Family Caregivers' Day
Every September, SAA pauses to honour founder Dr. Jagannath Wani with a day built for the people who hold families together: caregivers, psychiatrists and those living in recovery from schizophrenia.
Held on 10 September 2026, the day drew psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and caregiver families into one room, alongside people living in recovery from schizophrenia. Dr. Ajit Bhide, past president of the Indian Psychiatric Society, was this year's Chief Guest.
Two conversations, one day
The morning's Stakeholders' Dialogue kept circling back to the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and to a harder question underneath it: how does India's mental health sector actually work together instead of in separate silos?
By afternoon, the Caregivers' Assembly turned practical. Psychiatrists walked through ERs and SRs, depot injections, antipsychotic side effects, and the everyday tradeoffs of polypharmacy. Caregivers pushed back with the questions they actually live with: what happens when a dose is missed, why symptoms return, when ECT is warranted, how long treatment really takes.
Three things kept resurfacing all day: caregivers need real psychoeducation, not just handouts; staying in regular touch with the treating psychiatrist matters more than any single decision; and patience, more than any protocol, is what schizophrenia recovery actually asks of a family.
Who was there
- Dr. Ajit BhideChief Guest, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist
- Dr. Vidyadhar Watve, Dr. Dhananjay AshturkarPsychiatrists
- Sujala Watve, Nishreen SaifPsychologists
- Roney GeorgeSocial Worker
- Meena Mutha, Saraswathi SureshCaregivers
- Dr. Anil VartakPerson in remission
- Divya SarmaIMAHA
- Shri Ujwal Kele, Ms. Neeta KoparkarSAA President and Secretary
- Shri Amrit Kumar BakhshyModerator and facilitator
Guest of Honour
Moments from the day
Watch the day
The two threads of the day
Stakeholders' Dialogue
Built around the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and an honest look at where the mental health sector still needs to pull together instead of working in parallel.
Caregivers' Assembly
The questions caregivers ask at 2am, medication side effects, how long treatment takes, and how to support recovery without burning out.
Journeys: family caregivers turn crusaders
Meena Mutha and Saraswathi Suresh
CaregiversMeena Mutha and Saraswathi Suresh have both spent years caregiving, one at home, one out in the community. What they shared wasn't advice so much as company: proof that another caregiver has been through this and come out the other side.
Dr. Anil Vartak and Viren Rajput
In remissionDr. Anil Vartak and Viren Rajput spoke as people in remission, not case studies. Their families showed up in every part of the story, which was, in its own way, the point.
Stay connected, all year round
Caregiving doesn't stop after one day. Reach out to SAA for support, or join our Mission Care group to connect with other family caregivers.
