27 Mar 2024|Noida | Amity University, Noida
Experts deliberate upon "Journey in Schizophrenia : From Survival to Rehabilitation and Beyond", at Amity
Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences (AIPS) organized a Panel Discussion on the topic "Journey in Schizophrenia : From Survival to Rehabilitation and Beyond", wherein experts such as Dr. Rajesh Sagar - Professor, AIIMS, Delhi, Dr. Sandeep Govil - Psychiatrist, Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, Ms. Srishti Asthana - a prominent psychologist and founder of "Words Of A Psychologist" and Mr. D. Kotteswara Rao - Assistant Director, SCARF Chennai, participated shared their views on the topic.
Addressing the students, Dr. Rajesh Sagar - Professor, AIIMS, Delhi, said, “Schizophrenia is a severe and common mental disorder, wherein the patient starts showing symptoms such as delusion, hallucination, disorganized speech and behaviour, becoming dysfunctional, not wanting to meet people, not taking care of oneself, and many other symptoms. It is caused to those who are vulnerable to stress and are unable to handle difficult situations mentally. Understanding the symptoms help in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient, in a better and more effective way.”
Explaining the symptoms of Schizophrenia, Dr. Sandeep Govil - Psychiatrist, Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, stated, “Schizophrenia should be seen as any other physical or mental illness. Early intervention leads to better treatment, but the most important thing is to destigmatize ourselves and treat the patients with great care and compassion. Medicines do their work, but the family of the patient needs to be extra sensitive while handling them since sometimes the patient shows a violent behaviour and can harm others around them also. The myths around schizophrenia must be busted and one needs to understand that intelligence remains intact in a schizophrenic person, so they understand everything, however they are unable to use the intelligence, in a positive way.”
Ms. Srishti Asthana, a prominent psychologist and founder of "Words Of A Psychologist" averred, “A caregiver’s life is very tough since they need to handle the patients of schizophrenia very carefully and responsibly. It is essential to spread awareness regarding schizophrenia and speak to the community in the local language for better understanding. Proper care and medication are helpful in treating such patients, being empathetic and keeping a track of the patient’s daily activities helps in studying their behaviour pattern and devising coping mechanisms.”
Mr. D. Kotteswara Rao - Assistant Director, SCARF Chennai, said, “Our organization SCARF is running various programmes to help people with schizophrenia, such as Family Education Program, Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Program, which is instrumental to bring a positive change in the social and occupational functioning of persons with Severe Mental Disorder (SMDs) by providing support and addressing their specific psychosocial needs. The organization also provides Disability Certifications to people with schizophrenia which helps in better treatment of the disease.”
Welcoming the guests, Prof. (Dr.) Ranjana Bhatia, HOI, Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences, said, “The Panel Discussion will be immensely beneficial to the students and provide them with great knowledge and learning about schizophrenia, beyond bookish knowledge. Through expert interaction, their understanding will enhance, and they will receive valuable guidance about the mental illness schizophrenia.”
The Panel Discussion concluded with an interactive Q&A Session wherein the queries of the students were answered by the experts.