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Studies have reported that persons with developmental disabilities have the lowest rate of labor force participation, relative to other disabilities due to various factors. This paper presents two cases studies of persons with ID who were successfully provided a hybrid supported employment approach of ‘train and place model’ and ‘place and train model’ by the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (PRS) team. Conducted a retrospective file review highlighting the process of supported employment approach adapted for persons with ID. The ethical approval was obtained from the Institute Ethical Committee. The hybrid supported employment approach focuses on enhancing client’s vocational potential and skills, prepare for job ready, find a suitable job placement. Further, the approach helped in improving the sense of independence self-esteem and quality of life of the clients. A hybrid supported employment approach could be an effective method in aiding persons with developmental disabilities in India seek, get, and keep jobs; it will also help them deal with unique challenges they face in the workplace as well as loss of or gaps in employment. Involvement of families in the intervention will help minimize negative expressed emotions and distress.

Social workers have been influential policy makers due to their understanding of the sociocultural–political scenario of the state and core social work values of social justice and social change. In India, the engagement of social workers in policy and political change has been restricted due to various internal and external work challenges. The authors in this article present two case studies of challenges faced by social workers in policy making in India. In the first case, the social worker dons the role of a change agent for setting up a social welfare system based on policy practice for persons with psychiatric disability in the rural community. In the second example, the social worker acts as a policy expert who is a catalyst between the service users (of psychiatric disability in urban community) and the state in influencing disability policy making. The lessons learnt and the way forward from the challenges faced in the two case studies are discussed.

The quality of life of a person with psychiatric disability is often determined by illness outcomes, personal journey of recovery, coping with the illness, family support, and successful integration into the community. Biopsychosocial factors either hamper or improve the quality of life of a person with psychiatric disability. To depict the usefulness of the biopsychosocial approach of assessment and intervention in improving the quality of life of a patient with mental illness in India. Case study method using the Biopsychosocial approach. Biopsychosocial approach of assessment and intervention helped in understanding the medical and psychosocial circumstances existing in the patient and his family. This helped in providing appropriate interventions such as psychoeducation about the illness, managing patient’s problematic behaviour, improving patient’s functionality, and ensuring regularity in follow up thus eventuating enhanced quality of life. Mental health professionals can use the biopsychosocial approach of assessment and intervention to gain a comprehensive understanding of the patient and his/her community needs and provide appropriate interventions to help improve the quality of life of a patient suffering from psychiatric disability.

Technology driven capacity building initiatives are the way to break the barrier of shortage of mental health human resources in India. This new path, while is a welcome step, comes with its own set of challenges. In one prototypic project that is being implemented in Ramanagara District of Karnataka, a south Indian state, we encountered many such issues. They ranged from issues related to availability of dedicated space to set up the hub-studio, inconsistent internet connectivity (particularly in remote areas) and inadequate digital literacy among the grassroot community health workers who hail from villages. This article summarises these challenges and ends by looking into ways and means of overcoming them.

Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are well suited to cater to the mental health needs of the communities. Integrating primary mental health care into the general healthcare is one of the important objectives of the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) to reduce the treatment gap. As a part of an ICMR funded trial to evaluate the effectiveness of NIMHANS-ECHO blended training program, the ASHAs and ANMs were trained to identify and refer cases from the community. We aim to describe a series of cases identified by those workers from the community, highlighting their importance in our health care system.

Background: Bridging the alarming treatment gap for mental disorders in India requires a monumental effort from all stakeholders. Harnessing digital technology is one of the potential ways to leapfrog many known barriers for capacity building. Aim and Context: The ongoing Virtual Knowledge Network (VKN)–National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS)–Extension of Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) (VKN–NIMHANS–ECHO: hub and spokes model) model for skilled capacity building is a collaborative effort between NIMHANS and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Centre, USA. This article aims to summarize the methodology of two randomized controlled trials funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the VKN–NIMHANS–ECHO model of training as compared to training as usual (TAU). Methods: Both RCTs were conducted in Karnataka, a southern Indian state in which the DMHP operates in all districts. We compared the impact of the following two models of capacity building for the DMHP workforce (a) the VKN–NIMHANS–ECHO model and (b) the traditional method. We use the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) statement to describe the methods of these two trials. Trial 1 is to evaluate the “Effectiveness of addition of Virtual-NIMHANS–ECHO tele-mentoring model for skilled capacity building in providing quality care in alcohol use disorders by the existing staff of DMHP districts of Karnataka.” Hub for trial 1 was set up at NIMHANS and the spokes were psychiatrists and other mental health professionals headquartered in the district level office. Trial 2 assesses the implementation and evaluation of the NIMHANS–ECHO blended training program for the DMHP workforce in a rural south-Indian district of Karnataka state. The hub for trial 2 was set up in the district headquarter of Ramanagaram. Hub specialists are DMHP psychiatrists, whereas spokes are the non-doctor workforce (including auxiliary nurse midwives [ANMs] and accredited social health activists [ASHA] workers) medical officers of primary health centers. The location of the HubHub differs in these two studies. Both trials are funded by the ICMR, Government of India Discussion: Both these trials, though conceptually similar, have some operational differences which have been highlighted. If demonstrated to be effective, this model of telementoring can be generalized and widely merged into the Indian health care system, thus aiding in reducing the treatment gap for patients unable to access care.

Background: Family's expressed emotion has been shown to be predictive of outcome in mental and physical illnesses in a variety of cultural settings. The relationship between caregiver burden and high level of expressed emotions has demonstrated a high level of relapse among the psychiatric patients in the West. Aim: The current study explores the relationship between caregivers' burden and level of expressed emotions by the patients with schizophrenia in Indian setting. Materials and Methods : The sample for the study consisted of totally 70 subjects comprising 35 schizophrenic patients and 35 caregivers. The schizophrenic patients who were attending the Day Care Center run by Department of Psychiatric and Neuro Rehabilitation Unit at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore, India (a tertiary care center) and their primary caregivers were included. Family emotional involvement and criticism scale and The burden assessment schedule were administered to assess the expressed emotions and caregivers' burden. Carl Pearson Correlation test used to study the relationship between the variables. Results and Conclusion: The study highlighted the need for addressing expressed emotion in comprehensive psychosocial intervention plan. More attention should be paid to the needs of the caregivers in order to alleviate their burden in managing mentally ill patients.

New insights on Delusional Procreation Syndrome (DPS), a sequence of delusions in the cycle of human procreation are emerging in recent times. Till date, most of the data on DPS are reported from the clinical samples. Authors report case series of having delusions related to DPS from a rural community sample of schizophrenia patients. Delusion of having spouse, delusion of delivery, and delusion of being a parent are reported in this case-series. This evidence is a forward step towards the validity of DPS as a syndrome.

Purpose: In low and middle-income countries, about 80% of those who need mental health services do not receive them. Reasons for this have not been systematically studied. In this qualitative study, we explored this issue in a rural community of South India among schizophrenia patients. Materials and Methods: Patients who had never sought psychiatric treatment despite long-standing psychotic illnesses were identified as part of a community intervention program. In-depth interviews were conducted with patients' caregivers to understand factors preventing them seeking psychiatric treatment. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Reasons cited by family members were listed and grouped into factors based on themes. Interview process was iteratively followed till no new factor emerged. Sixteen caregivers were thus interviewed. Results: Content analysis brought out 75 reasons, which were further grouped under the following 15 factors [n (%)]: Lack of awareness about the illness: 15 (93.75%); lack of family support: Nine (56.25%); religious attributions: Nine (56.25%); financial constraints: Six (37.5%); family dynamics: Seven (43.75%); family's tolerance: Seven (43.75%); lack of insight: Five (31.25%); families resilience: Four (25.0%); community beliefs regarding mental illnesses: Four (25%), and others. In each patient, a complex interplay of several of these factors precluded the family from seeking psychiatric treatment. Conclusions: In addition to the well-known factors, many hitherto less-understood factors (e.g., families' conflicts, dynamics, resilience and acceptance, and community support, etc.) were identified which prevented patients and their families from seeking treatment. These findings have important policy implications.