Articles by K S Jacob

The provision of mental healthcare at the primary level in low- and middle-income countries is woefully inadequate today. While the recent emphasis on the link between mental disorders and non-communicable diseases appears to be a tactical advance, it is also an admission of the strategic failure of integrating mental healthcare into primary care.

After the Germanwings pilot with psychological problems flew a plane-load of passengers into the French Alps, there has been a great deal of public discussion on mental illness, suicidal tendencies and treatment. This comment addresses two larger issues related to mental distress and illness--psychiatric labelling and the indiscriminate use of psychotropic medication. Though human thinking, emotions, and behaviour defy simplistic categorisation, the current trend is to medicalise personal, social, economic, and political problems while diminishing the role of a causal environment.