ABSTRACTS FOR WORKSHOPS

Female sexual interest/arousal disorder: Rethinking diagnosis, distress, and cultural blind spots in India Aakanksha Malhotra, Anita Shyam, Siddharth Chowdhury, Sourav Bag Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD), as described in the DSM-5-TR, involves a persistent reduction in sexual interest, fantasy, initiation, receptivity, or arousal that results in clinically significant distress. In Indian clinical settings, FSIAD is shaped by a multifactorial interplay of neurobiology, the female sexual response cycle, relationship dynamics, trauma histories, sociocultural expectations, and chronic stress. These influences are particularly pronounced in contexts where silence, shame, and marital obligation shape women’s sexual experiences. This workshop reframes FSIAD through an integrative, culturally grounded lens. Participants will learn to differentiate between low desire, suppressed desire, context-dependent desire, and trauma-related shutdown—distinctions crucial for accurate diagnosis and compassionate care. The session blends clinical science, the sexual response cycle, culturally sensitive interviewing, and practical management strategies relevant to psychiatric and sexual-medicine practice in India. A key component of the workshop is demonstration of Somatic bodywork Principles,sensate-focus principles, illustrating how clinicians can help patients rebuild sensory awareness, reduce performance pressure, and cultivate non-goal-directed intimacy. Through structured assessment pathways and evidence-informed interventions, the workshop equips clinicians to deliver nuanced, ethical, and contextually meaningful sexual healthcare to women in India. Implementation research for mental health disorders Abhishek Ghosh, Arpit Parmar1, Shankar Prinja2, R. Johnson Pradeep3, Pulkit Verma4, Neha Dahiya5, Ashok Grover5 Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), 2Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 1Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 3Department of Psychiatry, St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 4Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 5Division of Implementation Research, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, India Implementation research (IR) bridges the gap by evaluating strategies to integrate evidence-based mental health interventions into real-world systems at scale, with fidelity, equity, and efficiency. This 3-hour workshop introduces core IR concepts and frameworks within India’s policy and funding landscape, specifically the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) prioritization of IR and current exemplars. Participants will learn to frame IR questions; select and apply determinant, process, and outcome frameworks (e.g., CFIR, TIDieR, RE-AIM, Proctor outcomes); design feasible hybrid effectiveness-implementation studies; and plan pragmatic measurement. A dedicated segment demystifies economic evaluation in IR, covering costing approaches (ingredients/micro-costing), cost-benefit/utility/effectiveness distinctions, perspective, time horizon, and budget-impact analysis tailored to public programs. The workshop concludes with a step-by-step walkthrough of the ICMR-MINDS study, integrating mental and substance-use care into NCD services. Using ICMR-MINDS as a prototype, faculty will illustrate co-design with health systems, selection of implementation strategies (ERIC), choice of outcomes (acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, sustainability), data systems, and economic analyses aligned to decision-makers’ needs. Participants will draft a one-page IR protocol on a mental health integration issue in small groups, with real-time faculty feedback. By the end, attendees will leave with (i) a practical checklist for planning IR, (ii) templated tools (problem statement → logic model → framework selection → outcomes → costing plan), and (iii) an understanding of how to align proposals with ICMR priorities and funder expectations. The workshop targets clinicians, public-health practitioners, early-career investigators, program managers, and policymakers seeking to move beyond efficacy to scalable, sustainable mental-health care. Sensory, structure, safety: A framework for sexuality in neurodivergence Anita Shyam, Siddharth Chowdhury RxMen/Psymantra Institute Private Limited, Dhampur, Uttar Pradesh, India Psychosexual medicine has historically centred on neurotypical assumptions of desire, arousal, and intimacy. Emerging evidence in ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, and learning differences reveals distinct sensory, cognitive, and relational mechanisms that influence sexual functioning. Current Indian practice seldom accounts for these profiles, leading to misdiagnosis, over-pathologisation, and therapeutic blind spots. This workshop introduces a neurodivergent-affirmative clinical framework, Sensory, Structure, Safety, that reconceptualises sexual health assessment and therapy for minds wired differently. Through brief didactics, live case demonstrations, and interactive exercises, facilitators will: (1) map neurobiological and sensory determinants of sexual behaviour in neurodivergent adults; (2) identify patterns of hyper and hyposexuality, rejection sensitivity, and executive-function impact; (3) demonstrate adapted interviewing, psychoeducation, and therapeutic strategies; and (4) examine ethical, cultural, and consent issues specific to Indian psychiatry. Participants will acquire a ready-to-use clinical grid integrating sensory processing, structural predictability, and safety calibration into psychosexual formulation. The session challenges prevailing reductionist models and advocates an inclusive standard for sexual-health care in neurodivergent populations. Connecting with confidence – How to master your 7-minute pitch Astha, Sachin Gandotra, Jatinder Kour, Swapnil Yadav, Baxi Neeraj Prasad Sinha Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom While education in psychiatry is undergoing a transformative reform, interviewing patients in a clinical setting has been essential. The clinical interview is central in psychiatry: it’s how you build rapport, while gaining leads from (gather) the history, understand the person’s experience and guides towards formulation of a working diagnosis and plan. Good interviewing improves diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic relationship and patient outcomes (and reduces patient distress). Interviewing in psychiatry has additional layers (mental state, risk, subjective experiences, stigma) compared with non-psychiatric settings, so the skills need more emphasis.Reflective listening, empathy and adequate pauses can help in maintaining a flow of conversations. The core elements of interview that the workshop aims to focus on : 1 Setting the scene 2. Opening the interview 3. History taking 4. Collaborative plan. The workshop aims to give a simulated and a learning experience with a role player/actor and a psychiatrist conducting the interview of different clinical scenarios in the format as guided by the international academic organisations. This workshop aims to target early career psychiatrists who are exploring different career pathways. 6th National Official Workshop on Technology and Futuristic Psychiatry by IPS Technology and Psychiatry Subcommittee Darpan Kaur, Mary Dsouza, Rajiv Saini, Sandeep Vohra Consultant Psychiatrst There is perceived need to upskill psychiatrists in technology and futuristic psychiatry. We will conduct the 6th National Official Workshop of IPS Technology & Psychiatry Subcommittee at ANCIPS, 2026. The prescriber’s paradox: Art and science of psychopharmacology in the elderly Debanjan Banerjee, Anwesak Das1, Nahid Islam2 Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, West Bengal, 1Health City Hospital, 2GNRC Hospitals, Guwahati, Assam, India Psychopharmacology in older adults presents one of the most nuanced challenges in contemporary psychiatry. The ageing brain, altered pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy create a delicate balance between therapeutic benefit and potential harm - what may be lifesaving in midlife can be disabling in late life. This workshop explores the intricate interface between evidence and individualization, where science meets clinical intuition. Through a series of interactive, case-based discussions, participants will engage with real-world dilemmas that mirror day-to-day geriatric psychiatric practice ranging from antidepressant selection in frailty and managing agitation in dementia, to deprescribing long-term benzodiazepines. The focus will be on rational prescribing, minimizing drug- drug interactions, and recognizing the art of deprescribing as a therapeutic act.Three experienced clinicians will jointly lead the session, integrating pharmacological principles with ethical reasoning, person-centred care, and practical tips for optimising treatment safety. Audience participation, small-group problem solving, and consensus reflection will ensure applied learning rather than theoretical review.Ultimately, the workshop aims to equip participants with confidence to navigate the paradox of geriatric psychopharmacology to know when to prescribe, how to individualize, and when to stop. Stimulating clarity: Practical tDCS masterclass for cognitive and affective disorders in late life Debanjan Banerjee, Sachin Arora1, Vishal Chhabra2 Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, West Bengal, 1Consultant Psychiatrist, 2Chhabra Psychiatry Centre and Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, India Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a safe, portable, and affordable neuromodulatory technique with increasing relevance in old age psychiatry, particularly for disorders involving cognitive decline, affective dysregulation, and inadequate response to conventional treatments. With India’s rapidly ageing population and the rising burden of dementia and late-life depression, clinicians require practical skills to apply tDCS effectively and safely in older adults. Although tDCS appears simple in principle, its clinical success depends on choosing the right indications, understanding electrode montages, optimizing current intensity and session scheduling, and carefully monitoring elderly patients with multimorbidity. This workshop offers a hands-on, skill-based training experience conducted by three practising psychiatry consultants experienced in neuromodulation and geriatric mental health. Participants will learn step-by-step tDCS administration techniques, including preparation, electrode placement, device calibration, and management of common technical and clinical pitfalls. Geriatric-specific considerations such as cerebral atrophy, fragile skin, comorbid vascular disease, polypharmacy, seizure threshold variation, and realistic treatment expectationsn will be addressed throughout.The session will also feature case-based discussions of older adults with disease, dementia, and depression, how tDCS can lead to clinically meaningful when into care These will the of patient and neuromodulation with cognitive or By the of the participants will be with the technical and clinical to tDCS safely in geriatric practice and outcomes for and affective disorders in late life. and cognitive therapy for Indian clinical Department of Psychiatry, India approaches in psychiatry, clinicians to integrate into In the Indian with clinical patient and cultural practical and models such as are This workshop aims to the gap between evidence and practice by clinicians with case-based and culturally grounded Participants will learn (1) the theoretical and mechanisms of (2) core that can be safely in clinical settings, (3) for into and interventions, and (4) common psychiatric including depression, and This will be an interactive, workshop live demonstration of exercises, guided practice clinical case will be on culturally sensitive and session for Indian Participants will leave with practical tools that can be applied in clinical practice The workshop aims to help clinicians therapeutic reduce and long-term through of Medical College, 2Department of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India a public health in India with more than to The for is an and mental and than of by of is a for is a need for to The of assessment integration of mental health with and of care plan are significant to of The workshop will focus on brief to reduce the of and an on and through training and care plan. 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