Dr Subho Chakarbarti, Dr Rahul Chakrabarty and Dr Raj Laxmi addressing the media during the press conference
The Department of Psychiatry, PGIMER, Chandigarh, held a press conference today, October 8, 2025, addressing the World Mental Health Day theme, “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”. The conference was a formal media event to share information, updates, and calls to action regarding global mental health issues with a special focus on world mental health day theme “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”
*Prof. Subho Chakrabarti, Principal Investigator of the Regional Coordinating Center for Tele-MANAS,PGIMER* led the five-member team, which included Dr. Rahul Chakravarty (Assistant Professor), Dr Raj Laxmi (Senior Resident), Mr. Abhishek Verma, and Ms. Sonu Aggarwal, emphasizing the importance of scaling mental health access.
Tele-MANAS and Tele-Psychiatry Expand Mental Health Access During Crises
He opened the address by emphasizing the importance of scaling access to mental health services and outlining the department’s initiatives towards this goal including Tele-MANAS and Tele- Psychiatry Services. Together the team emphasizes the urgent need for mental health support during global catastrophes and emergencies, noting that a significant minority of people who experience such events develop serious mental health conditions.
They discussed the role of tele-psychiatry in enhancing mental health service accessibility, particularly in challenging circumstances. Prof. Subho and Dr. Raj Laxmi talked about the role of Tele-Psychiatry Services at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and the massive scale-up during the COVID-19 pandemic and their current range of specialized remote therapies, including Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) for Dementia and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD among others.
The service delivers Psychological First Aid (PFA) remotely
The press conference highlighted how tele-health services like Tele-MANAS help overcome access barriers, especially during crises, disasters, and emergencies Tele-MANAS operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). It is an essential tele-health service for breaking down access barriers. The service delivers Psychological First Aid (PFA) remotely. This ensures continuity of care when physical services are disrupted.
The service was discussed in terms of its structured framework for crisis intervention. It operates through the *Toll free number 14416*. The framework includes a suicide prevention module called *”Manasvita”*. Counsellors receive Gatekeeper’s Training and are taught to assess the risk of harm to self. The service provides support from Tier-1 counsellors. They can escalate calls to specialists (clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, or psychiatrists) via phone or video (Tier-2). Additionally, the service refers patients to the nearest *District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)* centre for in-person follow-up. The toll free number is 14416.
every person in society must help resolve the issues behind suicide
*Dr Rahul Chakravarty* also talked about suicide prevention with the help of TeleMANAS. He also emphasised that suicide is a social phenomenon. It affects every socioeconomic group. Hence, every person in society must help resolve the issues behind suicide.
The press conference included questions from the media. Later, Prof. Subho Chakrabarti concluded that tele-psychiatry has successfully reduced waiting times. It has enhanced the quality of clinician–patient interaction. The service has improved treatment adherence and patient satisfaction. The service has minimized travel barriers. It has become a reliable and sustainable bridge between patients and mental health professionals at the Department of Psychiatry, PGIMER.
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