There are multiple toolkits on Mental Health available online but seldom do they refer to the intersectional needs of users of mental health services. While some toolkits focus on the capacity building of mental health service providers, others provide certain guidelines for the communities in need of mental health support.
Here is a collection of 25 toolkits on mental health, wellness, and self-care that cater to five themes (Disability, Gender, Race, Religion, and Migration). It is important to note that due to the lack of toolkits available on these themes in India, most of these toolkits have been produced by organisation/s and collectives working outside India.
On Disability
This particular guide provides advice to professionals who are/might be working with autistic trans youth and adults. The aim of this guide is to increase awareness of the large overlap between trans identities and autism.
The manual describes the specific skills and attributes required by mental health professionals for the provision of quality services to people with an intellectual disabilities.
Developed by Rising Flame, an Indian organisation, the manual intends to expand the understanding of mental health practitioners on disability experiences and ableism’s demands on disabled people’s lives, and its effects on their mental health.
Produced by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center the guide provides step-by-step guidelines on working with Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
5. The Autoimmune & Chronic Illness Toolkit
This guide includes journal templates, resource lists, guidance for appointments, tips on communication, and many more tools to support and empower persons with autoimmune & chronic illnesses.
On Gender
The review not just attempts to present a comprehensive examination of reproductive mental health but also provides important information for the mental health professionals to make their practice more understanding of reproductive mental health.
2. Trans and Gender Diverse Mental Health, Wellness and Suicide Prevention Toolkit.
SPECTRUM, Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space, developed this toolkit on trans mental wellness and suicide prevention in response to trans community needs and priorities, especially during a pandemic. It provides concrete tools and strategies to service providers working with trans and gender diverse people on inclusive care and trans suicide prevention.
3. The Women’s Mental Health Taskforce
Through this document, The Women’s Mental Health Taskforce wishes to underline core themes in women’s experiences of mental health and mental health services. It documents women’s lived experiences of mental illness and advocates for this understanding to be assimilated into organisations and their practices.
4. Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People
The purpose of the document is to assist psychologists in the provision of culturally competent, developmentally appropriate, and trans-affirmative psychological practice with TGNC people.
5. Protecting your mental health and well-being while speaking out
Assembly’s toolkit provides young women with information and resources to care for themselves while they advocate for each other.
On Migration
This document provides an approach and a toolkit to help those designing and conducting an assessment of mental health and psychosocial needs and resources in major humanitarian crises.
2. COVID 19 pandemic: Mental health challenges of internal migrant workers of India
The researcher has tried to draw attention to interrelated and interdependent predisposing and causative factors for the development of psychological ill-effects amongst internal migrant workers with the interventions needed to address it, from an occupational health perspective angle.
3. Refugee and asylum seeker patient health toolkit
Produced in Britain, the toolkit provides key legal, ethical, and practical considerations that mental health service providers need to take into account when treating a patient who is a refugee or asylum seeker, and signposts to other sources of support and information.
Produced in Canada, the toolkit is designed to provide a snapshot of essential information, tools, resources, and examples of promising practices that can be integrated into the scope of mental health service provision with the aim of building the capacity to better support the mental health unique needs of immigrants and refugees.
5. Teaching Refugees: Guidance working with refugee children struggling with stress and trauma
The document deals with stress and trauma-related behaviors in refugee children. It aims to help educators and other stakeholders understand how stress and trauma can affect the lives of refugee children and young people.
On Race
The Brother, You’re on My Mind toolkit provides materials needed to educate African American men and community members on depression and stress in the community.
2. FamilyCare, CommunityCare and SelfCare Tool Kit: Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma
The Tool Kit was developed by and for people of African ancestry to comfort and inspire the community members in these difficult times. It provides resources to help them take care of themselves and each other, and strengthen their sense of community for the journey ahead
Through the book, Rheeda Walker offers important insights about the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in a system steeped in racial bias.
The toolkit examines community-developed systems of support created to fill gaps within mainstream healthcare systems in the USA.
5. Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice
The document provides a brief examination of Racial Microaggression and discusses suggestions regarding education and training and research in helping professionals.
On Religion
The book acts as a guide for practitioners who need information on effective service delivery for Muslims, who already bypass significant cultural stigma and shame to access mental health services.
2. Islam and Mental Health: Beliefs, Research, and Applications
The authors bring together over 50 years of research that has examined how religious faith impacts the mental health of Muslims, including original research on well-being and happiness in Muslims that has not been reported elsewhere.
3. FAITH COMMUNITIES and the Well-Being of LGBT Youth
The resource throws light on the interaction of queer lives and faith.
4. Cultural Competency Toolkit
Produced by West London Mental Health Trust, the toolkit aims to assist both service providers and service users in their everyday work and experience with the lessons learned about varied communities.
5. Understanding the Needs of Hate Crime Victims
This publication aims to provide information and foster understanding among professionals of the specific needs of hate crime victims. It addresses the needs common to all or most victims of hate crime, both as a category of victims and as individuals.
