The World Health Organization defines mental health as ” a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.” While a global understanding of mental health emphasises resilient and stress-free life as integral to human well being, it is also notable that according to the report of World Mental Health Today, suicide remains a devastating outcome, claiming an estimated 727 000 lives in 2021 alone. Recent years have seen a significant rise in humanities-led research, aiming to foster global health. However, first-hand information gathered during a recent interview with 30 teenage kids on the ‘general perception of a healthy body’ revealed that adolescent understanding of health pertains to having ‘fit, slim and productive’ bodies, completely excluding considerations of mental health. Interventions against this crucial issue comes only at the point of acknowledging  the fact that health humanities still exist in its nascent stages in India, probably meeting only the requirements of a biomedical industry. Existing narratives on illness prove the relevance of comprehending the subtle everyday coping strategies of ill people, preventive health care measures and adopting the language of the public as equally significant to ensure a democratized healthcare. To use Paul Frier’s term ‘critical consciousness’, deconstructing these existing conceptions of health reveals the need to critically analyse and understand the social, political, and economic forces that shape one’s life and society. As cultural attitudes influence policy concerns, the lack of an established Centre for Health Humanities in the country that addresses the shifting societal attitudes, ethical dilemmas and cultural taboos proves to be a stumbling block for a sustainable health.

As the ‘grandiose biomedical discourses’ of medicine in medical curricula overlooks the personal in favour of factual, integrating the emotional, the everyday and the personal to understand health and how health and illness circulates among bodies is of paramount significance to overcome the ‘crisis of care’. It is at this crossroads that a Centre for Health Humanities depoliticises illness by bringing together emerging conversations around health, body, and illness to meet the contours of empathy, equity, human dignity and emotional well-being.

Rationale

The proposed Centre for Health Humanities (CHH) aims to bridge the gap between the sciences and the humanities by exploring how art, literature, philosophy, and ethics can enhance healthcare and wellbeing. As one of India’s oldest and most respected liberal arts institutions, CMS College is well placed to pioneer this transdisciplinary initiative in Kerala.

Vision

With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research, the Centre for Health Humanities seeks to foster multiple knowledge systems and create an inclusive space to explore the complex intersections of health, illness, bodies, citizenship, and belonging through the lens of the humanities. Through this collaboration, the Centre envisions a future of medical care and education grounded in empathy, compassion, ethical reflection, effective communication, human dignity, and the co-production of care.

Objectives

• To promote teaching and research in Health Humanities, fostering narrative-informed care through holistic interventions that integrate emotionally resilient language and compassionate communication.
• To conduct workshops and training programmes in empathy, communication, and ethics for healthcare professionals and allied disciplines.
• To organise seminars, exhibitions, and film screenings that examine the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of illness, healing, and care.
• To create safe and inclusive spaces for dialogue on mental health, encouraging open conversations on everyday emotional challenges and mental health concerns, particularly among youth.
• To develop a resource centre comprising texts, artworks, and narratives that explore the intersections of health, illness, and humanity.

Expected Outcomes

Apart from the existing public forums, AETCOM courses in medical education and a few elective courses in literature, the State lack an established Centre for Health Humanities that promotes active discussions integrating health humanities as a separate entity. As an established institution known for its long-standing reputation, CMS College Kottayam is the most appropriate avenue to introduce the interdisciplinary approaches and innovative curricula associated with health humanities. The advancement of the Centre across academic and social dimensions through the reputed avenue of the College also helps to foster collaborations and to secure sponsored projects and research grants. Additionally, its public standing along with the Centre’s establishment strengthens the institution’s role in community development and in developing novel and innovative pedagogical models for Health Humanities in future. Subsequently this proves to be substantial in ensuring sustained growth along with better well-being in a rapidly competitive educational landscape that often compromises mental health. In short, the expected outcomes include, but not limited to:

• Establish CMS College as a regional leader in Health Humanities.
• Strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration between humanities and medical sciences.
• Enhance empathy, communication, and ethical awareness among staff and students.

The Centre for Health Humanities will reaffirm CMS College’s vision of education rooted in truth, compassion, and social responsibility, while preparing future professionals to see healing as both a science and a human art.

Relevance of establishing a Centre for Health Humanities(CHH) in the Academic Institution and at the University Level

Institutionalising health humanities within the framework of literature primarily addresses the frequently asked question concerning how literature relates to medicine in ways by promoting interdisciplinary initiatives and activities that legitimise issues concerning mental health. The elevating number of suicides and mental health issues among youth and the failure of educational institutions in properly identifying and addressing the emerging anxiety and violence among students pinpoints the existing stigma surrounding mental health problems. The ongoing lack of active, everyday discussions associated with mental health distress conceals the diverse ways of knowing an illness or a mental health issue. The failure to identify the diverse ways of knowing creates a kind of cognitive injustice. Subsequently, the lack of awareness resulting from overlooking the creation of an everyday language system for expressing mental health issues reproduces stigmatising medical terminologies while simultaneously causing a hermeneutical death of the lived experiences of the ordinary youth. It is at this crucial point that the establishment of a Health Humanities Centre proves to be relevant for both the students, teachers and the non-teaching staff.

Integrating initiatives and activities as part of the Centre helps to enhance active discussions surrounding everyday emotional problems and mental health issues among youth. This is primarily promoted through an acknowledgement of the cultural, familial, economic and social perspectives surrounding the lived experiences of the students. In actively considering them as subjects and moreover as ‘knowers’ of lived experiences, active discussions normalises conversations about psychological distress and helps to form an everyday vocabulary of pain and care. This helps to reduce  self-blame, better communication skills and facilitates courage among students to openly articulate their mental health issues. Additionally, health humanities also incorporate reflective writing, storytelling, dramatherapy and dialogue, which enhance students’ ability to listen, communicate, and respond effectively to individuals and fellow-beings experiencing mental health challenges. Engagement in reflective practices and discussions also helps students process academic stress, recognize burnout, and develop healthier coping strategies rather than succumbing to negative behaviours like drug abuse.

Apart from its benefit for the students, activities and initiatives in relation to the Centre facilitate the creation of multiple knowledge systems, narratives, and lived experiences of students and marginalised populations that otherwise remain unacknowledged in a purely clinical and medical setting. Through an effective engagement and understanding of mental health issues and challenges, teachers also gain deeper insight into student stressors, their changing behaviours, emotional struggles, and learning barriers, enabling them to offer better academic and emotional support. A person-centred approach also helps to create safe spaces for dialogue, fostering inclusivity and mental health awareness across campus.

Additionally, the incorporation of health humanities within institutional policy frameworks also helps in better understanding the mental health dilemmas of the College community.

Executive Body
Prof. Dr. Anju Sosan George (Principal, CMS College Kottayam)
Dr. Susan Mathew (Director, Health Humanities)
Prof. Dr. Joji John Panicker (Head, Department of English)
Dr. George Chandy Mattethra (Director & CEO Believers Church Medical College Hospital)
Prof. Dr. Rajesh V. Nair (Academic Advisor, Health Humanities and Prof School of Letters, MG University)
Dr. Sangeetha Merin Varghese (Dean of Community Medicine, Believer’s Church Medical College and Hospital)
Ms. Geethu V. Nandakumar (Research Associate)

Contact us on:
Director: Dr. Susan Mathew (Assistant Professor, Department of English)
Email: [email protected]