Partnerships and collaborations: United Nations Population Fund, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Government of Gujarat, Government of Maharastra, Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, Dainik Bhaskar, nULTA Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd., Tata Starbucks, TRAINN Circle, Vishakha and others

Mental health facilities in India are still quite insufficient owing to the limited number of services being offered as well as, the inadequate number of trained and supervised professionals. TISS has always taken a lead in addressing the psychosocial needs of individuals across various groups and has adopted diverse strategies and solutions to address these needs. iCALL is one such step taken in the direction of mental health work.

iCALL - Initiating Concern for All is a pioneering and an empowering mental health project which  was started in 2012 by School of Human Ecology, TISS -  Mumbai. iCALL endeavours to provide professional and free counseling through technology assisted mediums such as, telephone, email and chat to anyone in need of emotional support, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation or race, and transcending geographical distances while ensuring confidentiality.

iCALL is primarily funded by Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) since April 2015. Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) is the leading funding body in the field of mental health in India. MHI aligns itself with a rights-based approach and aspires to create a holistic and universally accessible mental health ecosystem by funding mental health organizations that work on innovative, community- based interventions targeting the most marginalized. 

iCALL’s counseling services are run by professional, trained counsellors, from Monday to Saturday, 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. iCALL also has partnerships and collaborations with academic institutions, corporates, government and non-government bodies. Faculty from the School of Human Ecology are involved in an advisory capacity in the project, such as recruiting of counsellors, training, and monitoring and evaluation of service delivery.

iCALL's Objectives: 

• To provide information, emotional support and counselling interventions and connect individuals to knowledge and service resources with a special focus on marginalized communities
• To build capacities of helping professionals & stakeholders involved in mental health service provision
• To provide expertise, consultancy and services for development of helplines for other stakeholders and for other mental health services
• To carry out relevant research activities to: document iCALL’s interventions, practices and experience demonstrating its effectiveness, impact and facilitating its replication as a model, along with undertaking new research initiatives in the area of psycho-social distress and counseling
• To enhance awareness and increase sensitization about mental health by means of creating content and undertaking outreach activities
• To actively initiate partnerships and collaborations to promote wellbeing of communities and to develop effective psychosocial responses

When you reach out to us you can expect:

• Professional Counseling Services: All our counsellors are trained and certified to provide mental health services.
• Immediate Response: A reply to every email, chat, tweet or a Facebook message within 24-48 hours
• Complete Anonymity: You can keep your identity anonymous. 
• Patient Listening: You can speak for as long as you wish.
• Non-Judgemental: You can talk to us about any issue bothering or affecting your life without the fear of being judged or marginalized.
• Consistent Support: We will be there to support you till you feel empowered to deal with your situation or issue.

What else iCALL does:

• Allied activities with corporates, educational institutions, government agencies and NGOs. iCALL conducts periodic short activity based and long term customized training around mental health for these enterprises.
• Mental health outreach activities for institutions via conferences, events, posters, brochures and talks
• Creating awareness & sensitizing masses through written and visual content
• Employee assistance programs for corporates
• At iCALL, there is a special focus on the hitherto marginalized sections of our society such as women facing violence, children facing abuse, the LGBT community, socioeconomically backward groups and the user/survivors of mental illness.

Contact us:

Telephone: 9152987821 (Monday to Saturday, 10 AM to 8 PM)

Email:  icall@tiss.edu 

Chat Based Counseling: nULTA App

Website: http://icallhelpline.org/

Facebook:  iCALL Psychosocial Helpline

Twitter: @iCALLhelpline