Singh Rakesh, Gupta Anoop Krishna, Singh Babita, Basnet Pragyan, Arafat S M Yasir
Independent Mental Health Researcher, and Visiting Faculty Member, Department of Public Health, KIST Medical College, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Email:
Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, National Medical College, Birgunj, Nepal.
BJPsych Int. 2022 Feb;19(1):7-9. doi: 10.1192/bji.2021.51.
The history of psychiatry as a discipline in Nepal has been poorly studied. We have attempted to summarise historical landmarks to explore how it began and its evolution over time in relation to contemporary political events. Although Nepal has achieved several milestones, from establishing a psychiatric out-patient department with one psychiatrist in 1961 to having more than 500 psychiatric in-patient beds with 200 psychiatrists by 2020, the pace, commitment and dedication seem to be slower than necessary: the current national mental health policy dates back to 1996 and has not been updated since; there is no Mental Health Act; the number of psychiatric nurses and in-patient psychiatric beds has increased only slowly; and there is a dearth of professional supervision in rehabilitation centres. Thus, despite making significant progress, much more is required, at greater intensity and speed, and with wide collaboration and political commitment in order to improve the mental health of all Nepali citizens, including those living in rural areas and or in deprived conditions.
尼泊尔精神病学作为一门学科的历史研究甚少。我们试图总结历史里程碑，以探究其起源以及随时间推移与当代政治事件相关的演变。尽管尼泊尔取得了一些里程碑式进展，从1961年设立一个精神科门诊部门且仅有一名精神科医生，到2020年拥有500多张精神科住院床位及200名精神科医生，但进展速度、投入程度和专注度似乎比所需的要慢：当前的国家精神卫生政策可追溯到1996年，此后未更新；没有《精神卫生法》；精神科护士和精神科住院床位数量增长缓慢；康复中心缺乏专业监管。因此，尽管取得了重大进展，但仍需要更大力度、更快速度地开展更多工作，并进行广泛合作和政治承诺，以改善所有尼泊尔公民的心理健康，包括农村地区和贫困地区的居民。
