Mandatory Online three-month Psychiatric Counselling training for UP doctors

Bareilly: Doctors in Uttar Pradesh have been asked by the state authorities to undergo a mandatory 3 months training in psychiatric counselling in order to treat mentally ailing patients. An online training for a diploma in community mental health, provided by the NIMHANS in Bengaluru has to be completed by these doctors.

It was on the recommendation of the core group that the government decided to give a direction that every doctor in service of the states or central government must be imparted training in psychiatric counseling for improving mental health services in India.

State Nodal Officer, Mental Health, Dr. Sunil Pandey, said, "Following an order by the Supreme Court, the ministry of health and family welfare had constituted a core group which recommended that all government doctors should undergo a training on mental health. The aim is to make all doctors able to treat patients having a mental illness."

The officials revealed that the Centre has requested state governments to make it mandatory that all doctors are trained in psychiatry by December 2020.

"It is a free-of-cost course and doctors will be selected on a first-come, first served basis. We have told government practitioners to inform us once they register for the course,'' added Pandey.

Explaining the course, to the TOI, he said, "It will help doctors identify common mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, psychosis and addiction-related problems. The training will help them perform brief psychosocial interventions.''

A 30-hour course. it will have the candidates appear for a written exam once they complete the training. They will be entitled to a certificate after they clear the course, revealed officials.