IMH Eragadda Deploys Psychiatric Social Workers to Support Patient Rehabilitation

On July 1, 2026, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Eragadda, Hyderabad, launched a new initiative deploying a team of trained psychiatric social workers to provide enhanced counselling and rehabilitation support to its patients. The program was officially inaugurated by IMH Superintendent Dr. K. Shiva Prasad. This new welfare measure is a collaborative effort between the state-run tertiary mental healthcare centre and the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF).

The primary objective of this deployment is to strengthen overall patient care at the hospital, improve family engagement, and facilitate the social reintegration of patients who are undergoing treatment. By bringing in trained psychiatric social workers, the initiative seeks to bridge the gap between clinical recovery and social reintegration.

Under the newly launched programme, a total of five psychiatric social workers have been posted across key sections of the Eragadda facility. The distribution of these professionals is planned to target specific areas of need within the hospital. Specifically, two counsellors have been assigned to the discharge ward and the de-addiction ward, one has been posted to the Clinical Psychology Department, and two have been deployed to the outpatient department.

The counselling services will place a major focus on patients currently residing in the discharge ward. This ward often houses individuals who have successfully completed their psychiatric treatment and are clinically stable, yet continue to stay at the hospital because their families have not yet taken them back home.

To address this challenge, the newly appointed psychiatric social workers will work closely with both the clinically stable patients and their relatives. They will focus on improving communication between the patients and their families, rebuilding crucial family support systems, and ultimately facilitating the patients' return to their homes.