Aspiring psychologists as entrepreneurs

What we are outside is nothing but the reflection of what we are inside. And that makes our mental health the most critical aspect of our lives today. But who needs help? How does one know if they need to seek a specialist's help in managing their mental health? The first and foremost essential aspect is to understand that it is OK to not-feel great all the time, and it's OK to seek a specialist's help to fix it. On the other side, not feeling great is not the best form of the bundle of energy we call life. It is not just our need but also our duty to lead a happier and more meaningful life. A well-led life cascades its positivity and benefits the surroundings also.

It is not just the growing problem but also the openness to seek help fueling the mental healthcare demand. With the increasing number of people seeking help with their mental health issues, they need to find the right help. But is the right help available? Are there enough specialists to meet the increasing mental health care demand? Well, not many out there. The nature of the problem the mental healthcare professionals work on makes their job private and confidential. And that makes them work alone, without necessarily requiring a physical or logical setup whatsoever. Many people with a psychology educational background find it difficult to pursue a career requiring them to work independently on their own. And many such young potential psychologists opt for a different career path that helps them get a 'job'.

We have not only evolved into a society with a prevalent mental health issue but also into one that accepts the problem and seeks help to curb it. We need to promote entrepreneurship in aspiring psychologists and encourage them to help more and more people seeking mental health care. One of the best psychologists in Hyderabad Mrs Mahalakshmi Rajagopal on the LifeHetu platform is an example to follow. She has been offering her services as a counsellor in schools and colleges as an independent practitioner. She founded Sahayam Intervention Centre and Sahayam Charitable Trust in 2014 and established herself as an entrepreneur. Another such example of a young mental health practitioner entrepreneur Ms Shila KJ is practising independently and helping her clients with their mental health issues.

Now is the time we develop a mental healthcare ecosystem in India. An ecosystem that promotes independent psychologists to gain the skills required to serve people not just within India but outside also. LifeHetu is on its mission to bridge the gap between the mental healthcare demand and the supply. The purpose is to create entrepreneurs in the form of Psychologists to increase the number of independent and efficient psychology practitioners out there.

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