Building Community Mental Health Awareness, One Youth Leader at a Time
The PsyCoach Summer Challenge 2025, led by PsyCoach Bangladesh, brought together
passionate undergraduate students from public, private and national universities across
Bangladesh to address one of the country’s most urgent needs—community-based mental
health awareness and psychosocial support. With youth at the center of change, the initiative
focused on reducing stigma and malpractice, raising awareness on mental health along with
equipping communities with stress management and other mental health related issues.
As a technical partner, the BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED)—alongside
collaborating organizations including the BRAC Youth Platform and other national
partners—contributed to the quality and ethical implementation of the program by providing
structured training inputs, professional supervision, and expert-guided learning support for
student facilitators.
BRAC IED’s Technical Support and Professional Supervision
BRAC IED’s senior psychologists supported the design and delivery of the program’s online
training and supervision framework, helping ensure that youth-led interventions were grounded
in evidence-informed psychosocial support (PSS) practices. The training emphasized core
competencies such as emotional intelligence, stress management, communication skills, and
responsible help-seeking.
Participants also engaged in group supervision sessions facilitated by licensed mental health
professionals. These sessions created reflective learning spaces to discuss field challenges,
ethical considerations, and community engagement strategies, thereby strengthening
facilitators’ confidence and promoting consistency in delivering community mental health
education across diverse settings.
Across the program, students from multiple universities and academic disciplines—including
Social Sciences, Engineering, English, and Business studies—designed and implemented
community projects tailored to local needs.
Nationwide Impact and Youth-Led Innovation
Over the six-month challenge, 23 youth teams implemented 52 community-based sessions,
reaching more than 2,700 individuals across Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, and Khulna
divisions. Among these, five high-impact projects—led by students from diverse universities and
academic disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, business studies, and
English—demonstrated strong community engagement through initiatives focused on stress and
exam well-being, family dynamics, emotional literacy, digital habits, and stigma reduction.
Alongside these, one participating team, “Shunte Chai” from BRAC University, developed a
youth-led awareness initiative on AI misuse and emotional dependency on technology,
encouraging peer connection, critical digital practices, and healthier forms of human interaction
within academic environments—further highlighting the breadth of innovation across the
program.
Learn, Lead, and Advance Your Career in Mental Health
BRAC IED continues to strengthen Bangladesh’s mental health ecosystem through its
accredited Master’s in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (PSS) Course, which prepares
learners with clinical insight, ethical practice, and community-based intervention skills.
In addition, information on mental health support and learning opportunities—including BRAC
IED’s Psychosocial Support (PSS) Course and BRAC IED–supported platforms such as Moner
Jotno, Pashe Achi, and Active Listening Sessions (ALS)—was shared in community sessions by
the PsyCoach team and participating student facilitators, helping individuals and communities
connect with appropriate care pathways.
If you are passionate about creating meaningful change in mental health and education, join
BRAC IED’s advanced training pathways and become part of a growing movement for inclusive,
accessible, and youth-driven mental health support in Bangladesh.
