Mental health treatment remains “highly insufficient” and “highly stigmatised”, mental health professionals said at a programme on Monday.
Though young people are more open about their mental conditions now, they often do not access treatment because their parents do not agree to it, the speakers said.
Antara Psychiatric Hospital, which has for 51 years been engaged in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism, on Monday celebrated World Mental Health Day and inaugurated Mental Health Month 2022.
“Antara was established in 1971... There was hardly any treatment available then. Antara was one of the first. It started to treat the destitute mentally ill. Mental illness was highly stigmatised. Now, 51 years later, we continue to have highly insufficient treatment for those who are suffering and it remains highly stigmatised,” said Kamal Prakash, president, Antara.
The problem is global but in India it is worse. Prakash said the “global average is one psychiatric caregiver for a population of 2,00,000”. Psychiatrists treating patients said that they had seen a change in the younger generation.
“The young generation is much more open about it (mental health) but I do hear stories... they (the young) tell me unfortunately they could not come because their parents do not agree to it. Mental health still remains stigmatised,” said psychiatrist Sanjay Garg.
Garg later spoke to The Telegraph about a gap in treatment because parents do not agree to send their children for therapy and the children cannot afford to pay the fees.
At the programme, Garg said it is important to talk about mental health because that is the way “to reduce the stigma about mental health”.
During the two-hour programme at ICCR’s Satyajit Ray Auditorium, the recurring theme was speaking about mental health and access to treatment.
The last two years of the pandemic has increased mental health problems across different age groups, induced by job loss, loneliness and inability to move out and socialise.
“Covid has caused a problem worldwide.... We (at Antara) had to take care of over200 patients who were already admitted at that time... And somehow managed to take care of the other new patients who were turning up with both mental disease and Covid,” said Mathew P. John, the honorary general secretary of Antara.
“The overall objective of the world mental health day is to raise awareness around the world and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health,” said Antara’s acting CEO Nobin Samuel.