Who We Are

Led by Dr. Nandini Murali, SPEAK is an initiative of MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, Madurai, the largest mental health services provider in the state. SPEAK addresses the complex and sensitive issue of suicide in a holistic and compassionate manner. SPEAK creates and fosters safe and supportive spaces to change conversations on suicide and promote mental health.

The main barrier in effectively addressing suicide is the stigma associated with the act, the victim and the families of persons who die of suicide. Hence SPEAK seeks to create safe and supportive spaces that encourage people to “SPEAK” about suicide. 

We aim to create spaces for a convergence of different stakeholders—patients, families, teachers, students, health care providers media professionals, law enforcement and judiciary—to develop informed perspectives on suicide that will enable them to address this serious mental health issue and public health crisis—because preventing suicide is everybody’s business…

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VISION

​A suicide-free world where mental health ​is a way of life

MISSION

Prevent needless deaths due to suicide by creating spaces for informed conversations on suicide and thereby promote mental health

OBJECTIVES

• Create informed perspectives about suicide through awareness building
• Mobilize social support to address the issue of suicide holistically
• Engage in research, policy and advocacy initiatives that broaden and deepen our understanding of suicide
• Create a convergence of different stakeholders to prevent suicides and minimize its impact on survivors of suicide loss

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CORE STRATEGIES

• Sensitization of stakeholders on prevention of suicide
• Early identification of persons at risk of suicide and thereby initiate appropriate help
• Support groups for survivors of suicide loss
• Engage in research and contribute to knowledge building
• Network with similar initiatives and involve in policy research
• Advocacy

AWARENESS

Living with the pain of losing a loved one to suicide is never easy in any part of the world.

That’s precisely why we need to SPEAK about it…  to create supportive safe spaces for informed conversations about suicide… a global phenomenon that is a mental health issue and a public health crisis. 

Suicide is 100 per cent preventable. Speak up! Reach out! Let’s break the secrecy, shame, silence and stigma around suicide. Every voice matters…  

THE STATISTICS ARE GRIM

• Globally, close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year
• One person every 40 seconds
• Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan
• Second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally
• Suicide Mortality Rate in India 15.7 (per 100,000) Regional Average 12.9
  Source: (WHO 2015-17)
• In India, more than one lakh people die of suicide every year
  One person dies of suicide every four minutes
  Between 2002-2012, the suicide rate in the country increased by 22.7 percent
  India has the highest suicide rate in the world in the 15-29 age group (35.5 per 100,000)
• Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal account for the maximum number of suicides in the country
• Suicide rate in cities (12.2) was higher as compared to the all-India suicide rate (10.6)
• Among 53 mega cities, Chennai (2,274), Bengaluru (1,855), Delhi city (1,553) and Mumbai (1,122) together have reported almost 34.6 percent of the total suicides in cities
  Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2015

The Team

Dr. Nandini Murali

Dr. Nandini Murali is a gender and diversity professional with a doctorate in Women’s Studies from Alagappa University, Karaikudi. She has nearly three decades of experience in the social sector in communications, gender, sexuality, mental health and masculinities.  Based on her lived experience as a survivor of suicide loss, she established SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Postvention Education Awareness Knowledge), an initiative of MSCT&RF to change conversations on suicide and promote mental health.

She has worked with both national and international organizations in evaluation exercises, impact studies, case studies, process documents and conducting training workshops in documentation and communication, mental health, gender, masculinities, sexuality, sexual and reproductive health rights. She has worked with diverse communities such as people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, vulnerable children, coastal communities, female sex workers, people with disabilities, differently gendered people and sexual minorities.

She is currently communications consultant, MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCT&RF) Madurai.
 
Dr. Nandini Murali’s first book A Life in Trans activism, co-authored with A. Revathi was published by Zubaan Books, New Delhi (2016). She has completed her first book of fiction and is working on her memoir of coping with grief as a survivor of suicide loss.

Dr. C. Ramasubramanian

Dr. C. Ramasubramanian, popularly known as Dr. CRS, has a comprehensive experience and expertise of more than 40 years in mental health services.  A well known psychiatrist, he completed his undergraduate and post graduate medical education from Madurai Medical College and doctorate in community psychiatry from Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu.  His twin passions are community psychiatry and psycho social rehabilitation.  
 
As the former State Nodal Officer, Mental Health Programme, Tamil Nadu, Dr. CRS leveraged opportunities to serve people with mental disabilities in the community through effective and efficient delivery of mental health services.  Dr. CRS has also been instrumental in making mental health care services available, affordable and accessible to people from marginalized sections of the society in Tamil Nadu.
 
The lived experience of caring for a brother with mental illness and the stigma and discrimination experienced by the family slowed the seeds of Dr. CRS’s vision of comprehensive rehabilitation services for people with mental disabilities.  In 1992, in memory of his father MS Chellamuthu, he founded MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCT&RF), a non profit organization for mental health services in Madurai, S India. The organization is a pioneer in mental health services and one of the largest psycho social rehabilitation service providers in South Tamil Nadu.

Rajkumari Ramasubramanian

Rajkumari Ramasubramanian is Executive Director and Trustee, MSCT&RF.  She has a post graduate degree in English Literature (Stella Maris College, Chennai) and a Diploma in French from the Alliance Francaise, Chennai. In addition, she has trained in psychiatric rehabilitation at Richmond Foundation, and in psychiatric rehabilitation and counselling at the National Institute of Mental Health Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), both in Bengaluru.

In her role as executive director, she leads the entire staff team at MSCT&RF to achieve the mission of the trust—to promote mental health through holistic mental health care that is affordable and accessible for all. Her assertive and compassionate leadership has catalyzed the growth of MSCT&RF in a momentous 25-year journey. Today, the trust has evolved from three beds in 1992 to 450 beds in treatment facilities for people with mental disabilities.  Inspired by her leadership, MSCT&RF has rehabilitated 30,000 persons with mental disabilities and 7200 persons dependent on alcohol and other kinds of addictions.

Rajkumari Ramasubramanian is the recipient of For the Sake of Honour Award” by Rotary Club of Madurai Metro (2006) and the Jaycee Manavatha Rathan Puraskar Award for contribution in the field of Social Wellness from JCI Madurai Elite (2017).

Prof. G. Guru Bharathy

Prof. G. Guru Bharathy known for his passion for excellence was an Associate Professor in Social Work at the Madurai Institute of Social Sciences (MISS 1985-2014).  He has a Master’s degree in social work, a post graduate diploma in guidance and counselling (MISS) and an MPhil in micro level planning from Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram.

With 29 years of experience, Prof. Guru Bharathy is well known for his expertise in project development, curriculum development Fund raising and Outcome Management. He is a Director at ELEOS Behaviour Consultants, Chennai, and Senior Consultant, MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation and Ahana Hospitals Madurai.

As consultant, Rotary Blossom: Mission Mental Health, (the Joint Community Mental health initiative of Rotary International Districts 3000, 2730, 5340 and MSCT&RF, Madurai and Supported by Rotary Foundation, and implemented in eight revenue districts in Tamil Nadu), Prof. Gurubharathy provides support in project development and process monitoring.

A master trainer in counseling as well as life skills, Prof. Guru Bharathy has travelled across India to conduct training sessions for corporates and educational institutions, using customized modules that he has developed for this purpose.
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His core strengths include quest for excellence, compassion and team orientation, which have made him much sought after in the field of training and development. 

Dr. Vikhram Ramasubramaniam

Dr. Vikhram Ramasubramaniam has carved a niche for himself in the field of psychiatry in Madurai. He completed his undergraduate degree in medicine from St. Petersburg, Russia; following which he specialized in MD Psychiatry at Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai. He has completed his post doctoral training at CSM Medical University, Lucknow; and Brunet Institute, Melbourne, Australia. As a natural outcome of his several research studies on schizophrenia, he also specializes in the treatment of this mental disorder. He is equally interested in adjunct therapy in patients with major depressive disorder on which he has also conducted research studies.

Dr. Vikhram Ramasubramaniam is the founder and the Chief Executive Officer, Ahana Hospitals, which he established in 2009, in response to the felt need for holistic neuropsychiatric healthcare. In a career span of more than 15 years in psychiatry, he has taken on diverse executive and leadership roles in healthcare delivery and healthcare information technology space.
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Trained at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, he spearheads a team of more than 100 professionals working with a vision to provide the optimum care and service within available resources for people with psychiatric disabilities. He is the national convener of the Indian Psychiatric Society. Dr. Vikhram’s core area of work is child and adolescent behaviour and addiction psychiatry. He is also well trained in geriatric mental health and drug use related health promotion and care. His compassionate commitment to the mental health of his patients and his empathy are qualities that endear him to his patients.

Dr. R. Selvi Kumari

Dr. R. Selvi Kumari is consultant Clinical Psychologist and Training and Research Consultant at MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, Ahana Hospitals and Vocational Training and Research Center (VTRC) Peniel Group of Educational Institutions, Madurai.
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Dr. Selvi Kumari completed her graduation and post graduation in psychology at Women’s Christian College, Chennai, and completed her MPhil as well as PhD in clinical psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. She specializes in clinical psychopathology, counselling, and psychotherapy. She has also done a research study on domestic violence prevalent among women and alcoholism among both men and women, social anxiety and social phobia.