Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS)

The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) is an autonomous institution under the Government of Kerala. It is one of the institutions selected by the Govt. of India to develop into a centre of excellence in mental health. IMHANS is a postgraduate training centre affiliated with the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS). IMHANS situates in the Govt. Medical College campus at Kozhikode and functions in close collaboration with it. The primary focus is mental health care delivery, training, research and policy development.

Vision

• Everybody in need of mental health services receives appropriate care as a fundamental right.
• Mental health is valued as an asset and there is collective action to promote mental health.
• Communities are empowered to take due responsibility for the mental health of their members

Mission

• To lead the efforts in meeting the mental health needs of the population in the region.
• To promote and assist public health approaches in mental health through service development, capacity building, research, policy making and networking.
• To develop efficient, cost-effective and reproducible models of mental health care delivery.
• To advance knowledge in basic and clinical sciences relevant to mental health using modern research tools.

The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) was established as per the G.O (MS) No.299/82/HD dt.4.12.82, registered (Reg.No.157/1983) as a society under the Madras Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 8.6.83 and started functioning in the Govt. Mental Health Centre Campus, Kozhikode, in the year 1984-85. The institute continued to function in the GMHC till 2015 when it was shifted to the new building in the Govt. Medical College campus, Kozhikode.

The aim was to develop into a centre of excellence in mental health in the area of treatment, teaching and research with its campus in the Govt. Medical College, Kozhikode. The institute functioned as a unit of the Govt. Mental Health Centre (GMHC) at Kozhikode from a small, temporarily allotted building with minimum resources and limited staffing. In addition to the weekly outpatient clinic at the GMHC and inpatient unit, the institute organised monthly community mental health clinics at Meppadi and Thariyode in Wayanad district from 1984 onwards. Community mental health clinics were started at Perambra and Balusseri in Kozhikode district and Edavanna in Malappuram district.

The institute also organised rehabilitation services in the GMHC through the rehabilitation centre, which started in 1989.