In the past decade or so, a key focus of the bulk of development programmes in India, both by the state and non-governmental organisations, has been the pursuance of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in areas of poverty reduction, livelihoods promotion, gender equality, education, healthcare, to name a few, and predominantly directed at the socially and economically disadvantaged communities. A rather striking gap however, is the virtual absence of psychosocial health in development activities. Similarly, while there are several community mental health organisations, their attention is not directed towards as much to sustainable development. Thus, the development and community mental health sectors have largely been working in silos, with relative isolation from each other. However, a few recent initiatives hold the promise of integration of psychosocial health in development within the framework of rights, inclusion, and participation—signposts essential for a responsible and resilient society. This chapter aims to illumine the vision and practices of a psychosocial disability-inclusive development model, designed by a Pune-based non-governmental organisation that has attempted to implement the model through capacity building of development organisations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in central India. The study employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders of six development organizations that had participated in the capacity building for inclusion of psychosocial health in development. The participants included 10 key informants who were chief representatives/functionaries of the development organizations based in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; two core members of the team in Pune that had conceptualized and designed the model, and provided training; and 33 members of the staff of the development organisations who had implemented the project. Key themes gleaned from the data, using the method of thematic analysis, included the facilitating factors for including psychosocial well-being in development activities; a two-pronged process of integration including customised individual interventions, and community-level interventions; and key challenges in implementation. Filling a critical gap, the disability-inclusive development model represents a shift away from the dominant bio-medical model to addressing psychosocial health needs within the larger framework of development.

Integrating Psychosocial Well-Being in Development: Insights from a Disability-Inclusive Development Model

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发表日期：

2025年

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U. Vindhya

摘要

In the past decade or so, a key focus of the bulk of development programmes in India, both by the state and non-governmental organisations, has been the pursuance of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in areas of poverty reduction, livelihoods promotion, gender equality, education, healthcare, to name a few, and predominantly directed at the socially and economically disadvantaged communities. A rather striking gap however, is the virtual absence of psychosocial health in development activities. Similarly, while there are several community mental health organisations, their attention is not directed towards as much to sustainable development. Thus, the development and community mental health sectors have largely been working in silos, with relative isolation from each other. However, a few recent initiatives hold the promise of integration of psychosocial health in development within the framework of rights, inclusion, and participation—signposts essential for a responsible and resilient society. This chapter aims to illumine the vision and practices of a psychosocial disability-inclusive development model, designed by a Pune-based non-governmental organisation that has attempted to implement the model through capacity building of development organisations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in central India. The study employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders of six development organizations that had participated in the capacity building for inclusion of psychosocial health in development. The participants included 10 key informants who were chief representatives/functionaries of the development organizations based in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; two core members of the team in Pune that had conceptualized and designed the model, and provided training; and 33 members of the staff of the development organisations who had implemented the project. Key themes gleaned from the data, using the method of thematic analysis, included the facilitating factors for including psychosocial well-being in development activities; a two-pronged process of integration including customised individual interventions, and community-level interventions; and key challenges in implementation. Filling a critical gap, the disability-inclusive development model represents a shift away from the dominant bio-medical model to addressing psychosocial health needs within the larger framework of development.