Indian Psychiatric Society

Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) is the largest association of Indian Psychiatrists. It was founded in 1929 under the banner of Royal Medico Psychological Association. Its current president is Dr P.K. Dalal [1]

Indian Psychiatric Society
TypeNGO
PurposeProfessional Association
Region served
India
PRESIDENT
Dr. Gautam Saha (Kolkata)
VICE PRESIDENT
Dr. N.N. Raju (Visakhapatnam)
HON. GENERAL SECRETARY
Dr. T.S.S. Rao (Mysuru)"
HON. EDITOR
Dr. Om Prakash Singh (Kolkata)
Main organ
Executive Council
WebsiteOfficial website
Formerly called
Royal Medico Psychological Association

Founding

The organisation holds its origins in 1929, when Berkeley Hill founded the Indian Association for Mental Hygiene. In 1935, the Indian division of the Royal Medico Psychological Association was formed due to the efforts of Banarasi Das. In 1946, Dr. Nagendra Nath De consulted Major R. B. Davis of the Hospital for Mental Disease, Kanke, Ranchi and Brigadier Thomas Arthur Munro, Advisor in Psychiatry to the Indian Army and decided to revive the association. Due to their efforts, the Indian Psychiatric Society was inaugurated.

Indian Journal of Psychiatry

The IPS operates the Indian Journal of Psychiatry whose chief editor is Dr. Om Prakash Singh. It has for once discussed the widely held practice of covert medication in its July 2012 issue of its publication due to the effort of Anirudh Kala.[2]

Overview & Objectives

IPS is the largest professional body of psychiatry in India, whose stated aim is to:

  • promote and advance the subject of Psychiatry and allied sciences in all their different branches,
  • promote the improvement of the mental health of the people and mental health education, promote prevention, control, treatment and relief of all psychiatric disabilities, formulate and
  • advise on the standards of education and training for medical and auxiliary personnel in psychiatry and to recommend adequate teaching facilities for the purpose,
  • promote research in the field of psychiatry and mental health, propagate the principles of psychiatry and current development in psychiatric thought,
  • deals with any matter relating to mental health concerning the country and
  • to do all other things as are cognate to the subjects of the Indian Psychiatric Society, *safeguard the interest of psychiatrists and fellow professionals in India and
  • promote ethical standards in the practice of psychiatry in India

Publication

The Indian Psychiatric Society is publishing its own journal, Indian Journal of Psychiatry.

Controversies

It was reported in 2013 that the then-incoming president of IPS, Indira Sharma had delivered a speech which recommended marrying off men at a younger age to prevent sexual crimes against women.[3][4] Subsequently, it was also reported that high-ranking IPS officials were ordering IPS members to abstain from communicating with media houses to prevent any further controversy and negative press.[5] The IPS officials also convened a meeting to discuss whether to publish her speech on the IPS website, or to censor the controversial sections.

At the January 2014 annual meeting of the Indian Psychiatric Society, and in subsequent remarks to the press, Dr. Sharma, then the Immediate Past President, engendered even more controversy by stating that homosexuality was unnatural, homosexuals can be cured, and that - by talking openly about sex - homosexuals were making everyone else uncomfortable. Dr. A.K.Kala, a senior member and Chairperson of Mental Health Legislation Committee requested the IPS President to post the official position of the IPS about homosexuality on its website. When that didnot happen Dr.Kala resigned from the membership of IPS, possibly the only Psychiatrist to have ever done so. In response, the IPS stated in newspaper reports that Dr. Sharma's views are not to be construed as the professional stance of the Society but didnot post its position on its official website.

See also

References
  1. http://indianpsychiatricsociety.org/
  2. Rao, TS; Kallilvayalil, RA; Andrade, C (July 2012). "Covert medication: Do means justify the ends?". Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 54 (3): 203–5. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.102331. PMC 3512353. PMID 23226840. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  3. Malathy Iyer (2013-02-09). "Early marriage curbs crimes, Indian Psychiatric Society chief says". Times Of India. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  4. "IPS President Stirs Controversy By Suggesting Early Marriage to End Sexual Crimes". International Business Times. 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
  5. State Times, 30-02-2013, Jammu
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