Under the initiative, mental health officers are supposed to identify such shrines and hold campaigns there to highlight the importance of medication. (Source: Pixabay)
An initiative in Gautam Budh Nagar is identifying people facing mental health issues by sending officials to places that promise “spiritual healing” to fix such problems. On Thursday, district-level officials headed to Noida’s Kalupeer Dargah, as part of the initiative titled ‘Dua Se Dawa’, part of an umbrella scheme under the National Mental Health Programme. This was the third time officials in Gautam Budh Nagar have visited a shrine.
According to district mental health officers, several people visit local shrines either alone or with relatives to be treated by saints and babas for mental illnesses. Under the initiative, mental health officers are supposed to identify such shrines and hold campaigns there to highlight the importance of medication.
Officials spoke to 105 people during the campaign, of which five were prescribed medicines by a psychiatrist. The age group ranges from 5 to 50, officials said.
“We encounter several women facing depression due to suppressed feelings. Our effort is not to discount a person’s religious belief but to make them realise the importance of medicine as the right alternative,” said the district’s chief psychiatrist Dr Tanuja Gupta.
“When we started the programme, there were merely 15-20 attendees, and no patients. Now there is a considerable increase. In fact, some of the patients who would earlier visit shrines now visit hospitals, which I believe is tangible success,” said nodal officer Bharat Bhushan.
“The local programme is a government effort to highlight the importance of scientific healing, especially when it comes to mental health. Apart from an awareness drive, we also hold consultations and prescribe medications on the spot,” said Rajni Suri, a psychiatrist and social worker in the district mental health team.