Mental Health Disorders, frequently have their onset in childhood and represent a significant portion of the disease burden on the child population. In India, due to lack of awareness, sometimes early symptoms of mental health issues remain undetected and the whole treatment process gets delayed. In order to bridge the gap, ‘Minds Matter’ India's first school-based mental health curriculum was developed by Mpower, a mental healthcare initiative backed by Aditya Birla Education Trust.

The objectives of developing mental health services embedded within the school system were to create awareness, build a safe space for sharing problems, promote mental well-being, increase help-seeking behaviour and initiate early intervention. 'Minds Matter' curriculum comprises four areas: self-awareness, self-management, self-and-others and mental-health-awareness. It was pilot tested on 1350 students, out of which, 150 students had special needs and/or learning difficulties. The program was implemented in 14 schools all over India. A feedback was taken from students and school counsellors to understand the efficacy of the program.

The program implementation resulted in an increase in self-referrals, increased counsellor referrals, detection of self-harming behaviours, more acceptance and understanding towards Autism and other special needs. Along with this, healthier coping mechanisms in case of anxiety and panic attacks, reduced incidences of bullying and harassment, better compliance and decreased behavioural issues were observed. It may therefore be stated that 'Minds Matters' curriculum contributed to increased psychological awareness and heightened overall well-being of children and adolescence who were inducted into the program.