Govt plans mental health rehab institute in Bhopal

New Delhi: The government has decided to set up a National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) near Bhopal and the cost of the project would be Rs 179.54 crore in the first three years.

Speaking at a conference on 'Re-thinking Mental Health' on Friday, Prabodh Seth, joint secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, highlighted that the objectives of the NIMHR that include providing rehabilitation services to people with mental illness, capacity development in the area of mental health rehabilitation, policy framing and advanced research in mental health rehabilitation.

"Given the huge gap in demand and supply, we are thinking of developing in-service training programs for persons employed in government organizations who can get effective training and be effective in providing basic rehabilitation services," the official said.

Present on the occasion, Dr Nimesh Desai, who is the director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), said, "Mental health is nowhere near the central agenda of society. It is still a storm in a teacup. Scientific figures from the National Institute of Health put that rate at 49 per cent." The main objectives of the NIMHR are to provide rehabilitation services to the persons with mental illness, capacity development in the area of mental health rehabilitation, policy framing and advanced research in mental health rehabilitation. The institute will be the first of its kind in the country in the area of mental health rehabilitation.