What is METROPOLIS?
Student life can be an exciting time full of new opportunities, learning, and friendships. But it can also bring challenges like academic pressure, social stress, family problems, money worries, and uncertainty about the future. Sometimes these challenges build up and start to affect a student’s mood and daily life. Getting support early can help to prevent these problems from becoming more serious.
That’s why the METROPOLIS research project was created. In the first phase, we worked closely with students in New Delhi to develop a campus-based programme called “Saathi Support.” This is a free peer support programme for students who are experiencing low mood and life difficulties. Through Saathi Support, students meet with a trained peer (called a “Saathi”) who helps them to learn and practise positive coping skills.
The next phase of the project will study the effectiveness of different versions of Saathi Support.
Context
India, where our project is being implemented, is home to 20% of the world’s youth and has one of the largest university student populations globally. However, the number of young people needing mental health support far exceeds the resources currently available. The METROPOLIS project aims to advance the development and dissemination of effective, rapidly scalable interventions to reduce youth depression in India and other low-resource settings.
