Community Mental Health
Promoting mental health awareness, prevention, and early support across different life stages.
Oslo, Norway
Where mind meets expression.
Creating safer spaces for awareness, healing and meaningful human connection through community wellbeing and art.
About us
A transformed individual leads to a transformed society.
The Birch Tree Society is a non-profit organisation based in Oslo, Norway, dedicated to promoting mental health, emotional resilience, wellbeing, learning and development, and art through inclusive and culturally sensitive initiatives.
Rooted in the belief that awareness, preventive care, early support, and compassion can help build healthier communities, the organisation creates safe spaces for open dialogue and healing. These spaces help make conversations around mental health more accessible, stigma-free, and socially inclusive.
The Birch Tree Society also encourages personal growth through art-integrated learning and development programmes, alongside its community mental health and wellbeing programmes. It also fosters a sense of togetherness through engaging art events.
Our vision
To foster psychologically safe, mentally aware, and compassionate communities
Through preventive and early support, while promoting culturally sensitive initiatives and inclusive community engagement.
Our work
Family, Women & Parenting Support
Culturally sensitive programmes promoting women’s wellbeing, parenting, and family connection by fostering awareness, reflection, and healing. Thereby strengthening emotional wellbeing and building healthier family structures.
Children & Adolescents Program
Nurturing emotional resilience, self-awareness, wellbeing, and healthy development in young people.
Geriatric Mental Health & Wellbeing
Supporting emotional wellbeing, restoring cognitive health, and fostering connection, dignity, and quality of life.
Learning & Development Through Art
Integrating creative expression with learning to encourage personal growth, confidence, and development.
Yoga, Mindfulness & Wellbeing
Encouraging balance, self-awareness, resilience, and holistic wellbeing through mindful practices
Art & Community Engagement
Bringing people together through engaging art experiences that foster connection, creativity, and community.
Note: These are trauma-informed, preventive, and reflective support programs and do not directly replace licensed psychiatric treatment.
Community in action
Space for open dialogue, reflection, and healing.
Room for growth and restoration.
Start a conversation
Our team
Experience guided by empathy.
A multidisciplinary team bringing together psychology, education, art, leadership and governance.
Founder & Executive Director
Namratha Surendranath
Namratha Surendranath, Founder and Executive Director of The Birch Tree Society. Deeply rooted in human values and cultural sensibilities, she brings over a decade of multidisciplinary experience across psychology and mental health, education, creative arts, communication, and the entertainment industry. With an academic background in Clinical Psychology, Journalism, and Literature, her work is grounded in both professional expertise and human connection.
She has extensive experience in educational settings, designing and facilitating mental health and wellbeing programs with a focus on preventive care, early intervention, and mental health literacy. Alongside her work in mental health and education, she brings over a decade of experience in the South Indian film industry as an actor, model, creative writer, and communication and production professional. Her artistic background continues to shape her approach, integrating art into mental health initiatives.
Read Namratha’s perspective
She believes that stronger societies begin with awareness, healthier family systems, conscious parenting, safer workplaces, improved education, civic responsibility, and stigma-free communities. Through accessible, preventive, and culturally sensitive programs, she envisions creating psychologically safer spaces that nurture resilience, empathy, and wellbeing, while inspiring collective growth and meaningful social change.
Board Advisor
Margrete Guthus
Margrete Guthus brings decades of extensive experience in strategy, leadership, corporate governance, and organisational management across high-level corporate environments. As a former Partner at Deloitte Norway, she has held positions of significant responsibility and influence, with strong expertise in strategic decision making, stakeholder engagement, governance, and institutional development.
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With a strong passion for sustainability, ethical leadership, and meaningful impact, Margrete combines deep corporate insight with a grounded and people-centered perspective. What stands out significantly is her humility, simplicity, and genuine willingness to support purpose-driven social initiatives. Her encouragement and guidance toward community-oriented work reflects a sincere commitment to creating positive and sustainable change beyond the corporate sphere.
As Board Advisor, Margrete offers strategic guidance, governance insight, and support in strengthening partnerships, sustainability initiatives, and long-term organisational vision.
Board Advisor
Shivaramakrishnan Ramamoorthy
Shivaramakrishnan Ramamoorthy comes with a diverse and accomplished professional background spanning aviation, real estate, and information technology. A trained commercial pilot in Canada, he has developed a strong sense of precision, responsibility, and operational excellence through his aviation experience.
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Over the years, he has built extensive expertise in real estate while also leading IT security and compliance initiatives at Norvato. Across all his roles, he has held leadership positions, consistently demonstrating strategic thinking, accountability, and a commitment to building secure and well-structured systems.
As a Board Advisor to The Birch Tree Society, Sivaramakrishnan brings with him a strong foundation of leadership, discipline, and a deep respect for cultural values and righteousness. He strongly believes in nurturing a healthy, ethical, and resilient society, guided by principles of integrity, responsibility, and collective wellbeing.
Upcoming programs
Upcoming Programs
A space to gather, learn, create, and grow together.
08OCT
2026
2026
Upcoming program
Women’s Wellbeing Program
19NOV
2026
2026
Upcoming program
Women’s Wellbeing Program
29NOV
2026
2026
Upcoming program
Leaning and Development integrated with Art for Children
Collaborations
Collaborations
Building meaningful connections through shared purpose and community.
Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh, Norway
Sakhi Milan, HSS
Indo-Nord
The Ghanian Embassy and the larger African communities
Tatsat Retreats
Connect with us
Let’s grow something meaningful together.
Email
namratha@thebirchtreesociety.org
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Based in
Oslo, Norway