Traditional approaches to mental health treatment come from three distinct eras of Indian history; ancient India (Bharata), medieval India (Hindustan), and modern India (Jain & Sandhu, 2015). The healing traditions of India could be viewed in three broad streams or forces, namely shamanism, spirituality, and scientific. These three major healing traditions could be viewed as independent approaches of mental health, sometimes working simultaneously with one another. These three traditions have also been described as local and folk traditions, mystical, and medical traditions.
Ayurveda is considered one of the most ancient medicines practiced in India as early as the 6th Century B.C. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means the science of life. It is a system of medicine that classifies most human problems into three major categories – the psychic, exogenous, and the endogenous. Its psychic branch is called Bhuta Vidya and this deals directly with mental health and psychiatric problems. Ayurveda treatment methods include herbs, food restrictions, decoctions, and oils.
Recently, the Indian government developed the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) to help people cope with their mental health problems, as there is a mental health crisis in India and a lack of trained professionals is exacerbating this crisis (Sinha & Kaur, 2011). The DMHP was created to integrate mental health services into primary health care and is presently implemented in 125 districts in India.
The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) was started under the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) to decentralize mental health services and to provide mental health service at the community level by integrating mental health with the general healthcare delivery system (Jain & Sandhu, 2015). NMHP was adopted in 1982. India was one of the first developing countries to adopt such a program. The main objectives of the program are as follows:
- To ensure the availability and accessibility of minimum mental healthcare for all in the foreseeable future particularly to the most vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the population
- To encourage the application of mental health knowledge in general healthcare and social development
- To promote community participation in mental health service development and to stimulate efforts toward self-help in the community.