Raipur: Stigma around mental illness, delayed treatment and a persistent shortage of psychiatrists remain major barriers to psychiatric care, experts said at the 47th annual conference of the central psychiatric society (CIPCON 2026), being held in Raipur from Sept 25 to 27.The three-day conference, themed “from foundations to frontiers: psychiatry in the current era”, has brought together psychiatrists and teachers from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to discuss newer drugs, treatment approaches and emerging tools, including artificial intelligence.A major highlight is the lifetime achievement award for senior psychiatrist Dr Ashok Trivedi, recognising more than five decades of service in Chhattisgarh. Trivedi chose to work in Bhilai-Durg at a time when psychiatric services were largely concentrated in bigger cities.Experts said stigma continues to delay treatment, with many families first turning to faith healers or traditional remedies before seeking psychiatric help, often after the illness has worsened.Dr Deepak Ghormode, secretary of the Chhattisgarh psychiatric society cited Durg-Bhilai as an example of how sustained awareness and improved services can make a difference. He said the city had figured prominently in suicide-rate data around 2016-17 but had since moved out of the top five in later available figures.Dr Trivedi flagged the shortage of specialists, saying the recognised requirement is around three psychiatrists per one lakh population, while India has roughly one per one lakh. With relatively few postgraduate psychiatry seats, he said the gap could persist for decades.
