Nearly 85 percent of the population suffering from mental health issues doesn’t seek medical help due to social stigma and lack of accessibility to mental health professionals. Being the country’s first psychological wellbeing café, we ensure people’s physical and mental health, say Nithish Meti and Priyanka MB, co-founders, INSPIRON, in conversation with Sudheer Gautham of Elets News Network (ENN).

Nithish Meti

Q What prompted you and your partner to come up with the idea of a psychological wellbeing café? How is it different from regular psychology/ psychiatric treatment centres?

The industrial voids in the field of mental health sowed a seed for thought. Mental health has been largely ignored in our country’s health regulatory system. As per the latest statistics made available by WHO, the burden of mental health problems is of the tune of 2,443 DALYs (expressed as the number of years lost due to illhealth, disability or early death.) per 100,000 population. The ageadjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population is 21.1. In India, the economic loss due to mental health conditions during 2012-2030 is estimated to be $1.03 trillions. The most vulnerable and affected age group is 15 to 29 years. Suicide is an emerging and a serious public health issue in India. Nearly 85 percent of the population doesn’t seek medical help due to social stigma and lack of accessibility to mental health professionals.

Credibility and lack of resources

There lies a huge dearth of mental health workforce in India (per 100,000 population) which includes psychiatrists (0.3), nurses (0.12), psychologists (0.07) and social workers (0.07). Recent research shows that there has been a substantial rise in unprofessional practices in the field of mental health.

Priyanka MB

Lack of information

Poor availability of resourceful information on where and whom to seek help from with traditional practices continuing to decipher standardised scientific methods of treatment.

How are we different?

Consultation over coffee

Being the country’s first psychological wellbeing cafe, we have broken the stigma of seeking mental health services through our unique concept “Consultation over Coffee”. Holistic approach We provide an atmosphere of warmth and care through writing, reading, art, music, dance, theater and animal assisted therapy. We started with scientific psychometric assessment, moved towards invidualised psychotherapy and tailor made workshops from early ages to the geriatric population.

Accessibility

The technological platform facilitates an easy access between clients and psychologists/ psychiatrists from the place of their convenience.

Credible mental health professionals

We provide qualified psychologists & psychiatrists who are accredited to prescribe medicines and perform psychotherapy in the language comfortable to the client.

Q Tell us more about the organisation, its contribution in mental healthcare space and the team.

INSPIRON was co-founded in 2011, by Nithish Meti and Priyanka MB, social entrepreneurs, specialised in motivational speaking and Clinical Psychology respectively.

They had foresight about the global market of mental health. Under the guidance of their mentor and Director Dr A Jagadish, the President of the Indian Psychiatric Society and owner of Abhaya Hospital, they ensured happier and healthier homes.

We have 60+ consultants and reputed professionals from the field of mental health, neurology and adjunct based therapists to provide the best of services to our clients.

With collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), the Health & family Welfare department of Karnataka and other reputed NGOs, we are waging war against the stigma associated with mental health. We are creating awareness, conducting research and providing an intervention platform for educational institutions, corporate enterprises and the general public.

Q Tell us a little about the source of funding to sustain the beautiful work your organisation does.

INSPIRON is being supported through Seed funding by individual investors. The prototype has been proven and it is ready to set its foot in the global market.

Q Shed some light about the vision of INSPIRON. What are the future plans in terms of expansion and collaboration?

Decentralise to meet supply and demand

We have facility of certified training and development for resource creation to meet the dearth of mental health professionals in the field. We are creating a platform to seek help, thereby providing screening measures towards creating ‘Mental health first aid’ and ‘Mental health diagnostic centers’.

Technology to uplift the requirements of healthcare industry

We are working on accessibility factor i.e. to make people avail mental health services across the globe. Artificial Intelligence and automation like modern technologies are used to address requirements of the field.

We are having low-cost emotional Wellness Cafe across the country, which provides complete mental health and emotional wellness solution.

Psychometric assessments for screening and intervention in different fields

Scientific-based neurological interventions and standardised psychometric tool development to ease the process of evaluation in the healthcare, industrial, corporate and educational sectors for the Indian and global population, resulting in appropriate treatment measures.

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