Pratap Sharan, PhD

  • Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Pratap Sharan is a Professor and Head in the Department of Psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India with over three decades of experience as an academic clinician. Throughout his career, Dr. Sharan has worked on all biopsychosocial aspects of psychiatry, with a focus on cross-cutting issues, including public mental health, psychometrics, psychotherapy, cultural issues in psychiatry, and classification of mental disorders. His scientific contributions are centered on the cultural validation of psychometric instruments in developing countries. Specifically, he has led the development of assessment tools for personality and personality disorders (for India), depression and grief (for Southeast Asia), anxiety and panic disorders (for India), schizophrenia, eating disorders, dhat syndrome (a cultural form of somatization), sexual disorders and substance use disorders (for India). 

Dr. Sharan has also focused his expertise toward improving the reliability, validity, and cultural relevance of the classification of psychiatric disorders across the globe. He has also collaborated actively with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the development of assessment as well as intervention tools for individuals and mental health systems. Dr. Sharan has served on the WHO International Advisory Group for the Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioral Disorders (2009 2018) & International Advisory Group for Training and Implementation for ICD-11 Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2018 – onwards).

WHO Stands Up for Mental Health
A Benefit for the Columbia-WHO Center for Global Mental Health
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm EDT
Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street, NYC