While one dimension of Stakeholder relations of BALM constitutes engagement with donors and support organisations, the other part includes engagement with network partners, organisations and individuals to promote and advocate for the Indian mental health sector.

Advocacy at BALM is done to maximise impact through stakeholder increase, capacity building, training and replication of successfully demonstrated models of care. Advocacy is also undertaken to create awareness and build ‘public demand’ for mental health care services.

Aims of Advocacy: Other equally important reasons for advocacy at BALM are to:

• To increase stakeholders in the mental health Sector across all sectors, i.e. Government, NGOs, communities, individuals, SHGs, clients, family members, funders etc. to enable access to treatment and care to persons with mental illness especially to those belonging to the lower socio-economic strata.


• Bring in ‘best practices,’ to improve the quality of care in systems of mental health care especially for the marginalized section of society


• Forge effective collaborations and bring in different streams of thinking in mental health to develop courses and programmes on mental health to build professional competencies in the sector


• Replicate the Banyan’s ‘Socio-medical Model of Care,’ or other successful models of holistic treatment, care, rehabilitation, and community outreach and livelihood initiatives.


• Increase awareness and sensitization amongst the general public through seminars, workshops, courses on mental health and awareness-generation programmes on the media.


• Create a demand for mental health care services in rural & urban areas especially amongst persons from the lower socio-economic strata.


• Form a ‘coordinating committee’ to monitor & evaluate the effectiveness of the existing programmes of the mental health care services.