Public Mental Health
Access to care, urban mental-health services, service gaps and population approaches.
WHO–ICMR pilot project on urban mental-health services · Public Mental Health: An Evolving Imperative (2006)
Senior Consultant Psychiatrist · Delhi
Prof. (Dr.) Nimesh G. Desai
Psychiatry. Public Mental Health. Human Development.
MD (Psych) · MPH (USA) · MRCPsych (UK)
- Former Director, Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi
- Former faculty, AIIMS New Delhi & NIMHANS Bengaluru
- Four decades of clinical care, teaching and public mental-health leadership
01
Clinician
Assessment, treatment, family support and long-term care.
02
Teacher
Mentoring students, professionals and institutions for four decades.
03
Public Mental Health Leader
Systems, policy, law, disaster response and community care.
04
Institution Builder
23 years at IHBAS, including eleven as Director.
A way of working
From the person to the public system.
Mental health is shaped not only by what happens in a consulting room, but by families, communities, institutions, law and public services. Dr. Desai's work has moved across all of these — treating individuals, training professionals, building a national institution, and helping shape how India organises mental-health care.
PersonFamilyCommunityInstitutionLaw & PolicySociety
Professional journey
Four decades across India's leading centres of psychiatry.
A career that began in academic psychiatry and grew into building services, shaping policy and training the next generation.
1982 – 1988
NIMHANS
National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bengaluru.
1988 – 1998
AIIMS
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi — faculty in psychiatry.
1998 – 2010
IHBAS
Professor & Head of Psychiatry; Medical Superintendent.
2010 – 2021
Director, IHBAS
Led the institute and served as CEO, State Mental Health Authority, Delhi.
Today
Practice & Mentorship
Clinical consultation, teaching, public mental health and professional leadership.
Clinical care
Psychiatry with time to understand the person.
Every consultation begins with listening — to the person, and where helpful, to the family. The aim is a clear understanding of what is happening and a plan that fits the person's life.
- Psychiatric assessment
- Psychotherapy
- Second opinions
- Family consultation
- Long-term mental-health conditions
- Substance-use problems
- Mental health in later life
- Complex presentations
01RequestWhatsApp or email the clinic to request a time.
02ShareBring earlier reports, prescriptions and a family member if you wish.
03ConsultationAn unhurried, comprehensive assessment.
04PlanA clear treatment and management plan, explained.
05Follow-upContinued care as and when required.
Work & leadership
Mental health beyond the consulting room.
Six areas where Dr. Desai's work has reached past individual care into systems, services and society.
Policy, Law & Rights
Implementing the Mental Healthcare Act 2017, mental-health governance and the rights of people with mental illness.
CEO, State Mental Health Authority, Delhi · NHRC Core Group on Mental Health
Institution Building
Developing services, governance and quality systems in a large public mental-health institution.
23 years at IHBAS · NABH accreditation · Government of India Centre of Excellence
Disaster Mental Health
Psychosocial support and mental-health services before, during and after disasters.
Coordinator, Core Group — NDMA National Guidelines on Psycho-Social Support & Mental Health Services in Disasters (2009)
Substance Use & Recovery
Treatment, prevention and recovery for alcohol, tobacco and other substance use.
Tobacco-cessation services research (WHO SEAJPH) · international SUD education
Teaching & Scholarship
Academic psychiatry, research, editorial work and mentoring professionals.
~100 research papers · Honorary Editor, IPS national journal (2005–07)
Building systems of care
23
years at IHBAS
At the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences, Delhi, Dr. Desai moved from heading the Department of Psychiatry to leading the whole institute — helping it become a Government of India Centre of Excellence and one of the first mental-health and neuroscience hospitals in India with full NABH accreditation.
- 1998Professor & Head, PsychiatryClinical services, teaching and research
- 2000sMedical SuperintendentHospital operations and patient care
- 2010 – 2021DirectorInstitutional leadership, quality and development
- ConcurrentMember Secretary / CEO, State Mental Health Authority, DelhiMental-health governance for the capital
Ideas & research
A body of thought, not just a list of papers.
A recurring question runs through his writing: what is psychiatry's responsibility beyond diagnosis and treatment? All selected publications →
Public Mental Health: An Evolving Imperative
Why mental health must be seen as a population and public-policy concern, not only a clinical one.
Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 2006
Urban Mental Health Services in India: How Complete or Incomplete?
A multicentre look at services, human resources, access barriers and unmet need in Indian cities.
WHO–ICMR pilot project, 2004
Taking Psychiatry to the Public in the Third World
How psychiatry can reach beyond hospitals to the communities that need it.
Peer-reviewed essay
Responsibility of Psychiatrists: Need for Pragmatic Idealism
Holding high ideals while working within the realities of Indian health systems.
Peer-reviewed essay
Mental-health morbidity after an urban fire disaster
ICMR-supported study of psychological effects on survivors of a Delhi slum fire.
ICMR-supported research
Implementing the Mental Healthcare Act 2017
How services must be organised to deliver on the rights promised by the new law.
Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 2022
~100research papers
10book chapters
10monographs
5national research awards
Teacher & mentor
Knowledge becomes valuable when it travels.
Generations of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and social workers have trained under Dr. Desai at NIMHANS, AIIMS and IHBAS. Today he continues to teach, lecture and mentor — and as President of Manovikas Charitable Society, supports work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Teaching · Mentorship · Professional training · Capacity building · Inclusive practice
Education & fellowships
- 1998International Visitor Program, US Department of State
- 2001Humphrey Fulbright Fellow & MPH, Johns Hopkins University
- 2003Fellow, National Academy of Medical Sciences
- 2005MRCPsych, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
Awards & professional service
- 2012Vishisht Chikitsa Ratan Award, Delhi Medical Association
- —IMA Dr. Ramachandra N. Murthy Award in Psychiatry
- 1997 – 99Honorary General Secretary, Indian Psychiatric Society
- 2026Organising Chairperson, ANCIPS 2026
Talks & media
Lectures, conversations and public voice.
Dr. Desai explains
Plain-language answers to real questions.
Each topic has a two-minute answer and a detailed explanation. Hindi versions to follow. See all topics →
When does someone need a psychiatrist?
Signs that it's time to seek help.
Quick answer · In depth →
Psychiatrist or psychologist?
What each does, and when you need which.
Quick answer · In depth →
Helping a family member
How families can support without burning out.
Questions about medication
Common worries, answered honestly.
Depression
More than sadness — and treatable.
Anxiety
When worry takes over daily life.
Alcohol & substance use
Recognising a problem and paths to recovery.
Mental health in later life
Memory, mood and wellbeing as we age.
Appointment
Consult Prof. (Dr.) Nimesh G. Desai
- Clinic
- Dr Desai's
27 Gujrat Vihar (Basement), Opp. Chitra Vihar,
near Swasthya Vihar, off Vikas Marg, Delhi 110092 - Consultation hours
- Monday, Wednesday & Friday · 1:00 – 8:00 pm
By appointment only - Registration
- Delhi Medical Council Reg. No. 20024
In a mental-health emergency, do not wait for a reply from the clinic. Call 112, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, or call Tele-MANAS, the national mental-health helpline, on 14416 (free, 24×7).