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ITANAGAR, 2 May:<\/strong> Psychologist and research scientist with the ICMR project at Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Dr Leeyir Ete, presented a research paper on indigenous mental health at the prestigious National Academy of Psychology (NAoP) conference – one of the premier academic platforms for psychology in India – hosted at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong (Meghalaya) from 29 April to 1 May.<\/p>\n The conference marked the 35th annual convention of the NAoP, and received over 1,000 research paper submissions, of which just over 400 were selected, reflecting a highly competitive review process. Notably, Dr Ete was the only researcher from Arunachal Pradesh selected to present her paper, representing the state at the national level.<\/p>\n The study, titled ‘Rethinking mental health in indigenous contexts: A relational perspective’, examined how mental health, illness, and healing are understood within the Tani communities of Arunachal.<\/p>\n Conducted jointly with RGU Psychology Assistant Professor Dr Dharmeshwari Lourembam, the research highlighted the need to develop culturally grounded psychological models rooted in indigenous realities, rather than relying solely on Western frameworks.<\/p>\n The study conceptualises mental health as shaped by cultural belief systems, relational structures, and social meaning-making processes, emphasising that wellbeing is not only a biological and psychological state but also a culturally interpreted experience, deeply influenced by subjective meanings and social contexts.<\/p>\n The research explained how, within indigenous settings, psychological distress is often understood through relational, spiritual, and ecological frameworks, rather than as a purely internal psychological state, and is expressed non-verbally through somatic complaints, withdrawal, or irritability – patterns that conventional assessment approaches may overlook.<\/p>\n Findings further indicate that mental wellbeing is closely linked to family harmony, social belonging, and community connectedness, extending beyond individual emotional experience. Emotional life in these contexts is often expressed indirectly, with care and affection communicated through actions such as support, responsibility, and presence, rather than frequent verbal expression.<\/p>\n These insights carry important implications for Arunachal, particularly in the context of rapid social change, urbanisation, and evolving family systems. The researchers highlighted the growing need for culturally sensitive, contextually grounded mental health frameworks within indigenous settings that integrate family and community support systems, incorporate counselling models tailored to specific socio-cultural contexts, and include community-based participatory healing practices.<\/p>\n Such approaches may help bridge the gap between formal mental health services and local communities, improving trust, help-seeking, and treatment outcomes across tribal populations.<\/p>\n At a broader level, the research contributes to the fields of indigenous psychology and global mental health, challenging Western models and advocating epistemological pluralism, where multiple knowledge systems are recognised as valid in understanding human behaviour and wellbeing.<\/p>\n Dr Ete has an established body of academic work focusing on mental health, wellbeing, family dynamics within tribal communities, and the role of cultural systems in shaping mental health outcomes.<\/p>\n Presentation at the NAoP conference is significant as it situates indigenous perspectives from Arunachal within national and global psychological discourse that has historically been shaped by Western-derived frameworks, while enabling engagement with leading scholars and practitioners across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ITANAGAR, 2 May: Psychologist and research scientist with the ICMR project at Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Dr Leeyir Ete, presented a research paper on indigenous mental health at the prestigious National Academy of Psychology (NAoP) conference – one of the premier academic platforms for psychology in India – hosted at the Indian Institute of Management, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-282114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282124,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282114\/revisions\/282124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}