Psychology is a branch of science which studies about behavior and cognitive processes. Clinical Psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with application of scientific knowledge gained, to understand, diagnose, assess, treat mental health conditions, familial-social interactions, personality and conditions that cause disability.
Psychology is a branch of science which studies about behavior and cognitive processes. Clinical Psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with application of scientific knowledge gained, to understand, diagnose, assess, treat mental health conditions, familial-social interactions, personality and conditions that cause disability. Detailed assessment and specialized intervention is provided by the department for a variety of conditions including neurodevelopmental disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Developmental delay and Learning Disabilities. Disability is multifaceted and hence the department focuses on liaison work with all the departments at NIPMR.
The psychological effects of disability are multidimensional. Improving the quality of life of the disabled individual needs detailed assessment of personality, needs, interests, coping mechanisms, and way of relating to people, abilities, intellectual performance and the individual’s own perception of one’s disability. Family plays a crucial part in perception and management of disability. For the individual to work effectively on his abilities; it is important to motivate them and clarify their self-concept and improve their confidence. Caregiver burden and expressed emotion, is important to be addressed for the welfare of the family, which also affects the quality of the disabled.
Psychotherapy is a collaborative treatment based on the relationship between an individual and a psychologist. Behavior training programs should be implemented to correct the impairments in the adaptive behavior. Disability is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. Hence identification of the problem as well as the management is important. Our Clinical Psychology Unit provides a detailed psychological assessment through standardized tools and the interventional programs are tailored to the needs of the individual. Apart from the intervention model for the children, the family members are also provided with parental and family counseling to enhance the total quality of life of the family as a whole. When a disabled child is born; all hopes of the parents are shattered. In order to assist the parents in dealing effectively with the situation counseling is essential, as a part of the whole management plan. The department holds all these in perspective and delivers services to suit the needs of the individual and family.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one among the most frequent disorders within child and adolescent psychiatry. ADHD is a highly prevalent and often life-persistent neurodevelopmental disorder with significantly higher utilization and costs of health care. Population surveys suggest that ADHD occurs in most cultures in about 5% of children and about 2.5% of adults. ADHD is characterized by a constant pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms that interferes with development and functioning of the child. The onset of ADHD tends to occur mostly in early childhood and it leads to impairment in children’s social relationships and scholastic performance. ADHD causes significant impairment in children’s lives. The symptoms associated with ADHD interfere with attainment of many of the normal milestones of childhood and adolescence. Recent studies suggested that the impairment associated with ADHD tends to persist well into adulthood and leads to criminal behavior, substance abuse and suicide. Untreated ADHD results in low frustration tolerance, irritability or mood changes.
Taken together with recent estimates it is important to have an intensive treatment strategy that is more beneficial to ADHD diagnosed children. To help meet this need, Psychology department of NIPMR started ADHD clinic. The clinic provides diagnosis and intensive targeted treatment of ADHD. The major goals of ADHD clinic is to enhance mental health of ADHD children by improving their communication skills, social skills, coping strategies and self-expression. These therapy sessions help children to pent-up energy and thereby reduce their aggressive behaviors. In ADHD clinic regular exercise will be conducted which can make the child more motivated for mental tasks, increase brain power and help to feel less confused. The motor gym activities can promote dopamine release as well as improve executive functions such as attention, organizing, planning and recall. In those with ADHD an increase in dopamine can improve focus and reduce symptoms.
The clinic is staffed by two psychologists. These providers make the diagnosis of ADHD, and often other co-morbid conditions, on the basis of an evidence-based assessment tool, which is comprised of standardized parent rating scales, a jointly administered clinical interview that examines the child’s functioning as well as parental behavioral management strategies, and a complete medical and family history. Once the diagnosis of ADHD is established, the therapist offers families detailed education about ADHD. In ADHD clinic a group of 5 children between the age group 5 to 12 is taken as a batch and each child will get intensive therapy sessions for 12 days (alternative days) with a duration of 90 minutes per day. Therapy session includes behavioral training, social skill groups, motor gym activity, breathing exercise and recreation activities. Families are usually offered follow-up visits in which the psychologist monitor behavior changes; targeted behavioral interventions for home and school are also recommended during these appointments. ADHD clinic also provide support group for parents which bring together people who are going through similar experiences. Participating in group provides with an opportunity to feel less lonely, reduce distress, anxiety or fatigue. The ADHD clinic offer the most helpful treatment options for each individual patient and family.
Psychologist with more than 10 years of experience in the field of Rehabilitation, Counseling and Psychotherapy. His interested areas include management of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Psychological Research and Counseling.
View ProfleArea of interests: Family therapy, Psycho analytically oriented psychotherapy; Mood disorders and personality disorders, Psychological assessment.
Psychologist with more than 10 years of experience in the field of Rehabilitation, Counseling and Psychotherapy. His interested areas include management of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Psychological Research and Counseling.
Proficient in English, Malayalam and Tamil
Mrs Amrutha CP has done her M.Sc in clinical Psychology from Christ college Irinjalakuda. She has done her internship from Mental Health Centre Olampara, Trivandrum. Has a working Experience in District Mental Health Program (DMHP), Trivandrum, She has participated in OKHI Disaster Management. Worked in De Addiction Department at Mental Health Centre in Olampara. Also worked in APEX Counseling and Therapy Centre, Chalakudy (Award Bhavan). She has been working in NIPMR as Consultant Psychologist since 2018.
Mrs Jaseena has done her M.Sc in Clinical Psychology from Christ college Irinjalakuda. She has done her internship from Mental Health Centre, Thrissur. Has a working Experience in Training Learning Disability programme organized at Mental Health Centre Thrissur. Also worked in AVA Centre For Neuro Rehabilitation Kodungallur, Thrissur. Has done paper presentations. She has been working in NIPMR as Consultant Psychologist since 2018.
Mr. Eldho Paul is a Consultant Psychologist at NIPMR. Having completed his post graduation in MSc. Applied Psychology from Rathinam College of Arts & Science (Autonomous), he has done internships from Government Mental Health Centre, Thrissur and IQRAA Centre for Psychiatric Care, Kozhikode. He also has prior working experience in Prathyasa Counseling Centre. In addition to these, his areas of expertise are psychological assessment and counselling. Also, he has done paper presentation and journal publication in the International Journal of Indian Psychology
Ms Anjana V S has done her Masters in Psychology from University of Delhi. She has done her internship from NIPMR; Kalettumkara, Talking Minds;New delhi and Mindweavers; Kozhikode, She has also worked as a volunteer in Non Profit Organization called Thavanish, Irinjalakuda. She has participated and presented paper in IAAP 27th National and 58th International Conference in Delhi with the achievement of Best Paper award for the same.
Miss Aleena Antachan, has done her masters in psychology from St. Joseph's college, Irinjalakuda, Calicut University. She has done her internship at National Institution of Physical Medicin and Rehabilitation (NIPMR), Mental Health Center,Oolampara,Thiruvananthapuram and Mar Thoma Hospital, Azhicode, Kodungallur. She has done her volunteer service at National Institution of Physical Medicin and Rehabilitation (NIPMR). She has work experience at Alfa Learning Development Center, Aluva.
A post graduate in Clinical Psychology having both clinical and research experience.
Msc in Clinical psychology done from christ college, Irinjalakuda. Done internship from mental health centre, Oolampara and Mental health centre, Thrissur.
4 years of experience in different areas.
Worked as school psychologist at Amrita Vidyalayam, Kochi.
Worked as Asst. Psychologist in Jubilee mission medical college assisted in an ICMR project entitled “Influence of demographic, clinical, genetic, and pattern of management in maintaining long term abstinence among patients of alcohol use disorders”.
Worked as community counsellor under state poverty eradication mission, Thrissur.
Done paper presentations and publication.