🧠About MHECON 2026
MHECON 2026 brings together students, researchers, academicians, practitioners, and professionals across mental health, public health, media, policy, education, and allied fields to exchange evidence, best practices, and innovations in mental health education and promotion.
Theme: Bridging Knowledge, Practice, and Innovation in Mental Health Education
🗓️ Pre-Conference: 19 June 2026
🗓️Conference: 20 June 2026
đź“Ť Venue: Platinum Jubilee Hall, NIMHANS, Bengaluru
Our Pre-Conference Workshop @ MHECON 2026:
The Language Lab: Mental Health Communication Under The Microscope
An experiential skills lab for real-world mental health communication across
clinical, community, media, and digital settings.
Date: 19 June 2026
Venue: Dr. M. V. Govindaswamy Centre, NIMHANS
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Fee for the preconference workshop:
Students: â‚ą500
Professionals: â‚ą1000
⚠️ Note: Conference registration is NOT mandatory to attend any pre-conference workshop.
Clinicians, public health professionals, educators, media
professionals, students, and digital content creators working at the intersection of
mental health and communication.
(1) Dr Sharmitha Krishnamurthy
Lab Design & Media Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Chief of Public Mental Health & Co-Founder
(2) Dr Mohan Sunil Kumar
Lab Strategy & Clinical-Digital Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Chief Psychiatrist & Co-FounderÂ
(3) Ms. Nitya Dhruve
Lab Anchor & Client Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Principal Psychologist
(4) Ms. Bindhu Subash
Lab Process & Family Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Senior Consultant, Counselling & Psychotherapy
(5) Ms. Dhriti S Bhardwaj
Lab Engagement & Social Media Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Associate Psychologist
(6) Ms. Tanuja V
Lab Outreach & Crisis Communication Lead
Designation @ Augmenta: Associate PsychologistÂ
Top 10 Highlights of the Workshop
Put language on the operating table Examine real phrases from clinics, classrooms, conversations, comments, and campaigns to see how they help or harm.
Watch ordinary words turn into high‑stakes moments Explore how everyday language becomes stigma, safety, dismissal, dignity, risk, or relief.
Feel the intensity of real‑world communication breakdowns Step into realistic scenarios—distressed students, minimising families, alienating clinicians, sensational media, and AI‑generated misfires.
Learn the art of saying the right thing when it matters most Move from awkward or generic responses to grounded, attuned, humanly helpful communication.
Experience a lab built on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle A Test → Examine → Reframe → Apply sequence that makes communication skills usable immediately.
Decode communication across four key spaces Clinical, community/family, media/public messaging, and digital/AI‑mediated communication.
Enter the AI Prompt Lab Use AI to audit language, test safer phrasing, and generate messaging—while also learning where AI fails emotionally or ethically.
Use the Augmenta 7S Framework A practical tool to evaluate whether language promotes safety, reduces stigma, supports help‑seeking, and respects context.
Leave with language, not just learning Participants walk away with ready‑to‑use communication antidotes for clients, families, classrooms, campaigns, and digital spaces.
Be part of a visible shift Contribute to The Language Wall—“Words We Leave Behind” and “Words We Carry Forward”—a collective installation marking change.
