Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Photo exhibition to focus on mental illness

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Government-run mental hospitals in the country are centres where the mentally ill are often subjected to sexual abuse, given overdose of medication and are confined under dehumanising conditions, said Ratnaboli Ray, founder of Anjali, a mental-health initiative based in West Bengal.

Ms. Ray was speaking at a press conference here on Friday to announce a two-day photography exhibition on mental illness, ‘Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ that will begin at the Museum auditorium at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Education Minister M.A. Baby will inaugurate the exhibition at 4 p.m.

The condition of mental hospitals run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was worse, Ms. Ray said.

Civil society still does not know how to respond to or interact with someone who is mentally ill. “We have been telling municipalities to integrate mental health initiatives into their health programmes. If there is proper intervention at the right time, a mentally ill person need not reach that stage where he or she has to be hospitalised,” Ms. Ray said.

‘Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest’ deals with persons who are housed in institutions for the mentally ill, the ambience of such institutions and with persons who have gone back to society after successfully dealing with their illnesses. “It is the journey of those who went from being non-persons to being full citizens,” Ms. Ray said.

Ms. Ray and Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac will address visitors to the exhibition at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

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