Dr. Manoj R. Shah

Manoj R. Shah, MD, Queens County Psychiatry Society

Dr. Manoj Shah is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, NY.He also serves as APA president-elect, Queens County District Branch, member, Asian-Indian Advisory Board, Queens Child Guidance Center, NY, past President, Indo-American Psychiatric Association.

Psychiatrist Manoj Shah, M.D., was preparing to fly from New York City to Ahmedabad, India, on January 26 to visit his parents when he got the news.This city of 4 million in the state of Gujarat had been hit by a massive earthquake registering 7.9 on the Richter scale.

His parents were unharmed.
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Shah is an advisor to the board of the Mental Health Research and Education Trust in Ahmedabad, a philanthropic organization that funds mental health projects.He is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

"I approached them with my idea because I wanted the support of a local organization that could provide funding for administrative costs and oversight when I left.The trustees approved my proposal and found a building for the counseling center in the city near public transportation," Shah told Psychiatric News.

He also needed volunteers to provide counseling at the center at no cost to the victims.He met with the heads of the local schools of medicine, psychiatry, and psychology to discuss his idea.

"We wanted many disciplines to be involved because there are only 60 psychiatrists in Ahmedabad, who are overwhelmed by the demand for their services," said Shah.

Because yoga can reduce stress, he enlisted the help of several trained professionals to teach relaxation and breathing exercises to the earthquake victims in the city's parks.

The center opened February 15, the day Shah returned to the United States.There is a group for those who lost relatives and another for those who lost their homes, businesses, or both.Those who witnessed the destruction but weren't harmed participate in a third group.Each group offers between three and six crisis-oriented sessions.

"We divided [the people] into three groups realizing that their needs and issues would be different," said Shah.

The groups are led by psychiatry residents, psychologists, or psychology students who volunteer a few hours a week at the center.Four senior psychiatrists affiliated with academic institutions supervise their work, he explained.

"The people are experiencing symptoms of anxiety or fear, sleep deprivation, nightmares, panic, and depression," said Shah.Many people are sleeping outside rather than in their homes because they are afraid the buildings will collapse if aftershocks occur, he observed.

"A goal of the counseling is to validate their fears but also help restore some sense of normalcy.We provide practical information about aftershocks and suggest using a structural engineer to evaluate the safety of their homes," said Shah.

To help children traumatized by the quake, Shah met with schoolteachers in Ahmedabad to train them in art and play therapy and physical education.

The next step is to have teams of mental health professionals, schoolteachers, and yoga professionals offer their services at community centers where displaced people are living.

Shah is also planning to conduct research on how well these interventions worked.

Another APA member, Manoj Shah, M.D., is in India, his country of origin, to assist with the mental health aspects of the tsunami that ravaged India's southern coastline and killed more than 10,000 people there.Shah is an advisor to the board of the Mental Health Research and Education Trust in Ahmedabad, his hometown.

"I plan to coordinate the tsunami mental health aspects with the philanthropic organization," Shah told Psychiatric News.The trust funded Shah to establish a group-counseling center in his home city after a severe earthquake killed thousands in 2001.