The “Best Practice Guidelines for Telepsychology during Disasters (COVID-19 Pandemic)” by Mythili Hazarika, Bornali Das, Shyamanta Das, and Dyuksha Hazarika (Acknowledgement: Suresh Bada Math and Cover: Simanta Talukdar and Varsha Avadhany) that is published by the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), is uploaded and available from the website of the National Health Mission, Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam.

1st May, 2020

Mythili Hazarika, the President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) acted as a speaker in a very fruitful webinar session on psychosocial care of children and adolescents for the NSS volunteers (n-285) of UNICEF, India. The entire northeast team had an interactive session and the honourable minister of education, sports and youth welfare Sikkim gave an excellent introduction.

Bornali Das, the Secretary of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), conducted a webinar on psycho-social impacts and strategies of COVID 19.

Mythili Hazarika, the President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) engaging in multiple COVID-19 centric activities in the period of lockdown from 24th March- 24th April 2020. From teaching the counsellors’s of GPRF in zoom on tele-psychological counselling, to associating with Assam police and starting tele-psychology with the people in need, training the healthcare professionals in different districts on mental health issues, to being resource person in the television channels, radio and news papers, to developing and publishing the best practice guidelines on tele-psychology counselling, to recording video modules and chat shows on guidelines, mental health topics in relation to COVID-19 and continuing my research work with Oxford, UK in zoom and getting trained by them in various domains of research, to developing four research studies on COVID 19 and starting them online and in person, to donating essential items to NGO’s from PHCT & SoMHiL, to recording sessions in 21 video modules on various topics of mental health to train the counsellors in tele-psychology for the people in quarantine, isolation and others.

The President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), Mythili Hazarika sharing on invitation the experience of tele-psychological counselling provided to 197 people over last ten days during this time of COVID-19 pandemic at Assam Police Headquarters, Ulubari, Guwahai in presence of Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, DGP; GP Singh, Additional DGP of law and order, and all the senior IPS officers of Assam Police. Bornali Das, the Secretary of SoMHil accompanies her along with the team of psychologists providing the care service comprising of Sandamita Choudhury, Jayashree Das, Chandamita Baruah, and Nivedita Sharma. An intriguing and insightful interaction follows. The project, ‘Proyax: mental health matters!’ is applauded and desire for permanent association is expressed.

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, chat show’s recording for telepsychology is going on of Bornali Das and Mythili Hazarika, the Secretary and President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) respectively as well as Shyamanta Das, the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®), hosted by Upasana Bhuyan, in addition to the online modules.

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, online modules’ recording for telepsychology is going on of Mythili Hazarika and Bornali Das, the President and Secretary of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) respectively as well as Shyamanta Das, the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®).

The President of the Society for Mental Health (SoMHiL), Mythili Hazarika is invited as resource person in a discussion of DY365 TV channel on mental health issues and state government’s initiatives in relation to COVID-19 pandemic. She highlights about mental health impact from womb to tomb.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-81-935934-4-8 is allotted to the “Best Practice Guidelines for Telepsychology during Disasters (COVID-19 Pandemic)” by Mythili Hazarika, Bornali Das, Shyamanta Das, Dyuksha Hazarika (Acknowledgement: Suresh Bada Math, Cover: Simanta Talukdar, Varsha Avadhany) and published by the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL).

Mythili Hazarika, the President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) is in Radio speaking on their initiatives in tele-psychological counselling across the people in need.