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Faculty & Staff
Assistant Professor in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Languages
English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu
- Overview
- Projects
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- Other Contributions
Dr. Keerthana Thatavarthi is an Assistant Professor in the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at St. John’s Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru. She holds an MBBS, MD in Psychiatry, and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and has cleared MRCPsych Parts A and B (UK). Her areas of expertise include child and adolescent mental health, neurodevelopmental disorders, child protection and POCSO-related care, trauma and suicide prevention, and community-based mental health interventions. She is actively involved in clinical care, teaching, research, and capacity-building, with a see-specific focus on multidisciplinary and trauma-informed approaches.
Qualification/ Education
MBBS – Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore
MD in Psychiatry – Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad
Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry – St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru
Experience
Assistant Professor, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Unit
Department of Psychiatry, St. John’s Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India
2023 – Present
Head, TEEN Clinic (Adolescent Mental Health Services)
St. John’s Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India
2023 – Present
(Clinical programme addressing mental health needs of adolescents with chronic medical illnesses and high-risk behaviours)
Faculty In-charge, COM DEALL Early Intervention Centre
Kalyannagar, Bengaluru, India
2023 – Present
(Multidisciplinary centre for autism and early childhood developmental disorders)
Faculty Coordinator, Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India
2023 – Present
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India
2022 – 2023
Senior Resident / Postgraduate Trainee in Psychiatry
Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India
2019 – 2022
Sub-Internship, Department of Psychiatry
Larkin Community Hospital, Miami, Florida, USA
2019
Areas of interest
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Adolescent Mental Health and High-Risk Behaviours
Child Protection, POCSO Act, and Trauma-Informed Care
Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm
Community and Inclusive Mental Health
Eco-psychiatry and Disaster Mental Health
Other formal training/certification
Basic Course in Biomedical Research – National Medical Commission (NMC) & Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 2020
International Course on Research Methodology and Evidence-Based Medicine – St. John’s Research Institute, 2023
Mental Health Bootcamp – Youth for Mental Health OPC Pvt. Ltd., 2021
(Training in expressive therapies, neurodiversity, ethics, culture, and interdisciplinary mental health approaches)
Institutional portfolios/ Committees
Joint Secretary, Institutional POCSO Committee
St. John’s Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India
2023 – Present
(Child protection services, medico-legal sensitization, and multidisciplinary training)
Membership of professional associations/bodies
Lifetime Member, Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS)
Member, Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (IACAM)
Member, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress
Awards and Recognitions
Best Young Psychiatrist Award (Early Career Category), 2025
Winner– Ideathon: Innovating Healthcare with AI, SJMCH, 2025
Winner – International Digital Health Hackathon (TELEMEDICON 2025), IISc, Bangalore
Best Young Psychiatrist Scholarship Award – WCAP, 2022
‘Kritagnya’ Hero Award for Mental Health Services during COVID-19
No groups and associations specified.
No project details available.
Ayurveda, Homeopathy and other complementary treatments in the child and adolescent mental health: A critical review of emerging paradigms
Alvin J Joseph , Lakshmi Keerthana , Meghana Vijayanand and Suhas Chandran Towards competency-based legal education in psychiatry: Frameworks, gaps, and global lessons
Alvin J. Joseph Keerthana ThatavarthiKeerthana Thatavarthi Suhas Chandran Chemsex A quiet revolution with loud risks.
Alvin Thoundassery, Keerthana Thatavarthi, Suhas Chandran Grieving through pixels: Understanding and addressing secondary traumatic stress in the digital era
Keerthana Thatavarthi, Suhas Chandran Summative Assessments in Psychiatry Postgraduation in India: A Teacher’s Perspective on Current Situation and the Way Forward
Shawn Serrao , Lakshmi Keerthana, Vibha K V, Suhas Chandran and Kishor M No Others Contributions details available.