ABSTRACT
Through the behavioral descriptions in age-old texts it is obvious that Mental Health problems exist since the existence of Homo Sapiens and humanity, with ever changing norms, contexts, definitions and hence their management. Gujarat state of India is one of the oldest land plateaus existing. It has been inhabited, ruled and governed by many different people, races, kings; and invaded through its longest sea-coast by Dutch, Portuguese, British. Even after freedom of India in 1947, Gujarat emerged as a separate state in 1960 only. The history of Mental Health, before being a separate state, could be summed up in 2 Mental Hospitals started by British governance and 2 very unique institutions. Post NMHP, there has been a tremendous growth in the sector, supported by many leaders in the governance. This is an attempt to review some documented and some gathered information from dependable sources, from pre-independence colonial era, post-independence and post-statehood contemporary period.
ABSTRACT
Despite the knowledge that people with mental illness often seek care from multiple healing systems, there is limited collaboration between these systems. Greater collaboration with existing community resources could narrow the treatment gap and reduce fragmentation by encouraging more integrated care. This paper explores the origins, use, and outcomes of a collaborative programme between faith-based and allopathic mental health practitioners in India. We conducted 16 interviews with key stakeholders and examined demographic and clinical characteristics of the user population. Consistent with previous research, we found that collaboration is challenging and requires trust, rapport-building, and open dialogue. The collaboration reached a sizeable population, was reviewed favourably by key stakeholders-particularly on health improvement and livelihood restoration-and perhaps most importantly, views the client holistically, allowing for both belief systems to play a shared role in care and recovery. Results support the idea that, despite differing practices, collaboration between faith-based and allopathic mental health practitioners can be achieved and can benefit clients with otherwise limited access to mental health care.
