Mental disorders have profound implication on the health, well-being and productivity of individuals and their families as well as the entire community. This resulting emotional stress leads to an impaired quality of life, including substance abuse, alcoholism, delinquency and risk taking behaviour patterns that contribute to major public health problems, like HIV/AIDS. Increasing suicide rates are another cause for deep concern.
Dr SP Agarwal and his team have attempted to present a wide spectrum of views on the state of mental health in India, primarily from a public health perspective that includes, an over view of the Indian scenario, early years of mental health care in India with particular emphasis on the British influence, the origin and growth of general hospital psychiatry and the National mental health programmes.
The book discusses the present challenges in Psychiatric rehabilitation, private sector psychiatry and issues related of the needs of special groups and contemporary issues. The book is a composition of rich experience and knowledge of the contributors. Even though the book is not priced, it is priceless to have one in the institutional library. The information provided in the book is invaluable to the postgraduate students, as no such treatise exists on mental health scenario in India till date.