Mental Health Services – Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability
Since the time I started my practice as a Professional Counsellor 10 years back, till now, the level of awareness towards mental health, counselling and therapy services has significantly improved in the urban areas. The stigma towards Mental Health Services also seems to have decreased at least in the urban areas. I also see an increase in awareness in people from second and third tier cities and towns as well. Awareness regarding such support services definitely seems to have percolated into tier 2 and tier 3 cities and towns as well. It is very heartening to get enquiries and clients coming from these locations too.
With the pandemic going on, online services becoming the norm, therapy and counselling services have also shifted to online counselling services now, increasing the accessibility to clients from other cities and towns as well. There is fair connectivity across locations for both voice and data and the affordable phones/smart phones/laptops gets them access.
It is a well established fact that we do have a major deficit in terms of qualified mental health professionals be it psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, therapists and there needs to be a committed, consistent, systemic change to address this deficit. We do still have quite a way to go before mental health professionals are accessible in person adequately across our population.
Many Mental Health Service professionals/providers offer a sliding scale to offer these services to clients from all economic and social backgrounds. Having said that it is also important that systems and processes be put in place where people can reach out and access these services with ease and affordability.
Inner Dawn Counsellor Kala Balasubramanian’s views featured on Capstone a publication from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM).