The Big Picture

Adapting photovoice to enhance psychological, social and cultural insights into, and prevention and treatment of, youth substance use in India (September 2018 – February 2022).

Purpose

This project seeks to understand the experience of young Assamese people around risk, recovery and resilience in relation to substance abuse and mental health. The goal is to increase knowledge, enhance the voice of young people, and inform practice through impacting policy and promoting public awareness.

Process

We learn from two groups of young Assamese people who show resilience to substance abuse. The first group are fifteen 15-18 year olds (7 male, 8 female) at increased risk of substance abuse but who have managed to stay clean. The second group are fifteen 19-24 year olds (11 male, 4 female) who have engaged successfully in drug rehabilitation. Participants are invited to bring photos to interview to convey their experience of risk, resilience and recovery. This material is analysed using Thematic Analysis. Participants are invited to create a poster from their photos and to take part in film-making workshops. We also map research-to-policy-pathways and interview, and hold workshops with, key stakeholders involved in mental health policy and practice in Assam. This material is analysed using Framework Analysis. Finally, we collaborate with organisations in India to understand the potential of embedding visual methods in their work and to build their mental health research and service delivery capacity.

PEOPLE

This project is led by Anna Madill with Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Paul Cooke, and Tolib Mirzoev (University of Leeds, UK) and Rebecca Graber (University of Brighton, UK). The Research Fellow is Raginie Duara and the PhD student is Chloe Brooks. Our Advisory Group consists of experts across India and the UK:

– Diptarup Chowdhury (Clinical Psychology Department Head, LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health, NE India)
– J. K. Lakshmi (Senior Research Fellow, George Institute for Global Health, Telangana, South India)
– Kaaren Mathias (Emmanuel Hospital Association, New Delhi, North India)
– N. S. Prashanth (Assistant Director, Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, Karnataka, SW India)
– Richard de Visser (Centre for Innovation & Research in Childhood & Youth, University of Sussex)
– Rima Shetty (Addictions Practitioner, Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, SW India).

PARTNERS

The Big Picture is conducted in partnership with MIND India, NIRMAAN Rehabilitation Facility and HOPE Foundation Rehabilitation Facility, our key contacts respectively, Dr Sangeeta Goswami, Ratul Dey and Dipanka Baruah. The Big Picture is funded by an Economic and Social Research Council/Arts and Humanities Research Council Global Challenges Research Fund (Mental Health) grant ES/S00047X/1.

OUTCOMES

Aim 1 (Increase knowledge): To enhance psychological, social and cultural insights into the experience of risk, resilience and recovery with regard to youth substance use in Assam.
Outcome 1: Pathways to Recovery Model
Outcome 2: Publications

Aim 2 (Enhance voice): To promote young Assamese people’s voice with respect to substance use in order to reduce stigma, raise public awareness and inform mental- and public-health policy and practice.
Outcome 1: Participant posters
Outcome 2: Co-produced films (scroll down)

Aim 3 (Inform practice): To learn if and how photovoice can be adapted in culturally-sensitive ways to enhance local mental health services seeking to prevent and treat youth substance use in Assam.
Outcome 1: Workshop materials
Outcome 2: Educational and intervention material

For help on downloading IP please see Resources – Guidance Information

PARTICIPANT POSTERS: 15-18 year olds at increased risk of substance abuse

Introducing posters by young people at increased risk of substance abuse

Fourteen Assamese teenagers created 15 posters with a message rooted in their personal experience of resilience to substance abuse. Each has seen the devastating impact of addiction on relatives and friends. We hope you find their posters inspiring≫

Vishal’s poster (Male, 15 years)

Samba’s poster (Male, 18 years)

Lina’s poster (Female, 18 years)

Jasmine’s poster (Female, 18 years)

Sina’s poster (Female, 17 years)

Sammy’s poster (Male, 17 years)

Samba’s poster (Male, 18 years)

Ryan’s poster (Male, 17 years)

Rohan’s poster (Male, 18 years)

Jhanvi’s poster (Female, 17 years)

Ishan’s poster (Male, 17 years)

Hiyamoni’s poster (Female, 16 years)

Hiya’s poster (Female, 16 years)

Anisha’s poster (Female, 18 years)

Ajit’s poster (Male, 17 years)

Aastha’s poster (Female, 15 years)

PARTICIPANT POSTERS: 19-24 year olds who have engaged successfully in drug rehabilitation

Introducing posters by young people in recovery

Fourteen young Assamese men and women created posters with a message rooted in their personal experience of substance abuse. Each has been clean for at least a year. We celebrate their achievement and hope you find their posters inspiring≫

Dev’s poster (Male, 21 years)

Rishi’s poster (Male, 21 years)

Manav’s poster (Male, 24 years)

Smita’s poster (Female, 23 years)

Samar’s poster (Male, 22 years)

Rahul’s poster (Male, 19 years)

Purav’s poster (Male, 19 years)

Neo’s poster (Male, 24 years)

Munu’s poster (Female, 24 years)

Kevin’s poster (Male, 21 years)

James’s poster (Male, 24 years)

David’s poster (Male, 22 years)

Daisy’s poster (Female, 23 years)

Amit’s poster (Male, 24 years)

Pathways to Recovery Model of Youth Substance Abuse in Assam

Introducing the Pathways to Recovery Model

The Pathways to Recovery Model has been created from the experience of young Assamese men and women in recovery from drug abuse and refined by mental health and deaddiction experts from our Partner Organisations Mind India and Nirmaan Rehabilitation Facility. You can view an animation of the pathways here and the trailer here. Recovery can be a winding path with round-abouts difficult to exit and culdesacs providing no way forward. We offer a map of phases to help navigate this difficult terrain: recreational use, relaxed addition, chaotic addiction, strategic addiction, and supported recovery≫

Phase 1. Recreational Use

Phase 2a. Relaxed Addiction

Phase 2b. Chaotic Addiction

Phase 2c. Strategic Addiction

Phase 3. Supported Recovery