Institute of Mental Health

1. Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology is a subfield of the larger discipline of psychology it deals with behaviour and mental process. Clinical psychologists provide assistance to those who need help with psychological problems. The definition of clinical psychology adopted by the American Psychological Association’s Division of Clinical Psychology is: “The field of Clinical Psychology integrates science, theory, and practice to understand, predict, and alleviate maladjustment, disability, and discomfort as well to promote human adaptation, adjustment, and personal development.

Clinical Psychology focuses on the intellectual, emotional, biological, social, and behavioral aspects of human functioning across the life span, in varying cultures, and at all socioeconomic levels” (American Psychological Association, Division 12, 2012). Certain requirements for those wishing to be clinical psychologists have more to do with attitudes and character than with training and credentialing. Perhaps the most notable distinguishing feature of clinical psychologists has been called the clinical attitude or the clinical approach which is the tendency to combine knowledge from research on human behavior and mental processes with efforts at individual assessment in order to understand and help a particular person. Because clinical psychology is both rigorously scientific and deeply personal, it requires that people entering the field have a strong and compassionate interest in human beings.

The department of clinical Psychology in Sweekaar is dedicating incredible services for the needy. Cases are dealing by Psy. D., M. Phil & PDCP trainees in Clinical Psychology, under the strict supervision and guidance of the practiced and skilful professors. Screening will be done from the Out-Patient Department and will be referred for further psychological assessment and intervention if it is needed. Each person is treated with all respect and dignitary along with the professional ethics. The primary motivation of the each session is to provide utmost individual wellbeing and uplift their mental health. We really glad that our department is blessed with full of energetic enthusiastic totally committed Professionals.

2. Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology is based on the science behind brain-behaviour relationships, and it examines how the structure and function of the brain relate to psychological processes. Neuropsychology has become an essential part of modern medicine because of its focuses on diagnostic formulation, assessment, cognitive retraining to a wide spectrum of child and adult patient with neurological condition including traumatic brain injury, sports related condition, epilepsy, stroke, other cerebellar condition, movement disorder, post-surgical changes, neurodegenerative disorders and brain functioning following brain injury.

The highly skilled team in Sweekaar Academy of Rehabilitation Sciences work in conjunction with several multi-disciplinary treatment teams. We uses Neuropsychological assessments, which are an objective way of quantifying and characterising the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional effects of the changes in brain function that can occur after damage, or with disease, affecting the brain. We assess a variety of cognitive abilities, including intellectual function, memory, language, visual perception and visuo-spatial skill, planning, reasoning and decision-making, and attention and concentration. We provide information and advice to patients and their families to help them understand and adapt to the changes that can result from brain damage.

Our neuropsychology experts are highly skilful for providing the most effective neuropsychological intervention strategies especially for Intellectual disability, Autism spectrum disorder, Language disorders, Learning disorder, ADHD, Tic disorder, dementia, epilepsy, personality and behavioural disorders due to brain damage, and any other related problems.

3. Psychiatry

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness. Psychiatrists are doctors who complete the same medical training as physicians and receive specialisation in Psychiatry. They spend a variable number of years training in the methods and practice of psychopharmacology. They deal with various mental illness both neurotic and psychotic spectrum. The realm is connected with different maladaptive and disorder of mood, behaviour, cognition and perceptions.

In Sweekaar, department of Psychiatry offer a credible services for the patient in Out Patient basis. We offer combined treatment of psychiatric medication and psychotherapy as the common mode of treatment procedure for people with mental disorders. The department of clinical psychology play a crucial role of supporting psychiatry department to provide psycho education, guidance and counselling to the patient as well as the family members in the initial sessions.

Patients are recommended to follow different psychological interventions along with the medications as per the need. Our department is giving more importance to focus on confidentiality of the patient. We devoted for regular follow up of each patient to promote their mental health and integral wellbeing. Treatment procedures are preset for short term and long term therapeutic sessions.

4. Behavioral medicine

“It is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of psychosocial, behavioral and biomedical knowledge relevant to health and illness, and the application of this knowledge to prevention, etiology, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.”
The role of behavior medicine specialist is to assess and manage

  • Behavior-related illnesses such as: Substance abuse, Obesity, Hypertension, Insomnia etc
  • Psychological conditions secondary to illness such as: Depression, anxiety, stress comorbid to health conditions
  • To work on Treatment adherence and compliance
  • To manage psychosocial issues related to chronic illness using behavioral principles

Interventional Techniques used in Behavioral Medicine

  • Biofeedback
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Guide Imagery
  • Relaxation Training
  • Self-Regulation Skills-learn to put control of health under one’s own personal locus of control
  • Stress management
  • Pain management

In Sweekaar psychophysiological illness, psychosomatic concerns and lifestyle related illeness such as obesity, hypertension, substance abuse and insomnia are managed by using behavioral measures, biofeedback and relaxation techniques.

5. Clinical child and adolescent psychology

Clinical child and adolescent psychology is a specialty in professional psychology that develops and applies scientific knowledge to the delivery of psychological services to infants, toddlers, children and adolescents within their social context. It brings together the basic tenets of clinical psychology with a thorough background in child and family development.

Clinical child psychologists conduct research and provide services aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating psychological, cognitive, emotional, developmental, behavioral, and family problems of children across the age range from infancy through adolescence.
Various childhood disorders include

  • Developmental delays
  • Intellectual disability
  • Learning difficulties
  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Conduct problem
  • Emotional and behavioral problems

The Primary elements of clinical children and adolescent psychology are:

  • Assessment: for guiding the diagnosis, intervention planning, and outcome evaluation
  • Interventions: Treatment of children and families with a recognized problem or disorder which may include:
    1. Behaviour management in various settings
    2. Cognitive-behavioural approaches
    3. Play therapy for young children
    4. Individual psychotherapy with older children and adolescents
    5. Parent training and parent education programs
    6. Collaboration with pediatricians, child psychiatrists, neurologist, and/or other health care providers
  • Prevention: Programs to prevent the onset of problems and disorders in infants, children, adolescents, and families. Including preventing.

Sweekaar academy of rehabilitation sciences provides the services to assess the child for identifying the problem and working with multimodal approach towards the management, the organization also conduct screening camps and awareness programs at community levels for purpose of prevention in this field of specialization.

6. Geriatric Psychiatry

“Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man”
---Leon Trotsky, Diary of Exile

The phase of accumulation of wisdom and knowledge to be passed to the future generations is the old age. But this can happen only with healthy aging, which involves the human mind.

At Sweekaar, we care for those who once cared for us as we treat it to be the highest honour.

Geriatric psychiatry focus on prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of mental and emotional disorders in the elderly and improvement of psychiatric care for healthy and ill elderly patients.

Various disabilities are linked with old age and everyone has a part to play for the wellbeing of the elderly. There are stressors like financial loss, physical impairment and social isolation leading to physical immobility, loss of loved ones, difficulty in daily functioning and many more. All these factors affect immensely on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the elderly.

Early detection and prevention is always better as age related illnesses develop insidiously and progress over the years.

The most common concerns of old age are cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, Delirium, Dementia, Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Late Life Alcohol Abuse, Hearing loss, Schizophrenia and others.

Check for the signs and symptoms
Age, by itself is not the risk factor to develop psychological problems in old age. Being widowed, long medical illness and physical disability can be the predisposing factors.

Reduced sleep, lack of energy and concentration, decreased weight, complaints of body pains or complaints, depression, becoming violent, suicidal ideation are some of the major symptoms which can lead to psychiatric illness.

A detailed diagnosis is required to plan for the prognosis.

Screening and Diagnosis
A complete Psychiatric Examination is necessary to understand the old age problems starting from the age of 60 years approximately. Clinicians take the history of any illnesses of the past, medication, drug interactions and other all other psychological concerns of the older patient. This also include a mental status examination, memory test, functional assessment to evaluate their capacity to maintain independence and perform the activities of everyday life.

Treatment
The goal of the treatment in older patients is to improve the quality of life, improve social life and avoid/delay in their placement in nursing homes.

Though pharmacological treatment is given, the dosage should be minimum to avoid side effects. Psychotherapies like insight-oriented therapies, supportive psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy and family therapy are given to the geriatric patients to adapt to the diverse losses or adapt to the new roles. These therapies help senior citizens to understand their own behaviour and also the effect of their behaviour on others. In addition to this, it improves their self-esteem, self-confidence, decreases the feeling of helplessness, anger, anxiety and improves their quality of life in all aspects.

This phase forms approximately forms 9% of Indian population and is characterised by loose of physical and mental acuity, bereavement of loved ones or friends.

7. Substance Abuse and Addiction:

People from all walks of life can experience problems with their drug use, regardless of age, race, or background. While some are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without experiencing negative effects, others find that substance use takes a serious toll on their health and well-being.

Substance misuse is the harmful use of drugs or alcohol for non-medical purposes. Often associated with the use of illicit drugs, legal substances can also be misused, such as alcohol, prescription or over-the-counter medication, caffeine, nicotine and volatile substances (e.g. petrol, glue, paint). Most people with a substance use disorder are using alcohol.

Addiction is a physical and/or psychological need to use a substance, often caused by regular continued use. Some substances are more highly addictive than others. Some people are more likely to become addicted to a substance depending on mental, physical and lifestyle factors.

What we do
Behavioural approaches help engage people in drug abuse treatment, provide incentives for them to remain abstinent, modify their attitudes and behaviours related to drug abuse, and increase their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse. Below are the therapies we use in Sweekaar Academy:

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Alcohol, Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Nicotine)
  • Contingency Management Interventions/Motivational Incentives (Alcohol, Stimulants, Opioids, Marijuana, Nicotine)
  • Motivational Enhancement Therapy (Alcohol, Marijuana, Nicotine)
  • Family Behavior Therapy

Behavioral Therapies Primarily for Adolescents

8. Deaddiction

Disorders due to psychoactive substance use refer to conditions arising from abuse of alcohol, psychoactive drugs and other chemicals such as volatile agents. Substance abuse has also been referred to as any use of substances that poses significant hazards to health. The term substance is used in reference to any drug, medication or toxin that shares the potential for abuse.

Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (for example alcohol, cocaine , nicotine) or engages in an activity (such as gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and concerns, such as work , relationships or health.

Commonly used Drugs: are Alcohol, Opiods, Cannabis, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Sedatives’ Inhalants, and Nicotine.

Causes: Due to genetic, Due to environmental factors, Due to culture, and Due to stress

Main disorders due to substance abuse are

  • Alcohol dependence syndrome
  • Opiads use disorders
  • Acute intoxication
  • Cannabis use disorder
  • Cocaine use disorder
  • Barbiturate use disorder
  • Inhalant or volatile use disorder

De- addiction
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment , for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cocaine.

De-addiction treatment in sweekaar Academy of rehabilitation sciences:
It is available in SWEEKAAR Academy of rehabilitation sciences since last one decade through different techniques or management procedure such as behaviour therapies i.e aversion therapy, self control procedures and so on , counselling, rehabilitation, follow - up and as well as through family therapy and it has been beneficial to many patients or clients through these years and as saved and helped many individual and families in leading better and productive life.

9. Behaviour Therapy

Behavioural therapy is an action-based therapy that looks to foster positive behaviour change. This form of therapy seeks to recognize and help modify potentially destructive or unhealthy behaviours. It works on the idea that all behaviours are learned and that unhealthy behaviours can be changed. In Behavioural therapy behavioural changes are brought through the systematic use of differential reinforcement based on behavioural learning principles.

The focus of treatment is often on current problems and how to change them. Behavioural therapy can benefit people with behavioural problems or mental health conditions that involve unwanted behaviour such as obsessive- Compulsive disorder (OCD), attention- deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD), anxiety, phobias and addiction.

Here in Sweekar, we look at all the environmental factors that support the destructive behaviours in order to understand the client’s difficulties and try replacing the unwanted behaviour with more positive ones. Our therapists are specialized in techniques such as

  • Relaxation training
  • Systematic desensitization
  • Virtual reality exposure
  • Exposure and response prevention techniques
  • Social skills training
  • Modelling
  • Behavioural rehearsal
  • Aversion therapy

10. Behavior Modification

Behavior modification is a treatment approach which is focused on changing maladaptive behavior. This method is based on the work of B.F. Skinner, a well known psychologist who developed the operant conditioning theory -- which suggests that behavior can be modified by consequences and through reinforcement. The major goal of behavior modification is to replace undesirable behaviors with acceptable ones. An underlying theme is the belief that how people react to an object or event can be modified by learning. This technique can be used in all age groups, and can be applied to a wide range of settings.

Children with variety of behavioral problems such as ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Intellectual Disability are brought to Sweekaar. Here in Sweekaar we do the detailed assessment of the child based on the presented complaints and plan for behavior modification for the target behavior (undesired behavior in the child). The key behavior techniques used for behavior modification are:

  • Token economy
  • Response cost
  • Time-out
  • Extinction
  • Negative and positive reinforcement
  • Negative and positive punishment
  • Attention enhancement training

11. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a type of psychotherapy. According to CBT:
“What you think determines your mood,
when you change your thinking,
you change your feelings.”

The underlying concept behind CBT is that our thoughts and feelings play a fundamental role in our behaviour. It focuses on the here-and-now—on the problems that come up in a person’s day-to-day life. It helps people to look at how they interpret and evaluate what is happening around them and the effects these perceptions have on their emotional experience.

It is increasingly identified as the “gold standard”—that is, the best type of therapy for difficulties such as depression, anxiety, phobias and stress-related problems, according to Neil Rector, who states that: “this conclusion is supported by more than 375 clinical trial studies since 1977 and also by current international treatment guidelines, which are based on the collective knowledge of experts in the field”.
CBT is an effective treatment for many psychological conditions. These include:

  • Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder
  • Anxiety disorders, including specific phobias (e.g., fear of animals, heights, enclosed spaces), panic disorder, social phobia (social anxiety disorder), generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder
  • Bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder
  • Body dysmorphic disorder (i.e., body image)
  • Substance use disorders (i.e., smoking, alcohol and other drugs).

CBT can also be used to help people with:

  • Psychosis
  • Habits such as hair pulling, skin picking and tics
  • Sexual and relationship problems
  • Insomnia
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Chronic (persistent) pain
  • Long-standing interpersonal problems

In SWEEKAAR, along with other psychotherapies we use CBT, in which the client learns to identify, question and change the thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions related to their problematic emotional and behavioural reactions to certain kinds of situations. CBT is given for people of ages, for people of different levels of education and income. It is given as both individual therapy and as part of family therapy. The sessions are designed to be practical and goal oriented.

12. Family and Couple Therapy

Family therapy is a treatment approach that takes the family unit as its focus. Family therapists understand the emotional and behavioral problems of individuals as often being related to problems in the family systems of which they are part. Family interventions are also used vastly in the treatment of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, alcohol dependent syndrome, conduct disorders, and somatoform disorders to improve the supportive systems and reduce expressive emotion.

Couple therapy is a means of resolving problems and conflicts that couples have not been able to handle effectively on their own. Various marital and sexual issues experienced by the couples are effectively dealt with. The aim is to help them gain a better understanding of themselves and their partner, to decide if they need and want to make changes, and if so, to help them to do so. Marital and sex therapy is also given for these couples.

In Sweekaar Academy of Rehabilitation Sciences, we help individuals and their families:

  • Explore the interactional dynamics of their family relationships
  • Mobilize the family’s internal strength and functional resources
  • Restructure the maladaptive interactional family styles
  • Strengthen the family’s problem-solving behavior.
  • To promote better and effective communication among the family members.

The individuals and their family members are helped to understand their problems better and how to effectively manage them

13. Guidance and Counselling

Counselling is a part of guidance. Guidance means to indicate, point out, show the way, lead out and direct. Counselling is a specialized service of guidance. It is the process of helping individuals learn more about themselves and their present and possible future situations to improve his/her adjustments and adaptability toward the changing environments and make a substantial contribution to the society.

Guidance is an assistance made available by a professionally competent counselor to an individual of any age to help him direct his own life, develop his own point of view, make his own decision and carry his own burden. Counselor assists the counselee to make interpretations of facts relating to a choice, plan or adjustment which he needs to make. The services are offered to the individual who is undergoing a problem and needs professional help to overcome it.

Guidance and counselling is needed to help the students for optimum achievement and adequate adjustment in the varied life situations such as in the education, profession, vocation, social, health, moral, personal and marital areas through the techniques involving active listening, emphatic understanding, releasing the pent up feelings confronting the client and therapies.

Guidance and counselling helps a person understand alternative solutions available to him and makes him understand his personality and choose the right solution. Counselling helps people understand themselves and is an inward analysis.

Purpose of counselling and guidance:

  • To help individuals with normal development problems.
  • To help individuals through a temporary crisis during the different stages of life.
  • To identify signs of disturbed behavior at early stage, so manage it.
  • To deal critical cases by specialists for best possible management.
  • To facilitate communication
  • To support and help individuals who themselves want guidance and reassurance at times

At Sweekaar we offer help and provide counselling to the individuals in the following areas:

  1. Personal guidance
  2. Educational guidance
  3. Social guidance
  4. Vocational guidance
  5. Health guidance