Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Socio Cultural Risk Factors And Suicide Prevention, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Society at large, particularly in the developing countries has been undergoing rapid socio-economic changes. There are newer risk factors for mental disorders playing a crucial role in pathogenesis e.g. economic transition and social inequalities. Students suicide and farmers’s have been of particular concern.Newer challenges need befitting responses, which are seldom sufficiently available in any society. Most conspicuous barrier to identify and treat mental disorders is human resources, which is not only dismal but also unequally distributed amongst different geographical and social strata of society. Globalization has changed the agenda for mental health. It’s now demonstrated that people immigrate, they share …

Risk, Vulnerability And Resilience: An Epigenetic Trajectory Of Psychiatric Disorders, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Biopsychosocial model is generally widely accepted for pathogenesis of mental disorder, recent research shows a different concept. . Social, cultural, environmental factors possibly interact in a complex way to give rise to behavioral symptoms in a particular disorder. Such factors are considered 'risk factors'. but their discrete role in causation of illness is less clear. Two main factors appear to play important role which may partially explain this process. 1. risk-vulnerability and stress diathesis model and the 2. Gene-environment interaction. Both may be operating simultaneously. Our understanding of psychosocial risk factors has been changing in recent years. Psychosocial risk can …

Need For Newer Experiments In Strengthening Education And Training Human Resource Development For Suicide Prevention, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Suicide is a global public health problem and one of the leading causes of premature death for all ages. Studies show that only 25% suicide has been within health care system, we have no information about the rest 75%. To bring more people at risk for suicide is an urgent requirement which makes a strong argument education and awareness.The WHO acknowledged that suicide prevention requires intervention from outside the health sector and calls for an innovative, comprehensive multi-sectorial approach, including both health and non-health sectors, e.g. education, labor, police, justice, religion, law, politics, the media. . Early identification of at-risk …

Education And Training For Human Resource Development For Suicide Prevention' In Low And Middle Income Countries, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Developing countries have more than two-thirds share of suicide in the world with dismal numbers of trained professionals. WHO data shows that more than 90% suicide occurs in the mentally ill individuals. Lack of effective manpower continues to be one of the three main barriers for prevention of suicide world over, particularly in developing countries, followed only by stigma and non-availability of care. Therefore training and education, especially for people, like teachers and health workers, who are in direct contact with vulnerable groups, can help increase identification of individuals with related problems, offer support, and make a referral. Though the …

Global Mental Challenges: Response To Local Needs, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Global mental Challenges: Response to local needs 1Amresh Shrivastava Running Title: Mental health: beyond Geo-political Boundaries 1Department of Psychiatry, Elgin Early Intervention Program for Psychosis, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada, and Mental Health Resource Foundation, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, e-mail: dr.amresh@gmail.com.

The health of the people determines athe health of a society and a country. Reference to ‘health’, more often than not, directs one’s thinking towards physical health, without realizing that physical health is inseparable from mental health. Physical disorders co-exist with mental disorders and mental disorders are a significant risk factor for physical illnesses. The WHO agenda on …

Burden Of Stigma On Mentally Ill And Social Exclusion, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Stigma of mental illness causes great burden on the patients and their families. It leads to discrimination, social exclusion and personal isolation. It occurs across all social, economic, and cultural class and geographical regions. As one of the greatest barrier to treatment and outcome, it is a potential clinical risk which leads to suicide, violence, physical impairment, physical illnesses, unemployment, and economic deprivation. People having mental illness suffer prejudice due to stigma. Anti-stigma measure is focussed on public health. Answer to stigma lies in personalised interventions. We carried out systematic studies to understand patient and family’s perception, and proposed clinical …

Risk Level And Range Of Suicidality Amongst Non-Attempting Early Psychosis Patients., Amresh Srivastava, Megan Johnston, Charles Nelson, Robboe Campbell

Amresh Srivastava

Purpose: Patients who are not admitted with a suicide attempt also kill themselves in post discharge period. The purpose of the study was to examine suicide risk of those patients who are not admitted due to a suicide attempt. Methods: Sixty inpatients with early psychosis were assessed in a naturalistic cross-sectional, cohort study. Standard tools for measurement of psychopathology were used. Range of suicidality and its severity was studied using a locally developed suicide assessment instrument, Scale for Impact of Suicidality-Management, Assessment and Planning of Care (SIS-MAP). Results: Out of 60 patients, 32-showed severe suicidality and 28-showed low suicidality. Characteristics …

Should ‘Risk Syndrome Of Psychosis’ Be Included In Dsm V As A Diagnosis? A Road Towards Preventive Psychiatry”, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Psychiatric diagnosis has acquired a position of a quasi-legal document for mental health services and agencies working with mental health. Its utility has gone far beyond ‘clinical diagnosis for treatment’.

The concept of risk syndrome for schizophrenia has been thoroughly researched in last ten years or so. Significant advancement has been made in phenomenology, diagnostic criteria, classification, & neurobiology. The research of prodromal or at-risk or Ultra high-risk psychosis has significantly contributed to the body of knowledge of aetio-pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

The science of risk syndrome has apparently matured and its proponents are ready for its inclusion in DSM V …

Outcome, Early Intervention & Dup: The Matrix Of Research In Early Psychosis, Amresh Srivastava, Megan Johnston

Amresh Srivastava

There has been little investigation of the relationship of DUP to other long-term outcomes such as negative symptoms and cognitive functioning neither have the possible confounds of DUP been widely investigated or controlled. It is important that there should be more thorough investigations of DUP, its correlates, and the extent to which it does mediate any advantages of earlier intervention. Shorter duration of untreated psychosis was associated with greater response to antipsychotic treatment, as measured by severity of global psychopathology, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and functional outcomes. At the time of treatment initiation, duration of initially untreated psychosis was associated …

Integrating Social & Clinical Parameters In Outcome Measures Of Schizophrenia: Clinician’S Perspective., Amresh Srivastava, Nilesh Shah, Yves Bureau

Amresh Srivastava

Schizophrenia is a complex neurobehavioral disorder for which there are many promising new treatments. There is, however, a discrepancy in outcome measure reports when they are obtained from patients, relatives, caregivers, or professionals, thus making it difficult to determine the level of recovery. The reason for this lack of agreement may be due to the limitations of the measurement tools themselves, which are not comprehensive and may be measuring different aspects of outcome. Alternatively, it could be that the conceptual understanding of outcome and recovery require development. Unfortunately for one of the above reasons or both, patients assessed as “recovered” …

Clinical Skills In Psychiatric Assessment: An Educational Module, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

No abstract provided.