The study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders is known as psychiatry, a word coined by German physician Johann Christian Reil. Literally, it means medical treatment of the soul. The Department of Psychiatry was established in 1992 by Dr V. Muthukrishnan. The vision and guidance of early heads of the department Dr K. Kuruvilla and Dr K. Selvaraj – was instrumental in the dramatic strides that it has made in the area of mental health care.

Team work is an important functional necessity for such a sensitive department. And this has been amply demonstrated by an array of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, occupational therapists, psychiatric nurses, postgraduates and attenders, who form the bedrock of this department.

Dr G. Raghuthaman, Head of the Department of Psychiatry

Such is the attention to detail maintained by the department that all inpatients are discussed in detail at grand-rounds held every Monday. Patients are also encouraged to undergo occupational therapy. Occupational therapists help people with mental, social or physical disabilities to perform their day-today chores by charting out individual programmes. The dignity of patients is of paramount importance. Physical restraints for the mentally ill are used sparingly.

The department started a diploma in psychological medicine (DPM) course in 2001. It began to offer a single seat MD course in 2009, which was increased to two seats in 2011 and three in 2013. The department’s internship training module has been widely accepted and so far four of its students have won the national level psychiatric quiz.

The department, which is being headed by Dr G. Raghuthaman since 2008, also offers specialised services such as child and adolescent psychiatry clinic and de-addiction clinic. The stigma associated with psychiatry has been dipping as is evident in the increasing number of inpatients and outpatients reaching out to get treated. Perhaps this is a testimony to its firm belief that mental illness, like physical disorders, can be treated.

Some of the conditions that are treated are:

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Somatoform disorders
• Dissociative disorders
• Alcohol & other substance disorders
• Anxiety disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, etc.
• Child & adolescent disorders like low intelligence, Dyslexia, School refusal, anxiety, oppositional behaviors, ADHD, Autism, etc.
• Disorders of elderly like dementia, depression, etc.

Facilities offered in our department are:

• Outpatient clinic on all working days, Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm.
• Special outpatient services: “De-addiction clinic” & “Child and Adolescent Psychiatry clinic”
• Assessment: Intelligence by Intelligent Quotient (IQ) testing, Dyslexia by Dyslexia instruments, cognitive functioning by Neuropsychological testing & Psychometric tests by trained clinical psychologist
• Individual psychological therapy and behavior therapy, Parent training
• Family therapy
• Marital therapy
• Emergency services consultation : 24/7
• Inpatient services for psychiatric illness and addiction related disorders
• Multidisciplinary deaddiction treatment for stopping alcohol and other substances (Close monitoring, one to one counseling, occupational therapy, Group therapy, Aversion therapy, family interventions and other special modalities)

Academic activities

We teach and train M.B.B.S students & postgraduate students in psychiatric discipline (Assessment, Diagnosis, Investigations, Pharmacological treatment, and psychosocial treatment). We conduct regular academic exercises for teaching updates in psychiatry, research methodologies, and psychological underpinnings. We encourage scholarly presentations by Postgraduate & undergraduate students in national & international conferences. We had conducted continuing medical education program for providing updates to practicing psychiatrists.

Library services

Our Library has recent updated textbooks & journals for quick referencing & updates. We essentially use these educational sources to update our knowledge at constant intervals so that we reflect it in our patient care as well.

Research activities

Ongoing Post Graduate dissertations:

• Symptom triggered therapy for alcohol withdrawal using CIWA- Ar
• Continuing care through Tele-counseling in alcohol de-addiction program – Randomized controlled trial.
• Prevalence of Depression in Post myocardial infarction patients