October 2025

    To mark the World Mental Health Day observed every year by the global community of Psychologists and Psychiatrists on the 10th of October, the Department of Psychology, Feroze Gandhi College, Raebareli organised a Two- day National Seminar on “Mental Health of Older People: The Overlooked Emergency” in collaboration with the Community Psychology Association of India on 10.10.2025 and 11.10.2025. The seminar aimed to highlight the often neglected mental health issues of senior citizens and to explore individual, community, and societal approaches for addressing these challenges.

    On 10.10.2025, the inaugural session of the Seminar began with the welcome and inaugural address being delivered by Dr. Shamini Srivastava, Seminar Convener and Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Psychology. Distinguished guest speakers including Professor A. N. Rai, Dr. Reena Singh, and Dr. Rajendra Singh were felicitated for their outstanding contributions to the field of mental health. Presiding over the inaugural session, Er. Atul Bhargava, Managing Secretary of the College appreciated the continuous efforts of the Department of Psychology for pursuing the goal of academic upliftment of the Department and its students with a sense of perseverance and diligence. Principal of the College, Prof. Manoj Kumar Tripathi extended his good wishes to all the participants, organisers, and speakers for the success of the Seminar.

    Prof. Ramji Lal, Secretary of the Community Psychology Association of India, laid emphasis on the positive impact of youth initiatives on the mental well being of the elderly people. While delivering the keynote address, the Chief Guest of the session, Dr. Rajendra Singh Principal, Government Homeopathic College, Ghazipur drew attention to the moral and social responsibilities of the participants towards the elderly citizens at the personal, community, and societal levels. The inaugural session was conducted by Shri Vishnu Sharan Tripathi, Co-organising Secretary of the Seminar.

    Panel discussion sessions were marked by the illuminating discourses delivered by the speakers and domain experts including Prof. Nisha Mani Pandey, Department of Geriatric Mental Health, KGMU, Lucknow, Prof. Pramod Kumar, former Neuroscientist, ITRC, Lucknow, Dr. Reena Singh, Disha Counseling Centre, Bhopal and Prof. A. N. Rai, former Chairperson, M.G.S. P.G. College, Ghazipur and their intense interactions with other participants. They elaborated upon various psychological challenges and possible interventions for the mental health of older persons.

The first day concluded with a review of the Seminar proceedings presented by the Organising Secretary, Dr. Amish,l and was followed by a vote of thanks by the Co-organising Secretary, Dr. Vinay Kumar Singh. Faculty Members of the College, including Prof. U. B. Singh, Prof. C. Lal, Dr. Arvind Singh, Dr. Puneet Kumar Gupta, Dr. Kailash Nath Dwivedi, Dr. Gulab Singh, Dr. Anjali Jaiswal, and Dr. Shweta Jaiswal and students of different Departments of the College attended the seminar enthusiastically.

    On 11.10.2025, the second day of the Seminar commenced with an informal interaction session followed by two parallel technical sessions. The first session of the second day was chaired by Prof. Ramji Lal and was co-chaired by Dr. Richa Singh, Indira Gandhi Government Girls’ Degree College, Rae Bareli. Research Scholars and academicians presented their papers on the various themes related to the mental health of older people. The second session of the second day was chaired by Prof. Pramila Tiwari, Mahila Degree College, Lucknow and was co- chaired by Dr. Arvind Singh, Head, Department of B.Ed, Feroze Gandhi College, Raebareli. Different participants presented their papers in this session. Both the sessions of the second day were conducted by the teachers of the Department of Psychology of the College including Dr. Sonam Kumari Rawat, Shri Shubham Kharwar, Shri Alok Pratap Singh, and Shri Vishnu Sharan.

    At the outset of the valedictory session of the Seminar, Dr. Shamini Srivastava welcomed all guests and participants. The Chief Guest of the valedictory session and the Managing Secretary of the College, Er. Atul Bhargava expressed the opinion that neglecting the mental health of senior citizens reflects the collective insensitivity of society and academic initiatives like the seminar conducted Department of Psychology serve as powerful tools to foster awareness and empathy in the society. The Guest of Honour of the valedictory session, Prof. U.B. Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Sociology, Feroze Gandhi College, Rae Bareli and Director, Research and Development Cell of the College who is an eminent expert in the field of gerontology, delivered a very scholarly valedictory address on subject delving into the entire gamut of challenges being faced by the older population of India and the possibile societal solutions and ways and means for overcoming the challenges of mental and psychological adjustment of the older population with the largely young population of the country.

    Dr. Amish presented a brief overview of the two day proceedings of the National Seminar. Ms. Parul and Dr. Sudhir Srivastava were honoured with the Best Paper awards. O. N. Bhargava Award was presented to Ms. Namita and the Dr. B. N. Khan Award was conferred upon Ms. Parul for their outstanding research contributions. Presiding over the valedictory session, the Principal, Prof. Manoj Kumar Tripathi congratulated the Department of Psychology and the Organising Committee for the successful conduct of the seminar and emphased that the event not only highlighted the psychological concerns of the elderly but also inspired the youth to become more empathetic and aware of these issues that are involved.

    At the end of the valedictory session, a vote of thanks, expressing gratitude towards all the dignitaries, experts, participants, media persons and the Members of the Organising Committee, was proposed by Dr. Shravan Kumar Dixit, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology in the College. The Two- day National Seminar concluded with a note of commitment for promoting mental health awareness of the older population and fostering intergenerational understanding and adjustment in the society.