SCARF Inaugurates 12th International Conference on Schizophrenia in Chennai

The 12th edition of the three-day International Conference on Schizophrenia, organised by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), was inaugurated in Chennai on Thursday. The event brought together international and national mental health experts, policymakers, and caregivers to address key challenges in psychiatric care and research.

During the inaugural session, Natarajan Varadharajan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, received the first STELAR Award. The award was presented by Darez Ahamed, Health Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government, alongside Ashoo Grover, Scientist G at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and R. Thara, co-founder of SCARF.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Ahamed emphasised that mental health is a vital component of any healthcare system, comparable to priorities like maternal and child health under the Sustainable Development Goals. He noted that while Tamil Nadu maintains a robust District Mental Health Programme and active psychiatry departments across medical colleges, the primary challenge remains delivering mental health care at the population level. He added that the State’s recent Budget addressed this requirement at the policy level to expand efforts beyond district-level frameworks.

Ashoo Grover highlighted that although India has made strides in controlling communicable diseases, the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continues to challenge the healthcare sector. She pointed out that while NCD discussions typically focus on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, recent data demonstrates a high prevalence of mental health conditions across age groups, underscoring the need to integrate mental healthcare into the wider NCD framework.

Matcheri S. Keshavan, Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, delivered the 6th Dr. Sarada Menon Oration, focusing on cognition as a core aspect of schizophrenia. Other dignitaries present at the launch included SCARF Chairman R. Seshasayee, Indian Psychiatric Society President T.S. Sathyanarayana Rao, and Mohan Isaac, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Western Australia.

Earlier in the day, experts participated in a panel discussion regarding whether the name of schizophrenia should be altered. Psychiatrists, caregivers, individuals with lived experiences, and media professionals presented arguments on both sides, reaching a broad consensus that any change in nomenclature should follow significant advancements in the scientific understanding of the condition.