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| Centers of Excellence - Psychiatry |
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Introduction:-
Psychiatric and behavioral health disorders range from potentially life-threatening disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression, to less debilitating but common conditions, such as anxiety and less severe mood disorders.
Prevention, treatment, management, and rehabilitation of these conditions are central to comprehensive health care. Mental health problems are found in people of all ages, regions, countries and societies.
According to a recent survey by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), the prevalence of mental disorders is about seven per cent of the country's population and of this three per cent need active treatment. It is estimated that one person in every four will be affected by a mental disorder at some stage of life. Mental illnesses affect and are affected by chronic conditions such as cancer, heart and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Untreated, they bring about unhealthy behaviour, non-compliance with prescribed medical regimens, diminished immune functioning, and poor prognosis.
Cost-effective treatments exist for most disorders and, if correctly applied, could enable most of those affected to become functioning members of society.
Mission and Values:- The Department of Psychiatry at Narayana Hrudayalaya is fully committed to the mission of providing a broad and comprehensive range of clinical services to those needing mental health and substance abuse treatments.
The Department was established in October 2008, primarily as an Out-Patient and Liaison Service and has treated approximately 250 patients to date. It is currently staffed by a Visiting Consultant.
Services Offered:-
1) Outpatient Services:- The Psychiatry OPD is conducted on a thrice weekly basis (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) between 11 am - 3pm.
The department offers a wide variety of services for children, adolescents, adults, seniors, couples and families.
Therapeutic interventions take different forms, depending on the individual need: psycho-pharmacology; family meetings; electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); and a variety of group and individual psychotherapies, including supportive psychotherapy, psycho-education, insight oriented psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
2) Tobacco Cessation Clinic – This is a specialized service wherein individuals who are habituated or addicted to smoking or tobacco chewing, are given assistance and support to quit their tobacco habit.
We offer a comprehensive cessation strategy incorporating behavioural counselling, medication, Nicotine replacement therapy and relapse prevention strategies. 3) Consultation Liaison Services – The Department is providing out-of-hours telephone services for psychiatry emergencies as well as routine psychiatric consultations for inpatients and outpatients of other specialities.
Staffing:- Dr. Preeti Patil is the Consultant Psychiatrist at Narayana Hrudayalaya since October 2008. She completed her psychiatric training at the Greater Glasgow Psychiatric Training Program and achieved the MRCPsych degree in June 2007. She has extensive experience in the various psychiatric sub-specialities, including General Adult psychiatry, Child and Adolescent psyhiatry, Old Age psychiatry, Liaison Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Rehabilitation Psychiatry and Substance Misuse Disorders. Her areas of special interest include mood disorders and early intervention in psychosis.
Future Plans:-
1) Inpatient Services:- We aim to commence inpatient services for individuals with psychiatric and substance misuse disorders by June 2009.
2) Community Outreach Services:- We plan to take active participation in community education and outreach activities, focusing especially on tobacco cessation through awareness programs, rural mental health camps, etc.
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