Establishment -> Evidence-based treatments?
Therapeutic Care? Data!
Not many miles away from where the First Northern Regional Consultation Meeting on the Mental Health Act-1987 was held, lives/or lived a mother Simarjit Kaur with her children, two with serious mental illness. Kuldeep Mann had written about the family in a newspaper on 29 December 2003. How Simarjit Kaur’s husband Amar Singh was shot dead in front of their children and she was beaten up.
Four months later Baljit Kaur, a daughter died by suicide by consuming pesticide. Kuldeep Mann had written what the mother had said, “I spend all my energy taking care of Gursahib and Kuldip who try to run away when they are not being watched.” Her children Gursahib Singh and Kuldeep Kaur are kept chained.
Ten years later, the children appeared recently in a piece titled ‘India fights old myths on mental disorders’ with the picture titled ‘Shackled! -Accompanied by a write- up link of which is given below -
...with portraits of people living in the villages of India as having no common sense or wisdom.
More than 65 million Indians living with serious mental illness are not mentioned.
The invisibility of ‘Public Health Education' campaigns on Mental Illness’ one of the objectives of the National Mental Health Programme which was launched in the last century with much hoopla are also not mentioned.
If the current text of the Mental Health Care Bill, as Introduced in the Rajya Sabha Bill No. LIV of 2013, prevails, Simarjit Kaur, would be punished for keeping her children in chains, the children would be taken to the 'Mental Health Establishment' which has no provisions for Serious Mental Illness and no surety for evidence-based treatments and therapeutic care.
More than 65 million Indians living with serious mental illness are not mentioned.
The invisibility of ‘Public Health Education' campaigns on Mental Illness’ one of the objectives of the National Mental Health Programme which was launched in the last century with much hoopla are also not mentioned.
If the current text of the Mental Health Care Bill, as Introduced in the Rajya Sabha Bill No. LIV of 2013, prevails, Simarjit Kaur, would be punished for keeping her children in chains, the children would be taken to the 'Mental Health Establishment' which has no provisions for Serious Mental Illness and no surety for evidence-based treatments and therapeutic care.
Reference: Kids tied to a nightmare's chains Kuldeep Mann, 29 December 2003, Amritsar, Hindustan Times New Delhi
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