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Know About Dr Sarada Menon, India's First Woman Psychiatrist And Longest Serving Head Of Institute Of Mental Health
Writer: Tashafi Nazir
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India, 7 Dec 2021 9:11 AM GMT
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For most people, journalism sounds hectic and chaotic. For her, it's a passion she has been chasing for years. With an extensive media background, Tashafi believes in putting efforts on presenting a simple incident in the most interesting way.
Menon passed away in Chennai on Sunday, December 5, due to age-related ailments. She was 98 years old. She was highly popular among her patients and fellow professionals.
Dr Sarada Menon, India's first woman psychiatrist, passed away in Chennai on Sunday, December 5, due to age-related ailments. She was 98 years old.
Condoling the death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday said the loss of such great personality was a loss to the medical fraternity.
Nation Pays Tributes
Who Was Sarada Menon?
Menon was born in a Malayali family on April 5, 1923 as the youngest of eight children in Karnataka's coastal town Mangalore. Her father worked as a judge, and when he was transferred to Chennai, young Menon moved with him for her schooling at Good Shepherd School and later at Christ Church Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School. She completed her graduation from Women's Christian College.
Education
In 1951, she graduated in medicine from Madras Medical College and did her residency at Irwin Hospital, New Delhi. In the same year, she later joined Madras Medical Service to start her career at Pittapuram Mission Hospital in Andhra Pradesh.
At the same time, Menon studied for the post-graduate degree of MD, which she got in 1957. Subsequently, she completed the Diploma in Psychiatric Medicine, a two-year course in psychiatry, at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), which made her the first woman psychiatrist of the country.
In 1959, Menon joined the Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk and superannuated from the institution in 1978. She became its first woman Superintendent in 1961. During her tenure, the institution started its department of psychiatry, began an out-patient facility and set up regional psychiatric centres at every district hospitals in the state.
Rehabilitating Mentally Challenged People
Her efforts have been reported behind initiating participation of social organisations in the rehabilitation of mentally unstable patients. AASHA, a community-based organisation assisting the families of mentally challenged individuals based in Chennai, is one such organisation that was started on her initiative.
On the personal front, she transformed one of the rooms in her home into a shelter and later influenced the local chapter of YMCA to open palliative care centres. The organisation eventually opened three such centres, at Thiruverkadu, Mahabalipuram and Anna Nagar.
Foundation Of SCARF
In 1984, she motivated a few like-minded people and founded Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), a non-governmental organisation, to rehabilitate people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Over the years, SCARF has evolved into a full-fledged research base. It is one of the few Indian institutions recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Collaborating Center for Mental Health Research and Training. The organisation provides temporary shelters and telepsychiatric therapy, runs vocational training centres to rehabilitate patients, and manages a mobile clinic. They also help in employment opportunities and organise awareness campaigns and research projects on regular basis.
Menon served as the vice-president of the Chennai chapter of the Red Cross Society and was a member of the Tamil Nadu government panel set up for proposing prison reforms. She was also a part of the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (WFSAD).
In 1992, the Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan. She also received the Best Employer Award from the Government of India, Best Doctor Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu, For the Sake of Honour Award from the Rotary Club, Chennai, and the Special Award of the International Association of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation, Boston. In 2016, the Government of Tamil Nadu honoured her again with Avvaiyyar Award. The renowned psychiatrist has also bagged the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust.
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