About us

Our vision is a world where every person has access to quality and affordable mental health care.

Our signature principles are to leverage community and health system resources to deliver psychosocial interventions for the prevention and care of mental health problems. We address a wide range of mental health concerns across the life course, from cognitive development in childhood to self-harm and depression in youth, to drinking problems, psychoses and dementia in adults.

We achieve our goals through a combination of research, innovation, service delivery, partnerships, and public engagement. We are committed to generating contextually appropriate knowledge and catalysing its uptake to transform mental health care.

Our name

‘Sangath’ (सांगात) means togetherness and consensus. It signals our mission – to take an integrated and participatory approach to addressing mental health challenges.

Our approach

We believe that mental health is an essential part of overall health and well-being and community development. We believe that science is the foundation of evidence-based actions for the prevention and care of mental health problems. We believe that equity is the cornerstone of the design, delivery and evaluation of mental health care systems.

Research and innovation

We design and evaluate interventions for the prevention, detection, and care of mental heath.

Training and workforce building

We empower health and care workers to deliver evidence-based interventions through public systems.

Public engagement

We actively involve individuals with lived experience and the public with our work.

Our thematic areas

Addictions

Adolescent and youth

Adults

Child development

Health equity

Tech and innovations

Our history

Sangath was founded in 1996 in Goa, India as a child development centre catering to the needs of children with emotional, developmental and behavioural difficulties.

Our story so far in a nutshell:

1996

1998

1999

2000

2005

Sangath is founded as a child guidance clinic in Goa, India

Launch of major research studies on perinatal depression and the treatment of depression in general health care and expansion of child development activities in the community

Launch of early intervention work for high risk infants

Launch of research on women’s mental health and alcohol use.

Launch of research on integrating mental health care in primary care.

2008

Sangath wins the MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions to support a new centre of training and research for young people in Goa.

2008

Geographies of work expanded to Chandigarh, Pune, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odhisha, Bihar and Maharashtra.

2010

Flagship ‘Leadership in Mental Health’ annual course launched.

2011

2014

2016

Sangath establishes Hub in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Sangath establishes Hub in Delhi, National Capital Region.

Wins WHO Public Health Champion Award.

2020

Sangath’s national tele counselling helpline launched.

Our structure

We are registered as a not-for-profit organisation (NGO) in India. We are led by a Managing Committee and a staff-led Executive Council who govern our daily operations.