BENGALURU: The National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), in association with The PARC -- a city-based mental health training organisation -- is co-hosting the 10th World Congress of Women’s Mental Health, an initiative of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health (IAWMH) in Bengaluru. The congress kicked off with a pre-conference event at NIMHANS on Wednesday and will continue till Saturday.
“This the first time that the IAWHM is holding the World Congress of Women’s Mental Health in a developing country in South Asia, India,” said Dean, Behavioural Science, NIMHANS, Prabha Chandra. She is also president, IAWHM, and organising chairperson, 10th World Congress of WMH.
She will describe a 10-year longitudinal study of the mental health of young mothers in Bengaluru in the scientific programme of the conference.
“The congress will have panel discussions with domain experts for the delegates, book panels and talks across the city and an art workshop for the general public,” said Pavitra Jayaraman, co-founder, The Psychotherapy Advanced Research Centre (PARC) and organising committee of the 10th World Congress.
Over 800 delegates from across the world are likely to participate in the conference, which will include over 90 symposia, case conferences and panel discussions, 350 e-poster presentations by researchers and practitioners on topics including addiction, perinatal trauma, bipolar disorders, psychosis and the lived experience of women as caregivers. There will be skill-based workshops on eating disorders in adolescents, ADHD, sexual dysfunction and perinatal psychopharmacology by leading international experts.
Prof Norman Sartorius, former director, Division of Mental Health, WHO, will speak on priorities for mental health in 2025.
The pre-conference event - Empowering Minds, Embracing Gender: Creative Dialogue on Women’s Mental Health - engaged with over 350 university students through slam poetry, poster making and interactive theatre.