Neerja Birla Founder & Chairperson, MPower speaks about mental health inclusiveness, awareness and education

Empowering the world
Dr Neerja Birla
Dr Neerja Birla

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day (October 10), CE speaks to Dr Neerja Birla, Founder & Chairperson, MPower, an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust about mental health inclusiveness, sensitisation, awareness and education

A passionate educationist, a mental health champion and wife of industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, Dr Neerja Birla is the founder and chairperson of Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET), a social enterprise that endeavours to positively impact the lives of people from all sections of society and bring about progressive change in the field of education and on the mental health landscape of India. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, CE speaks to Dr Neerja Birla, about the need for mental health inclusiveness, awareness and education. Excerpts:

What inspired you to foray into mental health?

It has always been a part of our family ethos that one must give back to society and serve the community in which one lives. I have always been driven by a desire to make a positive impact on the lives of others by making the most of the resources at my disposal. My first experiences with mental health were on a personal level; my postpartum depression and the mental health concerns loved ones around me have had to deal with. These experiences brought me face to face with the grim reality of the mental health scenario in India — the stigma and fear associated with people finding out, the lack of information and access to the right kind of mental healthcare. As one started working in the education sector, one also started to see first-hand the toll that this lack of adequate mental healthcare has on the lives of students and their caregivers as well.

What is MPower and how was the journey?

Mpower is India’s leading mental healthcare service provider with centres in over 7 cities across 6 states. Founded in 2016 under the Aditya Birla Education Trust, Mpower initially started with paediatric counselling centres in Mumbai, but eventually, we started focusing on adults and gradually expanded our centres to Bengaluru, Goa, and Pilani along with outreach programmes in New Delhi and Pune. We work across five verticals of awareness, clinical care, outreach, and academia.

Tell us about your induction into the Headspace International Advisory Board as the only Indian representative.
Headspace is a global leader in mindfulness and meditation. My collaboration with Headspace as the only Indian representative on the board of advisory is in line with our mission to ensure that mental health becomes a part of mainstream conversations, globally and in India.

At Mpower, our expertise in spreading awareness and providing access to holistic mental health care to all segments of society is in perfect synergy with Headspace’s global mission of transforming how mental healthcare is delivered for all populations. This partnership is a great collaboration, where we can pool our resources and learn to bring mental health awareness and accessibility to as wide an audience as possible.

According to you, what are the challenges in the mental health space in India across the rural community?

Rural areas have their unique challenges and two of the major ones are lack  of awareness around mental health and a lack of accessibility. With time, awareness and acceptance are increasing but we are still struggling to increase the accessibility of mental health services. Mental health services by and large are centralised and one has to travel to urban areas to seek care. In some places, mental health service providers do travel to rural areas but the availability of medicines and their affordability pose additional problems.
 
How is India faring on the mental health index?

A few years ago, India was deemed one of the world’s most depressed countries by the WHO. This was backed up by statistics from the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) that said that every sixth person in India needs some kind of mental health help. Add to this the two years of the pandemic, and we have on our hands a serious problem. The pandemic-induced isolation, loneliness, anxiety and many other issues have only added to India’s mental health crisis. However, we are taking small strides towards progress, for instance, the recent announcement of a tele-mental health programme by the government in the last Union Budget has provided much-needed hope for the mental health professional’s community. We also have the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 which strictly protects the rights of people suffering from mental illness and decriminalises suicide.

These are all small yet significant signs indicating progress. For India to fare better on the global mental health index, there is a need to train more mental health professionals like psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, and therapists, and we need to rapidly ramp up facilities such as telecommunication helplines to help the maximum number of people.  

Why are Indian employees facing increased stress, anxiety and burnout?

Even before the pandemic, the issues of burnout and stress among employees were being discussed more widely and with increased urgency. Some of the major factors contributing to this are the lack of separation between work and personal life, which is exacerbated by the work-from-home model. There is also the 24x7 availability that is made possible by digital devices that ensures that employees can never truly log out and disconnect from their work. People must strike the proper balance in their life. Among the best ways to do this is by spending time developing key relationships, such as those with family and friends, in addition to the equally crucial workplace. This will assist to reduce the stress, anxiety, and fatigue that a large percentage of the working class is currently experiencing.

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