Migration is a universal phenomenon, which existed with the subsistence of the human beings on earth. People migrate from one place to another for several reasons, but the goal or main reason behind changing the residence would be improving their living conditions or to escape from debts and poverty. Migration is also a social phenomenon which influences human life and the environment around. Hence, migration has a great impact on any geographical area and it is known as one of the three basic components of population growth of any particular region (the other two are, mortality and fertility). Migration involves certain phases to go through; hence, it is a process. Many times, lack of preparedness, difficulties in adjusting to the new environment, the complexity of the local system, language difficulties, cultural disparities and adverse experiences would cause distress to the migrants. Moreover subsequently it has a negative impact on mental well-being of such population. Due to globalization, modernization, improved technologies and developments in all the sectors, the migration and its impact on human well-being is a contemporary issue; hence, here is an attempt to understand the migration and its impact on the mental health of the migrants based on the studies conducted around.

Background:Family's expressed emotion has been shown to be predictive of outcome in mental and physical illnesses in a variety of cultural settings. The relationship between caregiver burden and high level of expressed emotions has demonstrated a high level of relapse among the psychiatric patients in the West.Aim:The current study explores the relationship between caregivers’ burden and level of expressed emotions by the patients with schizophrenia in Indian setting.Materials and Methods:The sample for the study consisted of totally 70 subjects comprising 35 schizophrenic patients and 35 caregivers. The schizophrenic patients who were attending the Day Care Center run by Department of Psychiatric and Neuro Rehabilitation Unit at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore, India (a tertiary care center) and their primary caregivers were included. Family emotional involvement and criticism scale and The burden assessment schedule were administered to assess the expressed emotions and caregivers’ burden. Carl Pearson Correlation test used to study the relationship between the variables.Results and Conclusion:The study highlighted the need for addressing expressed emotion in comprehensive psychosocial intervention plan. More attention should be paid to the needs of the caregivers in order to alleviate their burden in managing mentally ill patients.

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The current study aimed at understanding the nature and pattern of employment among persons with severe mental disorders and compared those who sustained versus lost the job after onset of illness. Data were collected using a semi structured interview schedule from 216 respondents who were diagnosed with severe mental disorders including schizophrenia/schizo affective disorder and psychosis NOS. Out of the 216 respondents, 136 were employed and 80 were not working at the time of study. While comparing employed and unemployed group using Chi square test, females were found to be losing their jobs more (54.3 %) than male respondents (33.7 %) after the onset of illness. There was a trend towards unemployment noticed in respondents with higher years of education and more number of respondents was belonging to unskilled worker category (64) out of which 67.2 % were in employed group and 32.8 % in unemployed group. The present study helps in understanding the scenario of employment among persons with severe mental disorders in India and to plan appropriate policies and interventions in addressing employment related issues among the population.

Background: Recovery in mental illness is not synonymous with cure. Personal recovery approach consider recovery as a process and not as an outcome. This approach takes into account the subjective meaning of recovery by assessing how a person has learned to accommodate and live with an illness. Aim: To study the personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia. Method: This article presents the findings of a qualitative study about what ‘recovery’ means to persons with schizophrenia. A semi structured interview schedule was prepared based on literature review and expert opinion. Twenty participants who met the inclusion criteria and personally consider themselves recovering/recovered from schizophrenia were selected for the in-depth qualitative interviews. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Meaning of recovery from each participant’s perspective was recorded. Findings: The results indicate factors that patients deem important for their recovery are, absence of symptoms, regaining functioning, being able to work, having adequate emotional stability and not being on medicines. The findings are examined in the background of the previous studies and suggestions for clinical practice and research is also discussed. Conclusion: Recovery is far more than remission of symptoms. Persons with mental illness has their own criteria of recovery, which could be very distinct from the clinical definition. Current study findings can help in identifying meaning of recovery through the perspectives of persons with mental illness and in developing and implementing recovery-oriented services.