Mental Health Care for All

From isolation to asylums to quality care-the great evolution

Isolation was the preferred treatment of the mentally ill at the beginning of the 18th century in India. It was a common belief that the mentally ill were dangerous and should be kept away from society and hidden from their families and communities.

As a result sylums became widespread during the 1700s.

So even if mental health care in India has been available for the last 2 centuries, the availability of care was very limited & the quality was also meagre. Rapid improvement has been seen in the field of mental health care in India in the previous 30 years, with active involvement of the Judiciary and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in monitoring the availability of infrastructure and human resources for mental health care.

The Government of India strengthened efforts in mainstreaming mental health by passing the Mental Healthcare Act, of 2017, which protects the rights of persons with mental illness including the Right to Mental Healthcare.

In the World Health Organization’s (WHO) most recent World Mental Health Report, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, reflected: “Mental health is a lot more than the absence of illness: it is an intrinsic part of our individual and collective health and well-being. …We need to transform our attitudes, actions, and approaches to promote and protect mental health, and to provide and care for those in need.”

Seeking mental health support is extremely challenging in India because of the following reasons:

Stigma around Mental Health -

Mental health is widely stigmatised across India. People are often seen using derogatory terms like “lunatic”, “mad” “possessed” for people suffering from mental health conditions so a lot of people do not come openly & share their concerns because of the anticipation of shame.

Limited Understanding of People Regarding Mental Health-

Mental health conditions cannot be seen so people have less knowledge of the same.

Cultural Preconceptions-

Cultural and traditional beliefs also do not allow people to seek mental health care in India. A lot of times it’s seen that people prefer to go to Astrologers or spiritual Gurus to seek answers for their mental health issues.\r

Lack of Resources-

There are insufficient mental health facilities & professionals in India & recent data reveals that there are 0.7 mental health professionals for every one lakh persons when the standard guidelines suggest that there should be at least three psychiatrists per one lakh population (TOI article, 11th October 2023)

Expensive Care & Treatment Facilities-

A lot of organisations are also costly & most of the facilities are not covered by any health Insurance companies so it becomes difficult for people to seek treatment

So, how can mental health care be achieved?

Mental health care for all can be achieved by,

Combating Stigma

Combating stigma can be beautifully done by the Media especially by the Bollywood Movie fraternity to get mass attention the Polio eradication advertisements headed by Amitabh Bachchan had a huge mass appeal & we could spread awareness, and mobilize people to take polio drops & could make India polio-free within few years of that campaign. Several celebrities like Aamir khan, Ira Khan, Deepika Padukone, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dia Mirza, Mrunal Thakur etc are openly talking about their own mental health & the need to seek support so there is a hope that stigma can be minimized if not completely eradicated very soon.

Integrating mental health into routine primary health care -

It can be a good step to achieving mental health care for all.

Supporting providers & caregivers -

It must also equip the primary supporters to resolve their mental health as counselling can be an emotionally draining experience so equipping the support staff with the required resources.

Increasing investments in access-

This will involve advocating to ministries of health to increase funding for mental health services

In our path forward, we must work together and ensure that ministers of health and other leaders can articulate to drive much-needed resources and attention to mental health care. Together, we can make mental health a priority.

To deal with depression, anxiety & other mental health concerns call 1800-120-820050, the 24*7 toll-free number by Mpower & BMC with Maharashtra Govt. It helps individuals sail through tough times by addressing their concerns.

If you require more support then you can always visit to Mpower centres based in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, and Delhi. Mpower is always ready to help with your concerns.