Inaugural meeting of South Indian Private Psychiatric Society held in Visakhapatnam

The inaugural meeting of the South Indian branch of the Indian Private Psychiatric Society organised by the Kausalya Counselling Centre, under the aegis of the Andhra Pradesh branch, was held in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (September 13, 2026).

National president Dr. Mrugesh Vaishnav (Ahmedabad) delivered the keynote address, where he noted that three-fourths of mental healthcare services in the country are provided by the private sector and advised doctors to adopt modern methods. He called upon everyone to work collectively to resolve the challenges faced by private practitioners. Medical Council Observer Dr. I. Ramasubba Reddy (Vijayawada) stated that staying accessible to the public through continuing medical education programmes would facilitate practitioner registration.

During the general body meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Private Psychiatrists Association, Dr. N. Muralikrishna (Guntur) was elected as executive committee president, Dr. Vijayakumar (Anantapur) as vice president, while Dr. Kishore Kumar (Nandyala) was elected as secretary. Former superintendent of the Government Mental Hospital, Dr. N.N. Raju, Director of the Kausalya Counseling Centre, Dr. Nihal also spoke.