The aims of this appreciation of the life and work of Jaswant Singh Neki (1925–2015), a leading Indian psychiatrist and Sikh scholar, are: (1) to revisit Neki's contributions to social psychiatry through his employment of the Indian paradigm of the gurū-chelā relationship; (2) to contrast and compare Neki's gurū-chelā paradigm for psychotherapy with the Western “I-centred paradigm” of psychotherapy; and (3) to examine the impact of Neki's gurū-chelā paradigm in India and the Indian diaspora and to synthesize it with contemporary trends in psychotherapy in Western societies.

Estimates inform that mental health problems are on the rise across the globe including in Bangladesh. To reduce the global disease burden caused by mental health disorders, community-based mental health care has gained significant consideration worldwide alongside conventional approaches to treat mental health disorders. In the face of growing mental health problems, limited resources, and centralized mental health facilities, Bangladesh – a low- and middle-income country – has prospects in ensuring mental health care through the implementation of community-based mental health services across the country. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges in implementing community-based mental health services in Bangladesh.

Psycho-oncology is an interdisciplinary field that addresses the two major psychological dimensions of cancer: the psychological responses of patients to cancer at all stages of the disease, and that of their families and caretakers, and the psychological, behavioral, and social factors that may influence the disease process. It contributes to the clinical care of patients and families, to the training of staff in psychological management, and to the collaborative research that ranges from the behavioral issues in cancer prevention to the management of psychiatric disorders and the psychosocial problems during the continuum of the cancer illness, including end-of-life care.^[1] There is scientific evidence of the benefits of providing psychosocial cancer care as part of standard care in reducing distress and psychosocial morbidity associated with cancer and in fostering a better quality of life during and after treatment, and eventually in increasing survival.^[2] Because of the undeniably growing prevalence of cancer, its relationship with emotional distress and psychiatric comorbidity, and its impact on the quality of life of oncologic patients, their families, and health professionals, the need for mental health services for cancer patients is real and urgent. With this essay, the authors intend to present a brief narrative review of the scope and aims of psycho-oncology, clinical practice guidelines for the psychosocial care of cancer patients, and the authors' experience in the implementation of a multidisciplinary project of a psycho-oncology consultation in a central hospital, in Lisbon, Portugal.

The use of unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), i.e., ECT without general anesthesia, vis-a-vis human rights of mental health patients and standards of care, is discussed. An overview of unmodified ECT is provided, followed by an account of recent events in Chile, where the Minister of Health referred the administration of unmodified ECT to the judicial system. The article concludes with a proposal to launch a voluntary system of accreditation, by which countries willing to have their mental health services accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) would commit themselves to give unrestricted, unannounced, and at short-notice access to independently appointed the WHO representatives to their community and inpatient mental health facilities.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted persons with preexisting psychiatric disorders negatively. There is a lack of studies on the impact on people with preexisting psychotic disorder. Aims: We studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on patients with a preexisting psychotic disorder and whether they were following the recommended preventive measures for COVID-19. We also studied coping strategies used by them and their caregivers. We compared persons with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and chronic psychotic disorders (CPD). Methodology: The study sample was a part of the National Institute of Health Research Psychosis Research Group cohort. The subjects belonged to two groups: FEP consisted of patients with the first episode of psychosis, with the duration of illness ≥3 months and ≤2 years, and CPD group consisted of patients with psychosis, with the duration of illness ≥2 years. They were interviewed telephonically on a semistructured questionnaire. Thematic analysis was done to identify coping strategies. Results: Fifty patients were interviewed: 24 in the FEP (26·12 ± 8·0 years) and 26 in the CPD group (34 ± 7.5 years). Forty-six (92%) patients reported difficulty in access to hospitals and 32 (64%) had difficulty in contacting a doctor. Eight (16%) of them reported worsening of symptoms and 12 (24%) reported irregular adherence to treatment. The two groups differed significantly on doing household chores, occupational functioning, and financial issues. The majority of them used emotion-focused coping strategies. Three-fourth (79.1%) of the patients in the FEP group were following all four recommended preventive measures, whereas, in the CPD group, three-fourths (73.1%) were able to follow only one measure. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had impacted FEP and CPD groups differently. CPD group could follow recommended preventive measures less frequently than FEP.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of millions of people around the world. The stress due to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality among the elderly along with the lockdown measures can impact the mental health of older aged adults. Hence, the current study aimed to assess the mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic on older adults in India. Methods: The current study was part of an online, cross-sectional survey conducted in eight countries. For the current study, participants were included if they were Indians, were at least 55 years of age, had Internet access, were residing in India, and were willing to participate in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire to assess the sociodemographic data and worries related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Impact of Events Scale-Revised were applied. Results: A total of 181 older adults participated. The most common worries were the impact of COVID on society (65.2%) and on friends and family (50.8%). About 14.9%, 2.8%, and 14.9% of participants were screened positive for depression, probable posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety based on PHQ-9, IES-R, and GAD-7, respectively. There was a significant association of both depression and anxiety with preexisting mental illness, worry about transmitting COVID to others, ability to care for others, impact of COVID-19 on one's own health, finances, and society. Conclusions: Higher levels of altruism and “psychological jointedness” in the Indian family could have led to this unique finding that older adults were more worried about the impact of pandemic on others, than self.