Experience of Psychiatrists Regarding Recovery of the Mentally Ill in Rural India, with Case Reports

Abstract

Available data from the Indian studies suggests that the prevalence of psychiatric disorder comes to about 20% while the prevalence of schizophrenia is 0.7/1000-14.2/1000. The chronic course and debilitating effects of schizophrenia combine to create a disease that has tremendous clinical, social, and economic consequences on society. According to data from WHO in 2011, there are 0.301 psychiatrists, 0.166 nurses, and 0.047 psychologists for every 100, 000 patients in India. Most people in India are unaware that mental illness is treatable. In India a huge treatment gap still exists for all types of mental health problems: There are plethora of causes that causes a hindrance in seeking treatment, recovery, and prognosis of mentally ill patients in India. Stigma is one of the main factors. Other factors include superstition, poverty, poor accessibility to health-care facilities, and marriage in case of female patients. In this chapter we discuss two cases that throw a light regarding recovery of mentally ill in rural India.