Volume 10 Issue 8 August, 2019
In the early 1980s, my journey in psychiatry started in a multi disciplinary hospital’s psychiatry unit in the city of joy, Kolkata. My mentor, who was a professor of medicine, advised me about integrating medicine, neuro medicine and psychiatry. It was a fascinating experience but involved hard work. During this period I also had work experience in a community based psychiatry in-patient care hospital.
My next journey was to the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi. There I found a harmonious amalgamation of hospital-based psychiatry care and excellent psychiatry teaching. All this was in the midst of imposing Victorian era buildings, mostly based on the lines of the famous Maudsley Hospital psychiatry model in London. I enjoyed talking to the long-term elderly patients and the senior nursing staff. I was impressed with the hospital organized dances, dinners, sports and cultural activities. There the boundaries between the patients, nurses and doctors vanished beyond the white coats and nurses’ caps. It was like a rebirth for the stigmatized patients, in a bigger home away from home.
Next I went to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, a place which is now of national importance. There I found a wonderful blend of service and teaching excellence. The excellent bedside ward rounds were enriching to say the least. I learned the principles of the ”brain-mindfulness” paradigm along with immense respect for the patients.
In the 1990s,I came back to my home city of Kolkata for mental health care services. My experience in the multi disciplinary Rama krishna Mission Seva Pratisthan Hospital helped develop the spirit of “seva” (service). Together with the patients and their family members I was able to create a “self-help group” called “Srijani” (Creativity) which aimed at bringing out the talents in my patients along with building resilience in them. With age and experience, I have realized that holistic psychiatry is a fascinating journey for me which abolishes myths and misconceptions regarding mental illnesses and helps to bring out the best in everyone, with a paradigm shift from patient hood to person hood and towards human excellence.
Positive Psychology as championed by Martin Seligman, practical Vedanta of Swami Vivekananda and mindfulness-based practices will help all of us towards realizing the goal of holistic health. An understanding of the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual dimension of health and well being will enable us to flourish and reach a “flow state”.
Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan Hospital and Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, Kolkata
