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Mental Health and
Well-Being

School of Social and
Behavioural Sciences

ViSION

Our vision is to reduce mental disorders, distress, self-harm, and suicides that increased globally since the covid pandemic. We aim to help persons of all ages to increase mental strength, courage, happiness, good values, and wisdom through sound knowledge and skills that help one successfully face and transcend life’s inevitable adversities.

MISSION

Our mission is to promote research-supported psychological, values-based programs that increase reflective awareness, psychological understanding, & skills to advance improved management of one’s mind. This includes capitalizing on cognitive processing and neuroscience to help identify brain functions and structures that influence psychological health or harm. We also aspire to promote the ability to intentionally direct one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, for increased self-management and self-control, and to cultivate discernment towards healthier, compassionate living. Our mission includes all persons, including non-marginalized and marginalized groups.

Thematic Areas

TEAM Members

Dr. Malini L. M. Frey
Professor, Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, Amritapuri
Research Interests: Reducing Mental Illness, stigma, and distress, Mental Resiliency/Strength, Mental Health and Mental Disorders literacy, Suicide prevention and reduction, Neuroscience and mental health, Use of technological supports for interventions and outreach.
lisamfrey@am.amrita.edu

Dr. J. Sophie von Lieres
Head of Research, School of Social and Behavioural Sciences; Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Sciences and Psychology
Research Interests: Mental Health and Well-Being: Psychological Coping; Protective Factors to Promote Mental Health (e.g., Social Support); Cross-Cultural Mental Health Research; Neurodiversity Research

⁠Dr. Parvathy V.
Chairperson, Department of Social Sciences
Research Interests: Mental Health and Well-Being, Psycho-Social Approaches and Interventions in Health Settings, Application of Strengths Perspective, Resilience & Alcohol Misuse, Spirituality in Social Work and Self-Development, Social Work Methods, Social Work Research

Dr. T. Asha Priya
Assistant Professor (Sr. Gr.), Department of English, School of Arts, Humanities and Commerce, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore.
Dr. Asha Priya has authored numerous papers. She serves as the Principal Investigator for a DST Project titled “Empowering Secondary School Students by Enhancing Their Moral Reasoning and Language Skills,” spanning one year. She has joined the MH TAG as some of her work in Moral Reasoning among students coincides with understanding mental health issues among students.
t_ashapriya@cb.amrita.edu

Dr. Harikrishnan U.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Psychiatric social work, psychosocial care and support in disaster management, school social work, adolescent health and mental health, and social work practice with families.
hariku@am.amrita.edu

Dr. Yamuna N. K.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mental health of children; Mental health of elderly; School mental health; Children, Women, and Elderly populations
yamunank@am.amrita.edu

Dr. Rajalakshmi S. A.
Assistant Professor (Sr. Gr) (Psychology), Department of Social Work, Coimbatore
Research Interests: Educational Psychology, Social Psychology, Women’s Empowerment, Counselling Psychology College Students, Moral reasoning.
sa_rajalakshmi@cb.amrita.edu

Dr. Priyesh Kumar Singh
Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Sciences and Psychology
Research Interests: Specifically: Management and treatment of pathologies especially PNES patients from cognitive paradigm. Broadly: Health Psychology; Evolutionary Psychology; Neuropsychology and counseling psychology ( science of happiness).
priyeshks@am.amrita.edu

Dr. Puneeta Miriam Silverman
Visiting faculty
Research Interests: Mental Health and Wellbeing, Neuroscience, Addiction, Domestic Violence, Infand and Early Childhood Mental Health, Parenting, Impact of Trauma on Early Brain Development, Neurodiversity
miriam.silverman@ammachilabs.org

Dr. Matthijs (Ties) Fakkel (Gaurang)
Assistant Professor, Centre for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Research Interests: Role of psychosocial factors such as self-control, social competence, locus of control, and parent and peer support in the processes of social reproduction and social mobility. What adolescents believe to be causes of poverty; Social inequalities among youth, e.g., in education, climate change, and research participation
matthijs.fakkel@ammachilabs.org

Dr. Revathi G.
Professor of Practice/Counsellor – Mental Health and Well-being
Research Interests: Positive Psychology, Well-being, Resilience, Social Connectedness, Mattering; Emerging Adults, University/College Students.
revathi.g@ammachilabs.org

Dr. Prasath Selvaraj
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Coimbatore.
Research interests: Experimental Psychology, Social Psychology, Educational Psychology Quantitative Social Research, Qualitative Social Research
s_prasath@cb.amrita.edu

Sasvat Alexandr Ostrovik
PhD Scholar
Research Interests: Mental Health and Well-Being, Compassion Science, Mental Health Interventions for Those Affected by Armed Conflict
alexandr.ostrovik@ammachilabs.org

Rupesh Ranjan
PhD Scholar
am.sb.r4ssc23003@am.students.amrita.edu

Funded Projects

Planned Funded Projects

Publications 2022 – 2025

  • Frey, L. M. (2025, February 9–10). Understanding and managing the mind [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Educational Professionalism, Ettimadai, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • Karthikeyan, A., & Priya, V. (2025, January 16–19). Exploring the role of technology, gender, and their relationship between self-efficacy & academic performance [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Nayana, N., Valsala, P., & Nair, V. (2025, January 16–19). Bridging the gap: Exploring gender differences in eSanjeevani adoption in Kerala [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Lakshmi, G., Valsala, P., & Unnikrishnan, R. (2025, January 16–19). Understanding vulnerabilities in women’s health: Towards gender-inclusive digital innovations in health [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Kapoor, S. L., Valsala, P., & Sen, A. J. (2025, January 16–19). Enhancing the scope of social work interventions for women substance users through technology and digital innovations [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Sai, T. S., Rajalakshmi Sulur Anbalagan, Pidugu, G., & Muralidhar, S. K. (2025, January 16–19). Tele-mental health adoption among young women: Gender barriers [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Athira, R., Harikrishnan, U., & Thomas, J. (2025, January 16–19). Women’s mental health in the digital age: Scientific mapping and emerging trends [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Arjun, K. K., Harikrishnan, U., & Thomas, J. (2025, January 16–19). Women’s health and telemedicine: A bibliometric analysis [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • John, A. E., Harikrishnan, U., Rao, B. R., & Perletti, G. (2025, January 16–19). Scientific mapping and trends of multi-stakeholders to address gender-based violence [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Nair, N. H., Harikrishnan, U., Rao, B. R., & Perletti, G. (2025, January 16–19). Intersection of technology and gender-based violence: A review and bibliometric analysis [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Vijayakumar, A., Surendran, H., Mbye, F., Harikrishnan, U., Rao, B. R., & Simmons, W. (2025, January 16–19). Role of multi-stakeholders to address gender-based violence in India: A scoping review [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Gender and Technology, Amritapuri, India.
  • Frey, L. M. (2025, January 13–17). Gender bias, letters of recommendation, and mental wellbeing: Is bias conscious or unconscious? [Workshop presentation]. Department of Science and Technology Training Program, Amritapuri, Kerala, India.
  • von Lieres, J. S. (2024, December 13–15). Community resilience and social support: A mixed-methods study of coping strategies among tsunami survivors in Kerala, India [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Tsunami Risk Reduction and Resilience, Amritapuri, India.
  • Ganeshsundaram, R., & Arikkatt, R. M. (2022, July 22–23). Preventing suicidal ideation in university students by increasing social connectedness and enhancing sense of mattering [Conference presentation]. 3rd APSPA International Conference 2022 on Multicultural Challenges and Diverse Approaches in School Psychology, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Bavani, M., Von Lieres, J. S., Sowndaram, C. S., & Prasad, R. (2024, October). Online guided Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM®) to Improve mental well-being and reduce perceived stress during COVID-19 in India. In 2024 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 446-453). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771539  
  • Bavani, M., Von Lieres, J. S., Gopalan, S., & Prasad, R. (2024, October). Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM®): Towards sustainable rehabilitation in prisons using digital mental well-being intervention. In 2024 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 454-460). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771548  
  • Raj, A., Valsala, P., & Unnikrishanan, R. (2024, March). Technological and sociocultural barriers to e-sanjeevani as a parallel means of health care: A narrative review. In 2024 5th International Conference on Innovative Trends in Information Technology (ICITIIT) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICITIIT61487.2024.10580209 
  • Ganeshsundaram, R., & Arikkatt, R. M. (2022). Preventing suicidal ideation in university students by increasing social connectedness and enhancing sense of mattering. In P. Ramalingam & P. Varma (Eds.), Multicultural challenges and diverse approaches in school psychology (pp. 733–753). Indian School Psychology Association. Proceedings of the 3rd APSPA International Conference. 
  • von Lieres, J. S., & Cauvery, G. (2022, September). The impact of social media use on young adults’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic in South India. In 2022 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) (pp. 318-324). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC55712.2022.9910989 
  • Praharsh, KP, Rajalakshmi S.A., Praveen Kumar Kalapatapu, T Asha Priya. (in press). Single parents and their adolescents’ education: Call for educational professionalism. Frontiers in Education.  
  • Mohan, R., Frey, L. M., & Coley, C. (in press). Military police suicide and mental distress challenges: An impact assessment of mental health and gender sensitisation initiatives for CRPF in Srinagar, India. 
  • Singh, P. K. (2025). Perceptual sensitivity of psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES) patients. International Journal of Epilepsy. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0045-1802599  
  • Singh, P. K., Verma, K., Singh, A. R., & Gupta, S. (2024). Deciphering the puzzle: Exploring the etiology of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Health Sciences Review, 11, 100171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hsr.2024.100171 
  • Frey, L. M., Venugopal, D., & Dev, V. S. (2024). Prevalence and predictors of suicide ideation among university and high-school students during India’s 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0311403. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311403  
  • Pradeep, K., Rajalakshmi, S. A., Asha Priya, T., Aswathy, S., Jisha, V. G., & Vaisakhi, V. S. (2024). Neuroeducation: Understanding neural dynamics in learning and teaching. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1437418 
  • Sardar, A., Mohanan, S. A., & Ganeshsundaram, R. (2024). The efficacy of an expressive arts-based counseling intervention in improving resilience and well-being of parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Bangkok: A mixed methods design. ABAC ODI Journal Vision. Action. Outcome, 12(1), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.14456/abacodijournal.2024.31 
  • Harikrishnan, U. & Sailo, G. L. (2024). Protective factors of school-going adolescents: A school-based survey in Kerala, South India. Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine 9(2), 161-163. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcfm.ijcfm_50_22 
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Branje, S., & Stevens, G. W. (2024). Parental SES and family support as predictors of educational level: Testing the buffering effect of effortful control and peer support. Journal of Adolescence, 96(8), 1884-1900. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12389  
  • Fakkel, M., Branje, S., Vollebergh, W. A., Stevens, G. W., & Peeters, M. (2024). Intergenerational upward and downward social mobility: The role of intelligence, effortful control, assertiveness, and peer competence in early adolescence. Emerging Adulthood, 12(5), 838-851. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968241257585 
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Vollebergh, W. A. M., & Branje, S. (2023). Parent-adolescent transmission of socioeconomic status: Testing serial mediation of conflict behaviors, emotion regulation, and empathy. Emerging Adulthood, 11(5), 1196-1210. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968231183029  
  • Fakkel, M., Peeters, M., Branje, S., Stevens, G. W., & Vollebergh, W. A. (2023). Decline in positive future orientations among adolescents during covid‐19: The role of socioeconomic status, parental support, and sense of control. Journal of Adolescence, 95(7), 1321-1332. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12204  
  • Valsala, P. & Devanathan, S. (2023). Mental resilience in the context of alcohol use—a qualitative study in a tribal community in South India, Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 22(1), 213-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2021.1925195 
  • Valsala, P., & Menon, P. (2023). Psychospiritual basis of altruism: A review. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 63(3), 344-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167819830517 
  • Singh, P. K., Chaurasia, R. N., Pratap, S., Tiwari, T., Mishra, V. N., & Singh, T. (2022). Effect of emotional valence on working memory of psychogenic non-epileptic seizure patients. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 13(3), 521–524. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1744557  
  • Suresh, V., Fishman, R., von Lieres, J. S., & Rao, B. R. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the economic situation and food security of rural households in India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 12(3), 491-509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-07-2021-0177 
  • Rajalakshmi, S. A., Sowndaram, C. S., Ganesh, P., & Vasu, H. V. (2022). Job search during COVID-19: How online mindfulness intervention helped to reduce stress and enhance the self-esteem of the job seeker. F1000Research, 11, 955. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109523.2 
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