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TIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, October 29, 2002: The government of Kerala is making efforts to integrate spirituality with the medical system in their bid to tackle the growing incidence of mental afflictions in the state. The idea is to ensure availability of a psychiatrist, laboratory, referral infrastructure and other modern facilities in these centers to enable them to better serve patients. It intends to set certain standards for more than 100 spiritual healing centers presently operating in the state and has sent notices to 26 prominent institutions to gauge their reactions about the proposal. “The response has been encouraging. The majority of them are willing to experiment using the scientific tools along with spiritual practices,” SMHA Secretary, Dr. Suraraj Mani said. “Spirituality is even part of the medical curriculum in several universities in the United States. The psychiatrists in the country should welcome our initiative since a large number of mentally ill are reluctant to seek modern treatment due to the stigma attached to the mental hospitals in the country,” Dr. Mani believes. Spiritual healing centers have a greater social acceptance in India as a large number of mentally ill prefer these centers believing they provide a better feeling of safety and comfort than mental hospitals. Kerala has several temples famous for healing the mentally ill.

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