Before 1863, patients suffering with mental illnesses in Visakhapatnam were housed at the District Jail in the Fort of Vizagapatam. Later, a private house was hired from the Rajah of Vizianagaram. The present building was constructed completely by the year 1871 and could accommodate 94 patients. Later the number of mentally ill patients grew to about 300. In 1977, the building was rechristened as Government Hospital for Mental Care. Postgraduate courses in Psychiatry were started later in the year 1978.