Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

2013 Indian Association of Health,

Research and Welfare

2013, 4(1), 102-109

http://www.iahrw.com/index.php/home/journal_detail/19#list

Mental illness, Stigma and Khap Panchayats: An overview

Dharmender Kumar Nehra

Himani Nandal

Rajesh Kashyap

Clinical Psychologist, State Institute of

Mental Health, PGI-MS, Rohtak, Haryana

Department of English
C.D.L.U, Sirsa, Haryana

ChaudhryRanbir Singh Chair

M.D.U, Rohtak, Haryana

Pradeep Kumar

SatishKundu

Psychiatric Social Worker, State Institute

of Mental Health, PGI-MS, Rohtak

R.P. Education Society

Rohtak, Haryana

The relation between stigma and mental health has been the subject of research since the past decades. These two
most common public health concerns have been found to be strongly correlated. There are strong and consistent
evidences of negative effect of stigma in psychiatric patients that leads social isolation and lack of quality social
support. The increased risk contributed by stigma is more deteriorating than the symptoms of the illness. Research
on the relationship between stigma and psychiatric illness may be said to have evolved along two parallel paths. One
has proved that people with mental illness fight with symptoms of illness. The other path has shown that they are
confronted by prejudices people have, regarding them. Both paths have established negative findings suggesting
that stigma is indeed linked to adverse outcomes. Both of them (mental illness and associated stigma) cause a
significant decrease in quality of life for the patient and impose a significant economic burden on society. It is
heartening to see the initiatives undertaken by mental health professionals at different levels, but there is still a long
way to go. There is a strong need to involve societal agencies such as Khap Panchayats in the process of destigmatization of mental illness to eradicate mental illness and improve quality of life in this comparatively more
vulnerable population. Although literature is available regarding the role and stand of Khaps in different social
issues; but nothing has been available about possible role of Khap on mental health issues.

Keywords: stigma, mental health, mental illness, khap panchayats, rehabilitation

Mental illnesses are continuing to spread worldwide; these disorders
have a huge impact on individuals as well as on the economic
viability of families and communities. There is no society and strata
that are immune to mental illness; rural population is also not an
exception. As is made clear in the recent news of The Hindu, it is
estimated that approximately thirteen(13) percent of the entire
population may actually be suffering from some kind of mental
disorder; ten (10) percent with minor ailments such as stress, anxiety
and depression while the remaining with serious disorders such as
schizophrenia (The Hindu, 2013).Mental morbidities are an
important cause of disability having a major impact on quality of life
(Kumar, Nehra,Verma, 2013). Among other reasons, lack of
knowledge is a major contributor for such high rates. The provision
of long-term mental health care for people with mental disorders has
been, and still is, one of the major challenges for mental health
systems reform in the last decades, for various reasons. As a general
agreement positive mental health can only be achieved if these issues
are addressed. Delivering psychiatric treatment in future must focus
on: (1) the direct provision of care to the most complex patients and
(2) the ability to integrate and coordinate treatment plans that achieve
synergies by inclusion of both biological and psychosocial treatment
modalities (Insel& Fenton, 2005). Social support has favorable
impact on behaviors of patients that is the reason Mental Health
Services are committed to supporting the maintenance of patient and
community relationships. The Government of India has launched the
National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in 1982, with the one
Correspondence should be sent to Dharmender Kumar Nehra
Clinical Psychologist, State Institute of Mental Health, PGI-MS,
Rohtak, Haryana

of objective to promote community participation in the mental

health service development and to stimulate efforts towards selfhelp in the community. The focus of mental health professionals is
moving away from hospital based rehabilitation services in order to
create a range of support services within the community. This
approach will allow to move resources into the community and to
increase mental health accommodation. So Mental Health
professionals encourage and support positive contact between
patients and community in the best interests of the patients.
In India, like any other developing country, clients' needs often
are not met by the existing mental health services fail to provide
effective individualized services as there is a severe shortage of
mental health professionals. Faith healing has been used extensively
as a method of treatment (Mushtaq&Margoob, 2006). There are
many common obstacles in achieving optimal mental health
services. Poor awareness about symptoms of mental illness, myths
& stigma related to it, and severe shortage of mental health
professionals, are to name a few.
Shortage of manpower is functions as a great obstacle to the
development of mental health programs in our country.
Consequently many hospitals have more inpatients than the bed
strength available (Krishnamurthy, Venugopal&Alimchandani,
2000). In spite of many efforts, mental morbidity in India continues
to be high, there have been several community studies which have
demonstrated that one third of the chronic mentally ill in the
community remain untreated (Padmavathi, Rajkumar,
Srinivasan,1998; Geddes &Kendell,1995; Issac, Kapur, et al.,1981).
In a recent article published in The Hindu, A Mental Health
Survey carried out by the Directorate General of Health Services in
2002; there were only about 2,219 psychiatrists in the country,