Response to the Letter to the Editor by Dr Kishor and Dr Bhumika Mishra

Reference to Letter to the Editor on Article

Sir,

As correctly stated by Dr Kishor and Dr Bhumika Mishra ¹ , our article ² would have best been “considered as a view point or part of education section or other sections but does not fulfill the criteria for an original paper.” It was never intended to be an original paper and was submitted to the Journal of Psychosexual Health requesting that the Editorial Board use their discretion to place the article in an appropriate section of their esteemed journal. However, due to what appears to be an unfortunate oversight, the Editorial Board erroneously chose to place it in the “Original Article” section.

To further clarify, the purpose of our brief was to inform and notify mental health professionals of the availability of a repository of materials available for child and adolescent mental health interventions, in particular on life skills interventions relating to gender, sexuality and relationships. Based on the number of requests we have received in recent years, for capacity building on adolescence and sexuality-related issues, and for development of materials for intervention, we understand that many mental health professionals across the country are struggling to address the treatment and intervention challenges presented by the complex issue of adolescent sexuality. We therefore developed these materials and interventions for adolescent sexuality and life skills, as part of a large community-based service project. We have a “copy left” policy on their use. In other words, we placed these materials in public domain, in order to encourage professionals to freely use, experiment with, and adapt these materials according to their unique needs and contexts, so that vulnerable children receive the services and treatment they deserve.

While the purpose of our article was not to describe the developing of the manual, we welcome the interest that professionals such as Dr Kishor and Dr Bhumika Mishra bring to the field—as we assume that they are seeking such information in order to be able to utilize the materials in their clinical or community mental health practice settings, and therefore, truly benefitting their child and adolescent clients. Most of the details sought are available on our website www.nimhanschildproject.in, in the introductory sections of the life skills manuals as well as other documents and reports that have been placed on the website to enable professionals to better understand the context of our work and material development. Additionally, we are also available for any further clarification and guidance that professionals may require as they use our materials.

Finally, the community child and adolescent mental health initiative, through which the above-mentioned materials and resources were developed, was a service project, ie, it did not allow for the implementation of research, which is why we do not, at present, have data on outcomes and impact of the interventions. However, we would be delighted if professionals such as Dr Kishor and Dr Bhumika Mishra could use the materials in their practice and conduct the necessary research to understand the outcome and impact—the results of such endeavors could help to further develop and refine the material and work that we have initiated through our (time-bound) project.