Investing in Collective Mental Health
Conversations, Important
About MHI
This diagram shows two intersecting circles. One circle is titled biomedical factors and the other circle is titled psychosocial factors. The area at their intersection is titled mental health. MHI understands mental health as an intersection of biomedical factors and psychosocial factors.
Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI)
is a funding agency for innovative mental health initiatives, with a particular focus on making mental health accessible to marginalized persons and communities.
MHI is concerned with:
Lived Experiences
This infographic helps to understand how MHI works. MHI dialogues and collaborates with National and International organisations and funders. We partner with service providers, researchers and activists by providing funding, direct aid and engaging in dialogue. Through our partners, we reach state and civil society, namely the government, institutions and communities. All of this builds public mental health and will be critical in helping us reach our goal of building a mental health ecosystem.
MHI's Focus
Advocacy & Rights
Intersectional
User-focused
This points to the importance of building mental health services that may be availed of easily by marginalized individuals and communities, and that take into account systemic oppressions based on caste, class, ability, age, region, gender, sexuality, religion.
Mental health becomes a fundamental human rights issue when we think about the necessity of informed consent, and also about the lack of general awareness with respect to options and rights. We need, then, to work towards — to be advocates for — reforms in law and policy in the area of mental health, from a human rights perspective.
Raising awareness around mental health necessitates that we see it in its psychosocial context rather than through a pathologizing lens. This involves questioning narrow definitions, seeing it instead as a spectrum ranging from well-being to common or severe mental health disorders. Such an accepting approach is sensitive and non-discriminatory towards realities arising from caste, class, ability, age, geographical location, religion, gender, sexuality, and other common axes of marginalisation, enabling us to embrace people with different mental health needs.
MHI works with partners to meet the mental health needs of individuals and communities through counseling and awareness initiatives. For a holistic and affirming ecosystem, legal and state institutions, educational and medical curricula, various public services, must all be nudged to play their roles as well. Also envisaged are a robust network of referrals between mental health providers, and linkages to other social services – thus ensuring a continuum of care, while also addressing the needs and challenges of carers.
An intersectional approach is based on an understanding of how systemic inequalities and structural barriers may, and often do, impact our mental health. Many studies have shown that marginalized communities are more susceptible to mental health stressors. We believe that mental health touches not only individuals, or families, but affects livelihoods and communities too, which must be taken into account when countering stigma, drafting policy, making services more accessible to all.
We work with the belief that individuals must have a say in their own mental health care, not just doctors – who often enforce a certain authoritative, and impersonal, recovery model.
Reached out to
1.4+ lakh people
75000+ people accessed counselling
50000+ people
took part in
Using a set of key ideas and beliefs to inform and prioritise our work, we were motivated to create a big picture of mental health, which moves away from narrow medical definitions, and signals a shift towards more inclusive, holistic, and empathetic practices.
Studying how entrepreneurship affects mental health
MHI Director Raj Mariwala talks to Forbes about mental health for business leaders and the next steps given the findi...
India's Richest 2019: How ceding control paid off for Marico's Harsh Mariwala
Harsh Mariwala talks to Forbes Asia on his ventures including his philanthropic initiative MHI
Mental health in India: Underserved and underfunded
Harsh and Raj Mariwala interview with IDR on taking a rights-based approach to funding mental health, the challenges ...
'Finances, fear of failure cause stress among entrepreneurs'
Rajvi Mariwala speaks to The Hindu about the findings of a mental health and mental well-being study jointly conducte...
Cash issues, fear of failure are main causes of stress
Harsh Mariwala speaks to Mumbai Mirror on the findings of study on the mental health and well-being of entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial Well-being - a study by ASCENT Foundation and Mariwala Health Initiative Launched at the ASCENT Conclave 2019
Highlights from MHI-ASCENT Foundation's collaborative study on the mental health and well-being of entrepreneurs.
The Mariwala Health Initiative
is dedicated to bringing together several mental health services to a wider audience, through funding, dialogue, advocacy and destigmatisation.
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