Noting that de-addiction was one of the biggest problems, K. Pandiarajan, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, said Tamil Nadu will have no liquor shops in three years.
“This is the stand of our party (AIADMK),” he said at the inauguration of the International Conference on Schizophrenia organised by Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) on Thursday. Some States in the country have banned liquor, including Bihar.
Tamil Nadu stands second in the country when it comes to investment in mental healthcare, he said. “We have miles to go. There is a huge need for human resource development in the domain of psychiatry,” the Minister said. He added that the State has made a decision to have psychological counselors in all primary health centres.
Delivering the first Dr. M. Sarada Menon Oration, Max Birchwood from the University of Warwick, U.K., spoke about social recovery-oriented cognitive behavioural therapy causing changes in individuals not responding to early psychosis treatments. “Of the 155 individuals across sites in U.K., only 10 had paid employment. They were spending about seven hours a week of structured activity. Many of them had anxiety and phobia. They felt hopeless and defeated,” he said.
Helen Herrman, World Psychiatric Association’s president, Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, World Association of Social Psychiatry’s president, Ajit Bhide, Indian Psychiatric Society’s president, R. Padmavati, SCARF’s director and R. Thara, SCARF’s Vice-Chairman spoke.