HeartMind International's Partners:
All HeartMind International activities in Nepal are implemented by the Nepali non-governmental organization Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal. TPO Nepal was formed in 2005 and provides mental health training, direct services, research, and advocacy for persons affected by mental illness.
Nanda Raj Acharya, Psychosocial Counselor
Nandaraj Acharya is a district psychosocial counselor for Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO)-Nepal, in Jumla, Nepal. He has been researching mental health in Jumla with Dr. Brandon Kohrt since 2000. A survivor of mental health problem himself, Nandaraj is confident that through effective treatment, everyone with such problem can re-live their life again. He understands the suffering that people with such problem go through and feels that he is responsible to help them. He gets very satisfied whenever his clients returns back after successful treatment. He believes that one day people in Jumla will have free and quality access to mental health service within the district itself.
Safar Bikram Adhikari, B.PhSc, M.Sc (Psych), District Coordinator, Psychosocial Counselor
Safar Bikram Adhikari is a graduate in Public Health, he has a Diploma in Pharmacy and has earned a Master's of Science in Psychology, He is working as a District Coordinator for TPO-Nepal, HMI and DGHI in Jumla. Safar provides counseling services and therapy for mental health patients in Jumla, and works as a district coordinator. Safar has worked as a counselor since 2012 for non-profit organizations and as a consultant for a number of Nepal based NGO's. Safar has worked as a pharmacist in government hospital in Nepal for more than three years and as a School Counselor for several months. He also served as a front line health worker in Sindhupalchowk after earthquake. Safar's interests are in the areas of Psychoepidemiology and Developmental Psychology. He is very much committed to helping the people of Jumla through HeartMind Iinternational's programs. Safar appreciates what HeartMind Iinternational is doing to advocate for the rights of the Nepalese for quality mental health service. Through HeartMind Interantional, Safar is working in coordination with Karnali Academy of Health Science (KAHS) in Jumla. He is also working with the local schools to provide counseling on weekly basis.
Jamuna Maharjan, Psychosocial Counselor
Jamuna Maharjan is psychosocial counselor, trainer and supervisor at Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) – Nepal. As a clinical manager, she provides counseling support for urban Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu and clinical supervision to the counselors providing psychosocial support to Bhutanese refugees. She has worked with refugees since 1991, supporting them from their initial arrival through their third country resettlement process. During my work tenure I have been supporting survivors of Sexual abuse, Sexual Gender Based Violence and tortured specially with women and children.
Sauharda Rai, Technical Advisor
Sauharda Rai is the Global Mental Health Research Supervisor at The George Washington University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He also works as a research liaison coordinator for HMI’s Nepali NGO partner, TPO Nepal that delivers mental health services, conducts trainings, and implements research in Nepal. He has a decade of experience working in Nepal, US, Ethiopia and South Africa including street children, child soldiers, child labors and people living with mental illness. He conducts research on mental health stigma, task-shifting, service users’ involvement and development and strengthening of culturally adapted mental health tools and services in post-conflict settings. After the earthquake in Nepal, he also coordinated mental health service delivery in earthquake-affected regions through TPO Nepal.
At HMI, Sauharda supports the US and Nepal HMI team in designing and implementing programs in Nepal and supports the organization’s fund raising and online campaigning.
Megan Ramaiya, Technical Advisor
Megan Ramaiya is a Masters in Global Health candidate at Duke University, where she specializes in Global Mental Health. Over the past two years, she's worked in rural Nepal to culturally adapt and pilot a treatment for suicide and non-suicidal self-injury known as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Previously, she was a cultural botanist and studied indigenous healing traditions in Central America, Nepal, and India. Megan is passionate about developing culturally sensitive, mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments in Nepal and other South Asian settings. This fall, she will begin a PhD program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she will continue to strengthen the DBT program in Nepal. Megan is excited to work alongside HeartMind International to develop creative program and treatment content.
Ashley Hagaman, Technical Advisor
Ashley is a current PhD candidate in Global Health at Arizona State University studying suicide and health systems in Nepal. Her dissertation research was funded by two prestigious bodies, U.S. Fulbright and the National Science Foundation and she has held fellowships with the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the past two years, she has worked in collaboration with TPO-Nepal in both Kathmandu and Jumla, Nepal researching the impact of suicide perceptions and reporting practices within global, state, and community-based institutions to better inform data collection systems and suicide prevention in low income settings. Additionally, using evidenced-based curriculum from the United States, she has adapted and piloted several suicide prevention first aid workshops. She is proficient in Nepali. Ashley’s previous research included mixed-methods studies exploring mental health and suicide in Haiti and US-based refugee populations. Before pursuing her graduate studies, Ashley helped develop a non-profit called GlobeMed, working to educate and train student advocates for global health equity. She spearheaded the operating model, program development, and strategic planning for sustainable organizational growth.
