An appraisal of psychotherapy training during psychiatry residency program in India: A national survey.

Background: The need for psychotherapy training (PT) has been recognized worldwide and is considered an integral component of postgraduate psychiatry training. Our study aims to assess the quality of PT received by psychiatrists during their postgraduate studies and its impact on their current practice.

Aim: To evaluate the quality of PT and its effect on the current psychiatry practice.

Mental Health Programme in India: Has the tide really turned?

Mental disorders in India form a major public health concern and the efforts to tackle these dates back to four decades, by way of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and its operational arm, the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). Although the progress of NMHP (and DMHP) was relatively slower till recently, the last 4-5 years have seen rapid strides with several initiatives, including (i) expansion of DMHPs to 90 per cent of the total districts of the country, (ii) the National Mental Health Policy and (iii) strengthening the Mental Health Legislation by way of providing explicit provisions for rights of persons with mental illnesses. Among others, factors responsible for this accelerated growth include the easily accessible digital technology as well as judicial activism.

Role of humanities in modern medical education.

Purpose Of Review: The role and importance of integrating humanities into medical education has been recognized for a long time. However, to what extent humanities are included in the medical curricula and how and when they are taught during the medical training in medical schools across the world is unclear. The review was undertaken to study the current status and role of humanities in medical education.

Models of Care of Schizophrenia in the Community-An International Perspective.

Purpose Of Review: We reviewed the existing and recent community models of care in schizophrenia. We examine characteristics, recent updates, evidence, cost-effectiveness, and patients' acceptance for existing and new community-based care models in high-income (HI) and low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries.

Recent Findings: Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), Intensive Case Management (ICM), and Crisis Intervention are cost-effective interventions for schizophrenia and time tested in the last few decades in HI countries.

Challenges in tracing treatment non-adherent persons with mental illness: Experiences from a rural community mental health center, India.

Identification, enrollment, and retention in treatment are challenging processes in mental health care. The present paper highlights the challenges in tracing and reenrolling non-adherent persons with mental illness for treatment in a rural community mental health center. Unclear address, phone numbers not in use, relocation from the given address, no further contact details etc.

Overview of behavioural and psychological consequences of COVID 19.

Purpose Of Review: The paper aims to provide an overview of the psychological and behavioural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on variations in behavioural response in different geographical areas due to the existence of different social-cultural contexts.

Recent Findings: Whilst anxiety, depression and economic stressors are common findings worldwide, specific behavioural responses are heavily influenced by government stances, misinformation, conspiratorialism and competing demands of resource scarcity. This has led to very different understandings of the pandemic even in geographically close areas, and more so when comparing disparate regions such as Africa, South America and Europe.

Treatment non-adherence pattern among persons with neuropsychiatric disorders: A study from a rural community mental health centre in India.

Background: Treatment gap causes significant loss to individuals, families, societies and the nation. Treatment adherence enhancement is a major challenge in psychiatric disorders. Globally, the community mental health services are obligated to minimize the treatment and adherence gap.

Integration of mental health comorbidity in medical specialty programs in 20 countries.

Methods: A systematic analysis was performed of the medical specialization academic programs of 20 different countries to establish which medical specialties take into account mental health issues in the specialty curricular design and which mental health content these programs address. The criteria that were explored in the educational programs include: 1) name of the medical specialties that take into account mental health content in curriculum design, 2) name of the mental health issues addressed by these programs. After independent review and data extraction, paired investigators compared the findings and reached consensus on all discrepancies before the final presentation of the data.

Mental health impact of COVID-19: Australian perspective.

Australia's response to the coronavirus outbreak has widely been considered to be among the most successful in the world. A bipartisan "national government" akin to that in wartime, a fairly unified COVID response by the federal and all the state governments, international border closures and quarantine, some of the best coronavirus testing in the world, and widespread public acceptance of physical distancing, all contributed to Australia being able to call itself the "lucky country" in its successful navigation of the COVID crisis. The country clearly had a plan for the mental health consequences of COVID.

Psychiatry postgraduate examinations for 2020 in the middle of COVID19 crisis: Suggestions from Indian teachers of psychiatry.

The COVID19 pandemic is an unprecedented disaster. In India, the spread of COVID19 infection and the subsequent lockdown coincided with a crucial period of the annual examination in almost all educational institutions. The pandemic has created hurdles in the conduct of examination due to many reasons, some of which are spread of infection and associated safety issues, lack of public transport for patients as well as the postgraduates in outstation and examiners, and lack of workforce due to round-the-clock service for rendering health services leading to difficulty in arranging logistics at the examination center.

A Survey among Teachers of Psychiatry to Improve the Quality of Undergraduate Training: Outcomes from Karnataka.

Background: In India, there is a large gap between the mental health morbidity in society and the availability of psychiatrists. However, the latest Indian undergraduate medical curriculum does not require any competency in psychiatry to be fulfilled for certification of medical graduates as doctors. Thus, the role of Indian psychiatry teachers is quite challenging.

Postgraduate training in psychiatry in Asia.

Purpose Of Review: To understand the current situation, needs and challenges in the area of postgraduate training in psychiatry in Asia and identify implementable solutions.Leaders in psychiatric education from nine Asia Pacific countries prepared country reports, based on a suggested list of items and met for a day to discuss and identify implementable solutions to improve the current unsatisfactory status of postgraduate training in psychiatry.

Recent Findings: Except Japan, all the other countries have a very low number of psychiatrists per 100 000 population - far lower than the global target of 10 psychiatrist per 100 000 population.