culturally, and age-appropriate and avoids over reliance on medication.
Dementia charity, Colombo, Sri Lanka
– we trained and supported staff to improve the services they offer to people living with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementias including counselling, a befriending scheme, memory screening, a helpline, and a support group for carers.
Rescue centre for the homeless, Kathmandu, Nepal
– we trained staff on violence prevention and how to prepare people for life after they leave the centre, many of whom struggle with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or severe depression.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
– we have delivered mental health awareness training to a range of hospital-based professionals – this included identifying mental illness, providing effective support, understanding the challenges of mental illness and the associated stigma and discrimination. As a result, patients who have mental health problems have their needs assessed and are provided with support that improves their quality of life.
Gokarneshwar training hospital
– We successfully trained a group of general and psychiatric nurses in Gokarneshwar training hospital , Nepal, helping them meet the mental health needs of their patients.
”Since working with Jaya Mental Health, the staff here feel much
more confident supporting those with severe mental health conditions.
We’ve also been able to significantly reduce the use of restraint which
has had a really positive affect on staff-patient relationships and
the recovery process.”
Sangita Laudari, Psychologist
Be part of our journey