Children and Adolescents Mental Health Division
Overview & Mission
The Child and Adolescent Group at PILL is dedicated to transforming mental health care for children and adolescents in Pakistan, with a vision of a future where every young person feels seen, supported, and able to thrive. Our mission is to advance research, provide training, and build strong foundations for mental health through evidence-based programs and community awareness. We are tackling the urgent gaps in early intervention and quality services, breaking the silence around youth mental health, and empowering families and professionals to ensure no young mind is left behind.
| Objectives
- Conduct research on child and adolescent mental health in Pakistan.
- Provide training for mental health professionals, educators, and parents.
- Develop culturally adapted early intervention programs for schools and communities.
- Promote awareness and reduce stigma related to youth mental health.
| Our Workstreams
We conduct rigorous research to understand the burden of child and adolescent mental health challenges in Pakistan. Our work includes systematic reviews, epidemiological studies, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to build a strong evidence base. We also develop and culturally adapt evidence-based interventions to ensure they are effective and relevant to local communities.
We strengthen mental health expertise by training researchers, academics, and professionals through education programs, workshops, webinars, and conferences. Our goal is to build a skilled workforce equipped to advance mental health care and raise awareness within schools, communities, and professional networks.
We ensure excellence in research through careful monitoring, performance management, and quality assurance. This includes tracking the progress of child and adolescent mental health studies, research papers, and publications within PILL to maintain high standards and timely delivery.
We actively share research findings through publications, talks, newsletters, community events, and our digital platforms. By working closely with national and international partners, we promote collaboration, raise awareness, and drive positive change in child and adolescent mental health.
Featured Projects
1) Project Title: Youth Culturally Adapted Manual Assisted Problem-Solving Training (YCMAP)
Summary: YCMAP is a culturally adapted, brief psychological intervention designed to prevent self-harm and suicidal behavior among adolescents in Pakistan. The project aims to evaluate its clinical and cost effectiveness, generalize its findings across urban centers, and explore mechanisms of change while improving access to care through a task-shifting approach, and reducing stigma.
Status: Completed
Key Outcomes/Goals:
- YCMAP is effective in reducing self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and emotional distress among adolescents.
- The intervention is cost-effective and scalable across urban centers in Pakistan.
- Community Health Workers (CHWs) can successfully deliver the intervention through a task-shifting approach, improving access to care and reducing stigma.
- Parental involvement, community awareness sessions, and easy-to-use booklets were identified as key facilitators for success.
- The project highlights the potential of culturally adapted, evidence-based interventions to address youth mental health needs in low-resource settings.
2) Project Title: Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Pakistan (SEPAK): Exploratory Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (cRCT)
Summary: SEPAK is designed to develop and evaluate culturally adapted, school-based interventions to prevent self-harm and suicide among adolescents aged 12–17.In collaboration with schools, parents, teachers, and clinicians, it raises awareness, identifies at-risk youth, and improves access to care through evidence-based programs like YAM, QPR, and ProfScreen, creating a supportive mental health ecosystem.
Status: Completed
Key Outcomes/Goals:
- Developed culturally adapted interventions to reduce stigma, encourage help-seeking, and prevent self-harm among adolescents.
- Demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of school-based programs through student, teacher, and parent feedback.
- Implemented LEADS sessions to raise awareness, QPR training to equip teachers and parents, and ProfScreen assessments for early identification of at-risk students.
- Highlighted the need for parental engagement, school partnerships, and multimedia learning tools to improve understanding and intervention uptake.
- Built a strong foundation for a large-scale national trial to transform youth mental health in Pakistan.
3) Project Title: LTP Plus: Learning Through Play Plus
Summary: LTP Plus is a parenting and mental health initiative that combines mobile health (TechMotherCare) and telehealth (TeleMotherCare) interventions for mothers, alongside an exploratory RCT for fathers. The program aims to reduce parental depression, improve child health, and strengthen family wellbeing.
Status: Completed
Key Outcomes/Goals:
- LTP (Original Program): Improved parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) but no significant effect on maternal depression.
- LTP Plus (Urban Slums): Significant reduction in maternal depression; no significant differences in child height and weight.
- LTP Plus for Dads: Reduced depressive symptoms, increased parenting knowledge, and positive attitudes toward child development.
- LTP for Mothers, TechMotherCare & TeleMotherCare: Demonstrated improved maternal mental health, quality of life, and social support, with mothers valuing remote access options. TeleMotherCare showed significant gains in depression, anxiety, and relationships, while TechMotherCare offered qualitative mood benefits. Child development outcomes showed mixed results at 6 months.
- Overall: Evidence highlights the scalability of mobile and telehealth delivery, improving parental mental health while reducing barriers to care.
Trainings and Workshops
A talk on “Role of psychotropic Medications in Autism Spectrum Disorder” for treating children and adolescents.
PILL-Multan office.
PILL-Multan office collaborating with the National psychiatric hospital had an awareness session about Mental health issues with students and their management at Lahore Grammar School Multan with 60 participants (teachers).
The Cancer Awareness Session
The cancer awareness session was conducted by PILL on February 29, 2024 in a small town LArr near Multan city. It was an impactful and informative event arranged for 9th, 10th and first year students. The presentation was surrounded with valuable information on different types of cancer, causes and prevention strategies. the young girls learned the self-examination strategies.
The Suicide Prevention Roadshow Event
The Suicide Prevention Roadshow Event, held on September 23rd at the Royal Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Multan, has approximately 60 students, 10 staff members, and teachers. Multan PILL team highlighted the facts and figures of suicide, including all warning signs and preventive measures. Some of the students shared their experiences and questions regarding their loved ones battling with suicidal ideation.
Participants showed their appreciation by requesting the Head of the department Ms. Narmeen Haseeb that these mental health topics should be discussed once every month.
Our Impact
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division has reached over 5,500 children and adolescents and trained more than 2,000 caregivers, teachers, and healthcare professionals through evidence-based programs, workshops, and campaigns. Its initiatives have improved mental health literacy, empathy, and help-seeking behaviors, strengthened early detection systems, and created culturally adapted interventions for youth mental health. By engaging schools, families, and communities, the division is transforming care accessibility, reducing stigma, and empowering families to nurture healthier, more resilient generations. Moreover, We have launched the Child and Adolescent Mental Health course in collaboration with national and international partners. The course focuses on building knowledge and skills related to identifying mental health problems in children and adolescents, conducting assessments, and applying therapeutic skills and psychological interventions to support their wellbeing. This initiative builds professional capacity, strengthens services, and ensures timely, evidence-based care for children, adolescents, and their families.
Meet the Team
Role: Chairperson
Brief Bio: Prof. Zainab Zadeh, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and President of the Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychology, is Head of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at PILL, Karachi, and a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society. With expertise spanning clinical, educational, and positive psychology, she has authored two books, published 27 research articles, and brings extensive experience in psychotherapy, psychological assessments, and mental health leadership.
Ms. Rabia Fahad
Role: Division Lead & Lead of WS-3 (Monitoring research conduct and progress)
Brief Bio: Rabia Fahad is a Research Associate and Clinical Psychologist at PILL, specializing in child and adolescent mental health. She leads large-scale parenting and psychosocial intervention trials, coordinates Pakistan’s first National Centre for Research on Parental Mental Health and Child Development, and builds capacity among researchers and community health workers. Actively engaged in community outreach, she has established and adapted Community Engagement and Involvement Groups across multiple countries to promote mental health awareness for children, adolescents, and families.
Dr. Amna Noureen
Role: Lead WS-2 (Capacity Building and Awareness)
Brief Bio: Dr. Noureen is a distinguished Clinical Psychologist with a PhD in Suicide Bereavement and multiple academic honors. She serves as Research Associate and Global Lead of Teaching, Training, and Development at PILL, and leads WS-2 on Capacity Building and Awareness Raising under the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. A Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester and SPARCR5 Awardee, she has expertise in suicide prevention, self-harm, qualitative research, and mental health capacity building, with numerous international publications and active engagement in public mental health awareness.
Mr. Usman Arshad
Role: Lead WS-1 (Developing Evidence Base)
Brief Bio: Usman Arshad, Assistant Director for Evidence Synthesis at PILL, is an accomplished mental health researcher specializing in systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and policy development. His work has secured major international funding from NIHR, NIH, MRC, UKRI, and Grand Challenges Canada, supporting high-impact research in areas including suicide prevention, breast cancer, cardiac rehabilitation, smoking cessation, parenting interventions, and culturally adapted therapies. With over 50 publications and protocols in leading journals, he also serves as a peer reviewer for BJPsych Open and Springer Nature, contributing to the academic rigour of global mental health literature. Usman’s work continues to bridge science, policy, and practice to improve mental health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
Link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/usman-arshad-ab3706134/
Dr. Maryam Riaz
Role: Lead WS-4 (Dissemination)
Brief Bio: Dr. Maryam Riaz, Research Fellow at the Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning, earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Gujrat in collaboration with the University of Manchester. Her work focuses on child and adolescent mental health, tool development, and evidence-based interventions, with a strong commitment to promoting community well-being. She has published in leading journals including Early Intervention in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychology, and Annals of Medicine.
Dr. Azam Tahir
Ms. Zainab Fatima
Ms. Zahra Nigah
Mr. Mansoor Ahmed
Mr. Atta ur Rehman
Ms. Madeha Ashfaq
Ms. Atika Juma
Mr. Adnan Chohan
Ms. Hooria Huda
Our News and Blogs
