A study to find out the effectiveness of Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP) in promoting mental health of students at secondary level in West Bengal

Mental health is the full and harmonious functioning of the whole personality. Every person has certain needs. An individual tries to establish a balance between his needs and his capacity of realizing these needs. This a continuous struggle between the needs of the individual and his social environment is going on. An individual becomes joyful when his needs are satisfied and dejected when his needs remain unfulfilled. The problem of mental disorder have been increasing tremendously for the last two decades. The major factors, responsible for this are rapid growth of population, conflict of values, social alienation, industrialization, competition, unemployment communal disharmony and the materialistic attitude of the people. The Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP) was developed to build resilience and promote positive mental health in teenagers. The program specifically aims to prevent teenage depression and related difficulties. The aim of the study is to reduce the prevalence of mental health problems (such as anxiety and depression) in students of Secondary levels at Howrah District of West Bengal with the help of Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP). This paper attempt to highlight how RAP facilitate teachers by providing knowledge about body clues, negative and positive self talk, problem solving models, and support networks, which further help in promoting mental health of students at secondary level.