Editing the minds that mind the young minds

When assigned by the Organising Secretary with the task of editing the souvenir-cum-scientific update to commemorate the 22nd Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society, Assam State Branch held in Guwahati on 22 and 23 September 2012, I felt honoured and privileged, as well as humbled at the same time.

Editing ‘Dysphrenia,’ a peer-reviewed biannual academic journal of psychiatry,[URL: http://dysphrenia.hpage.com] for the last two years and nine months helped me develop a network of mental health professionals engaged in scientific work. This souvenir-cum-scientific update is the fruit of the tree that has grown from the seeds of Dysphrenia.

Organising Secretary Deepanjali Medhi led by example, being the first author to send an article. In “School mental health: the concept,” author stresses on the role of teachers – ‘after home, school provides the child the next platform;’ they can take active part in early identification and prevention of child mental health related problems.

In “Stress and psychopathology in children and adolescents,” Arnab Bhattacharya, DPM, MD from Kolkata and Vinod Kumar Sinha, Chief of Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi discusses types, causes, factors, conditions, ages, risks and roles on the subject matter.

Trainer at “Mental and Emotional Tool Kit,” from Chicago, USA, Ray Mathis corresponds with “It’s just an event.” Author of the same titled book, Mathis developed a whole new approach to health education and presents an introductory note.

Gynaecologist and Gynae Cancer Surgeon (Laparoscopic and Robotic) Swasti from Delhi, in the epistle “Poetry therapy: where art meets the mind,” conveys so much information in such a fluid way – just like ‘poetry in prose!’

Relationship Consultant and Counsellor Deepti Kathpalia from Jodhpur, Rajasthan set the tone of the theme rolling with her poem in “School mental health: mind the young minds,” followed by the text that is as poetic – ‘Schools, being powerhouses of grooming of young minds, are the ideal and primary clinics.’

Mythili Hazarika, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, observes that ‘Nobody is born “as parents,” we learn to be one.’ In “Fostering pro-social behaviour and value-based education through positive child guidance,” author pens down the principles of positive child guidance.

Renjith R Pillai, Assistant Professor of Social Work from Kerala, starts “The importance of life skills education for children and adolescents” with a case vignette. Author elaborates on life skills education and its development in India, in the context of adolescents and parents.

The incident of four adolescents living in cave that drew widespread media coverage is studied from psychiatric and psychological point of view by Bijoy Prasad Bora, Consultant Psychiatrist and Chandita Baruah, PhD Scholar in “Merapani children: a rare folie en famille (shared psychotic disorder).”

Paediatric Occupational Therapist from Mumbai, Namita Shenai, in the write-up on “Use of occupational therapy: cognitive frame of reference in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” highlights that ‘ADHD is no longer only a triad of three main features but an entity encompassing difficulty with executive functioning and self-regulation.’ Author also notes use of uniform terminology in occupational therapy management (UF-OT), role of frame of reference (FOR) – both psychosocial FOR and cognitive FOR, and Alert programe.

Prosenjit Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, in “Youth violence prevention,” ‘reviews violence data, noting the different tracks youth take toward violence, risk factors that lead toward a violent lifestyle and the protective factors that shield them from it; various principles of prevention of violent behaviour such as homicide are also discussed.’

‘An illustrative case study is presented’ in “Hypnotherapy for children with anxiety related to allergies, asthma and atopic dermatitis: a case study,” in which Rachna Murdeshwar, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, Metaphor Therapist, Life Skill Coach for Children at Mind Miracle, Pune writes about the big role played by hypnotherapy along with counselling, family involvement and medical treatment.

The simple way with which Rachna Murdeshwar makes hypnotherapy understandable and it’s applicability to children and adolescents as an alternative to ‘child of a smaller adult’ thinking, illustrates author’s writing skills which is abundantly visible in the article, entitled “Hypnotherapy and metaphors for self-esteem and related issues.”

Children and teens being the prime users of social networking sites, Consultant Psychologist from New Delhi, Ankur Lal discusses the psychological impact of such services on them. The article “Social networking: psychological impact on Indian teens” ‘talks about the various dilemmas of teenagers regarding this issue and throws light on some lesser-known facts gathered through researching recent studies.’

‘Child abuse is more than bruises or broken bones.’ In “Child sexual abuse and neglect,” Bornali Das, Lecturer, Psychiatric Social Work elaborates on definition, type, discipline, shame, guilt, effect, warning sign, reactive attachment disorder and risk factor. Author also covers recognising, indicator, breaking the cycle, changing reaction, helping, talking and reporting.

RK Lenin Singh and Bhushan B Mhetre, Associate Professor and Post Graduate Trainee respectively, from Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur starts “Mental health issues of children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS” with ‘Children of today are the youth of tomorrow.’ Authors mention that ‘Children with HIV disease have been called “the missing face of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)” because, more often than adults, they lack basic health care and they have been “missing from global and national policy discussions”.’

In “Child psychiatric disorders: paradigm shift of management,” Deepanjali Medhi and Sushil Agarwalla, Post Graduate Trainee of Psychiatry, gives a comprehensive account of treatment approaches in various childhood and adolescence mental illnesses.

‘Adolescence is the period of maturation between childhood and adulthood heralded by the physiological signs and surging hormones of puberty.’ Deepanjali Medhi along with Postgraduate Trainee of Psychiatry, Navoneela Bardhan present in detail about criminality in adolescence from the perspectives of forensic psychiatry.

Claudia Juarez, Licensed Psychologist, Master in Social Communication and having a Postgraduate Course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, from Mexico City, Mexico highlights ‘the importance of studying mental health problems in children’ since ‘a half of mental disorders worldwide begin before the age of 14 years.’ Author notes issues concerning mental health professionals related to how stress affect children in modern society and different cultures.

‘Limitations in our understanding of the phenomenon of child neglect make research, clinical practice and policy-making a requiring task. In this context, future directions for research are discussed’ by Kornilia Hatzinikolaou from the Department of Mental Health and Social Welfare, Institute of Child Health, Athens, Greece in “Child neglect: what we know and to where we might go.”

One can access this souvenir-cum-scientific update online, available from https://sites.google.com/site/mindtheyoungminds/souvenir-cum-scientific-update.

Happy reading!