Mindfulness for Medicos

Introduction One question that often bothers people whenever they are going for psychiatric consultation, especially if it’s their first time visiting any psychiatrists or mental health professionals is confidentiality of the consultation. They ask varied questions like ‘Will my family members know about this?’ ‘What if my employers or colleagues find out?’ ‘Will my spouse get to know about this?’ and so on. These are genuine concerns and should be addressed by the mental health professionals at the outset emphasizing on confidential nature of psychiatric consultation and its different aspects. Mental Health Care Act, 2017 One must be first aware that mental health in India is governed by the Mental health Care Act (MHCA), 2017 which came into force on 29 th May, 2018, repealing the older Mental Health Act (MHA), 1987. The changes and amendments were made in line with United Nations Conventions on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 which India ratified in 2007. In MHC...

  Introduction When it comes to psychiatry and mental health, stigma starts right away when you even mention anything around it. For me, I felt it when I informed my parents that I want to pursue Psychiatry as my post-graduation speciality. My mother supported me wholeheartedly but my father would occasionally voice his dissent with comments like ‘Medicine has better options’, ‘Pediatrics is a lucrative branch’ which I would politely counter with affirmative remarks without going into any further arguments.  However, the harshest comments and opinions were made by some so-called well-wishers who would lash out their disappointments with ridiculous notions like if you treat mad people, you will become mad too or right way calling me mad people’s doctor or even mad doctor (because in their understanding I was mad to take psychiatry).  Nevertheless, I did persevere and it’s been more than a decade for me in psychiatry, interacting with and treating hundreds of patients, l...