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Resources for Community Mental Health Practice

The resources presented here reflect SHIFA's belief that effective community-based mental health practice is built through learning with communities. Drawing on years of field experience, many of these resources have been co-created through participatory community consultation, field testing, and continuous input of professionals, experts, and partner organizations.
Designed specifically for our rural, low-resource communities of Western Uttar Pradesh with diverse literacy levels, these resources are practical, culturally relevant, and easy to use. From pictorial learning materials and training guides to research publications, they translate community experience into knowledge that can be applied, shared, and scaled.

Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Resources

An IEC toolkit built for the field, not the shelf!

Most of these resources are designed for community mental health volunteers (MHVs) who perform a task-shifting role and serve as the primary link for improving access to mental health care within their own families and communities. Developed through years of field implementation with continuous community collaboration, professional inputs, and experts' feedback, these materials simplify complex mental health concepts and support meaningful conversations during home visits, community meetings, and awareness programs.

The IEC collection includes brochures, flashcards, flipbooks, training aids, and other learning materials developed to promote mental health awareness, strengthen community capability, and support early identification, referral, and recovery.

Print · 15 Panels

Mental Health Brochure

A 15-leaflet brochure breaking down common and severe mental disorders into plain, community-friendly language.

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Field Guide

Identification & Referral Flip Book

A flip book used for screening and identifying mental illness cases directly in the field.

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- Not Available
Curriculum

Training Manual for Community Lay Leaders

A structured manual to train community volunteers and peer educators in mental health task-shifting role.

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- Not Available
Visual Aid

Pictorial Flash Cards

Sensitising communities on socio-relegious-cultural and environmental Determinants of mental health through imagery that needs no literacy to understand.

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- Not Available
Hand-out

Alcoholism & Addiction Awareness

A focused hand-out that opens community conversation on alcohol as an addiction, without stigma.

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- Not Available
Hand-out

Small group teaching material

Reading material that helps small groups in building knowledge around various topics of mental health.

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- Not Available
Guide

Psychosocial Counselling in Community Settings

Guidance material on delivering psychosocial counselling directly within community settings, outside the clinic.

View Hindi PDF
- Under construction
View English PDF
- Under construction
Toolkit

Comprehensive Mental health care Plan Toolkit

A structured toolkit supporting mental health screening, psychosocial care planning follow-up, risk assessment, and recovery-orientated community case management.

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- Under construction
Evidence Card

Community vs. Biological Model

Lays out the hard facts on why a community-based model of mental health care outperforms a purely biological one here.

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Rights & Entitlements

Resource Diary for PWDs

A working diary documenting the rights, schemes and entitlements available to Persons with Disabilities.

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- Not Available
Screening Tool

High-Risk Group Screening Tool

A field tool used to enlist people under High Risk Groups for disposition and referral of mental illness.

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Reading Material

Basic Facts of Mental Health

Foundational reading material that builds public understanding of mental health, first step to mental health - no-one leave behind!

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- Not Available
Audio · Social Media

Mental Health Audio Clips

Short, shareable audio clips produced to promote and prevent mental health issues across social media platforms.

Audio 1 Audio 2 Audio 3
Video · Mental Health

SHIFA Community Mental Health Model | Bringing Care to Rural Communities

A dedicated mental health awareness video resource for community learning and engagement.

Stakeholder Series

Informative Hand Booklets for Community Stakeholders

Prepared for ASHAs, Religious Leaders, Panchayati Raj Institution members, and School Teachers — equipping each group with the knowledge to promote mental health from their own position in the community.

Frontline Worker

ASHA Worker Handbook

View PDF
Faith Leader

Religious Leader Handbook

view PDF
Local Governance

PRI Member Handbook

view PDF
School & Madrasa

Teacher Handbook

view PDF
Practice Manual

Co-created with communities

Every practice resource has been co-created and refined through the experience of disabled People's Organisation, Person with Lived Experience, Caregivers groups, community volunteers and key stakeholders ensuring practical, culturally relevant and accessible learning for low-resource settings.

Jeevan Sanchar: Emotional Resilience Practice manual

School Mental Health Intervention

A facilitator-friendly manual equipping Youths of Higher Secondary Grade and above to build resilience, explore character strength, manage emotions, strengthen relationships, and navigate life's challenges with confidence and purpose.

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Practice Guide

Caregiver Support Group

A practical guide for establishing caregiver support groups that foster mutual learning, emotional support, and collective problem-solving.

View Hindi PDF
Faciliated Guide

Persons with Disabilities Group

A practical guide for forming disability support groups that promote participation, collective action, problem-solving, and community inclusion.

View Hindi PDF
Evidence Base

Research, Reviews & Studies

SHIFA's ground-level work also feeds into wider regional research on community mental health and disability inclusion.

Library shelves representing research and review documentation
MULTI-COUNTRY REVIEW

Strengthening Community Mental Health in Low & Middle-Income Countries

A review of best practices drawn from secondary data across three partner projects — SHIFA (India), CMI (Nepal), and IAM (Afghanistan) — examining what makes community mental health models work in resource-constrained settings.

Conducted by Tear Australia Partnership
People in discussion representing qualitative research and photovoice study
Photovoice Study

Barriers & Enablers to Social Inclusion

A qualitative Action Research study exploring social inclusion for people with lived experience of psychosocial disability in India and Nepal, using photovoice methodology to centre participants' own perspectives.

University of Melbourne · EHA · CMI-Nepal
HANDOUT

Inter-State MH learning-sharing and Dissemination workshop

PROMOTE-SUPPORT-PARTICIPATE
Dated: 14th & 15th Oct, 2025

Want a SHIFA resource for my own outreach work?

We welcome individuals, community organizations, practitioners, academic institutions, and government agencies who are interested in strengthening community-based mental health practice. If you would like to access our resources, request permission for reproduction or adaptation, or explore opportunities for learning and collaboration, we invite you to connect with us through the Contact page.


Unless otherwise stated, SHIFA's resources are intended for learning, educational, and other non-commercial purposes. Reproduction, adaptation, or wider distribution may require prior written permission from SHIFA.

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