A

PROJECT PROPOSAL
ON
MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS AND LAWS IN
INDIA

Submitted by:

Olivia Ghosh

19FLICHH010111
 PROJECT PROPOSAL

Synopsis:
I am interning with a non-profit organization The Artemis Foundation. It mainly deals with
promoting mental health care and treatment to the general public. As I’m in their legal
team, I am assigned to deal with various legal aspects and issues regarding mental health
treatment in the present time. My internship project mainly deals with mental health and
the legal aspects involves in it. During the course of my internship so far, I’ve dealt with and
came to know about various topics and acts related to mental health. Here is a brief
description of what my internship project actually deals with.
Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. The WHO constitution
states: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity." An important implication of this definition is that
mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities. Mental
health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a
contribution to his or her community. Mental health is fundamental to our collective and
individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and
enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be
regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world.
The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 (MHCA 2017), explicitly talks about the rights of patients
with mental illness (PWMI) and lays down the ethical and legal responsibilities of mental
health professionals and the government. The rights of PWMI are at par with the
fundamental rights of human beings and need to be clearly talked about as they belong to a
vulnerable group from evaluation, treatment, and research perspectives. Such rights
translate into the ethics of psychiatric care that relate to respect for autonomy; the principle
of non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice; confidentiality (and disclosure); boundary
violations; informed consent (and involuntary treatment); etc. I will discuss the ethical, legal,
and related issues pertaining to the manuscripts published in this issue of the journal.
In the context of national efforts to develop and implement mental health policy, it is vital
to not only protect and promote the mental well-being of its citizens, but also address the
needs of persons with defined mental disorders. Knowledge of what to do about the
escalating burden of mental disorders has improved substantially over the past decade.
There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating both the efficacy and cost-effectiveness
of key interventions for priority mental disorders in countries at different levels of economic
development. Examples of interventions that are cost-effective, feasible, and affordable
include:
• treatment of depression with psychological treatment and, for moderate to severe cases,
antidepressant medicines;
• treatment of psychosis with antipsychotic medicines and psychosocial support;
• taxation of alcoholic beverages and restriction of their availability and marketing.
A range of effective measures also exists for the prevention of suicide, prevention and
treatment of mental disorders in children, prevention and treatment of dementia, and
treatment of substance-use disorders. The mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP)
has produced evidence-based guidance for non-specialists to enable them to better identify
and manage a range of priority mental health conditions.
Therefore, my internship project mainly deals with different definitions of mental health,
the detailed study of Mental Healthcare Act (2017). We will also study about the legal
remedies available related to mental illness.

Goals of my project:
The main motto of writing this report regarding my internship programme about mental
health is:
a. To gain knowledge about mental health and to do a detailed study on the subject.
b. To learn about different kind of mental disorders and its consequences.
c. To learn about Mental Healthcare Act (2017)
d. To make sure whether the laws enacted are being implemented properly?
e. To learn about preventive measures to cure mental illness.

Proposed methodology:
This project report have been made from the different articles based on mental health act
and legalities involved.

Schedule:
The schedule of my internship is of 5 days a week. The timings are 10-6 p.m.
a. To decide the topic of the project.
b. To do a detailed research on it.
c. To obtain the facts regarding the assigned topic.
d. To interpret outcomes and draw interference from the research.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6436399/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-
response
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5282611/
https://www.apa.org/international/pi/2018/12/mental-health-rights