10 Oct 2025|Noida | Amity University, Noida
“Reaching out for help is the key to treat mental health problems”, say experts on “World Mental Health Day”, at Amity
Amity Institute of Behavioural Health and Allied Sciences (AIBHAS), Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences (AIPS) and Amity Centre for Guidance and Counselling (ACGC), Amity University Noida campus celebrated ‘World Mental Health Day’ on the theme, “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”.
Deliberating upon the topic, “Access to Services-mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”, Dr. Nimesh G. Desai, Former Director, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), averred, “Wars, conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies lead to mental stress, causing a significant impact on the mind of the person who is affected. The National Guidelines for Psychosocial Support and Mental Health Support 2009 state that the problem should not ne over diagnosed or medicated unduly or too early.” He advised that a person with mental health problems should not be hesitant or reluctant to seek counselling since reaching out for help is the key to treat mental health problems. He called upon the students to be resilient, compassionate and work dedicatedly for mental health awareness so that they can benefit the society at large.
Emphasizing upon the importance of Mental Health, Dr. Balvinder Shukla Vice Chancellor Amity University Uttar Pradesh said, “Mental health in catastrophes and emergencies is a critical concern due to the significant impact on individuals and communities. Emergencies such as natural disasters, conflicts, and pandemics can cause psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health services should be integrated with humanitarian aid, welfare, and psychosocial care in disaster response plans. After the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the number of people having depression, anxiety and other kinds of mental problems. People who suffer from mental health issues seek someone to talk to, where they can vent out their feelings without being judged. More counsellors and psychologists are required to who can provide treatment and support to persons who are going through mental health-related problems.”
Highlighting the significance of the Programme, Dr. Kalpana Srivastava, Director-Amity Institute of Behavioural Health & Allied Sciences (AIBHAS), said, “World Mental Health Day is celebrated to promote awareness towards mental health providing care and management of mental health along with enhancement of mental health following activities as proposed for all. Mental Health promotion and enhancement of wellbeing is need of the hour and people with mental health problems should not suffer in silence, reaching out for help is the mantra.”
On this occasion, Panel Discussion on themes such as “From Chaos to Care: Responding Effectively to Mental Health Needs”, “Empowering Students and Trainees as Frontline Responders in Mental Health Crises along with developing resilience”, and “Integration of Trauma-informed approaches with long term recovery & resilience” were also held wherein Prof. Dr. Om Sai Ramesh. V., Department of Psychiatry, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi. Prof Dr. Uday K. Sinha, Mentor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS), New Delhi and Ms. Sanskriti Singh, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Numed Superspeciality Hospital, Greater Noida, participated as Panelists.