Speaker Biography

Dr. Soma Saha
Biography:

Soma Saha is Associate Professor/ Psychiatric Social Worker and counsellor of family/marital/child therapist in Institute of Psychiatry - A Centre of Excellence in Kolkata. Her professional efforts, great number of seminars and educational activities she participated in, published papers, initiative she has been taking in order to  see the inclusive development of many marginalised populations, case interventions, working with special populations, the subjects of her research work (specialised in Stress, Coping, Personality Factors and Empathy among mental health professionals, Identity of Transgender Children, problem attached with it, working with mental health of tribal populations etc.).  Finished Graduate studies in Social Work, Masters in Social Work, Doctoral in Psychiatric Social Work. Also she is working as editor in EC Psychology and Psychiatry which is an online journal from March, 2018. Also worked as Study- Coordinator (West Bengal) for the largest epidemiological survey in India – National Mental Health Survey (2015-16)

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: Study was conducted to gain the understanding of the caregiver’s needs and their perception of the main challenges and to see the local knowledge and perceptions of symptoms of mental illness. Methodology: Family members of persons with mental illness are participants. They were first screened through adult population. Researcher conducted six focus group discussions within 6 months, with each group comprised of 8–13 eligible caregivers visiting the outdoor who were coming for follow up. Each group sessions conducted for approximately two hours. Group discussions were recorded with consent of the participants. I followed an interview guide that systematically and one by one touched on key areas of knowledge of mental illness, services available nearby, help-seeking patterns (conventional and alternative) and overall information needs and preferences regarding  accessing mental health services. Discussion and recommendations: In depth analysis from FGDs are presented to provide preliminary insights into community knowledge and perceptions of mental health services and access to care. It presents here exploratory and descriptive results occurring commonly through themes in FGDs that have been coded. Preliminary coding is suggestive of some common themes that can help inform researchers when implementing the findings to making of this report. A predominant theme throughout all FGDs was the understanding of mental illness. Medicine was repeatedly mentioned by participants in response to questions on the management of mental illness and in terms of service needs. However, all groups also identified a need for access to individuals with an understanding of mental illness and how to treat and manage it. Participants did not recognise the term ’counsellor’; they had either not heard of it or had heard it but had no understanding of a counsellor’s role in mental healthcare.