A team of trained psychiatric social workers deployed at the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Patients at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Eragadda in Hyderabad will now receive enhanced counselling and rehabilitation support with the deployment of a team of trained psychiatric social workers under a collaboration between the State-run tertiary mental healthcare centre and the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF).
The initiative, inaugurated by IMH Superintendent Dr. K. Shiva Prasad on July 1 aims to strengthen patient care, improve family engagement and facilitate the social reintegration of patients undergoing treatment.
Under the programme, five psychiatric social workers have been posted across key sections of the hospital. Two counsellors have been assigned to the discharge (DC) ward and de-addiction ward, one to the Clinical Psychology Department and two to the outpatient department (OPD).
The counselling services will primarily focus on patients in the discharge ward, where individuals who have completed treatment and are clinically stable often continue to stay because their families have not yet taken them home. Counsellors will work closely with patients and their relatives to improve communication, rebuild family support systems and facilitate their return to their homes.
Published – July 02, 2026 08:06 pm IST
