In Indonesia, religious leaders are often the first point of contact for individuals who are experiencing psychological or mental health issues. Yet mental health care provision in the country is lacking: the mental health professional to population ratio is 1:61,000. Past research has shown that “religious” and “spiritual” explanations of and solutions to mental health issues in Indonesia are not science-informed and often lead to adverse outcomes (e.g. seeing mental health issues as a symptom of spirit possession and requiring prayer rituals). At the same time, evidence-based or science-informed tools and potential solutions are looked upon with skepticism and disregarded. There is an urgent need for mental health care provision that is simultaneously evidence-based and seen by its religious leaders and populations as credible and compatible with their religious belief systems.

A project team led by Sandersan Onie at Black Dog Institute aims to develop a “mental health first aid kit”, i.e. a set of resources for promoting mental health and psychological wellbeing, that can be adapted, used and promoted by religious leaders and mental health professionals in Indonesia. 

The team will pilot a program in which religious leaders from multiple faith traditions will work with psychologists and mental health experts to build a set of tools and resources for religious leaders to use as a first point of contact for individuals with psychological or mental health difficulties. 

To accomplish this, the project team plans to review resources and existing research literature on mental health first aid and translate these resources into appropriate language; conduct a study with mental health and religious professionals to adapt the resources and integrate religious and spiritual principles into the framework; conduct pilot trial and community evaluations of the resources; and disseminate the resource widely, particularly in rural areas where access to care is more challenging.