Need for more Psychological Counsellors and First aid in mental disease

 The way we are behaving is increasing the rate of mental illness day by day. The stress, the relationship issues, the constant hook up and break up culture, financial distress all are adding up to our constant misery. Modern life is no longer easy. We pay the price of living by depression and anxiety. 

India has now >15% population suffering from mental illness. However help is scanty with less doctors and counsellors available mostly in urban set up. I feel, instead of making too many engineers ( IT Jobs are the most attractive) we have to start making more psychiatrist and counsellors. The days are coming where common mental disorders like depression and anxiety will become as regular as Common Cold. There is so much to tell but nobody to listen. Tele counseling services are overflooded with suicidal calls. In India where mobile internet penetration is very high we should now add more tele counselors to save the distressed souls. Already like weight reduction apps India started Tele Manas, Mindpeers, Rocket Health etc for Counseling. Tele Manas the GOI initiative is spreading its network to different states in India.

https://telemanas.mohfw.gov.in/home

Click to get help

If you can pay by GPay and Phone Pe then you should be able to unburden your chest by a phone call. IT jobs are always popular, but next big lucrative jobs will be in Psychological health ( Mental Health Care). With every passing year, being a teacher I see many students crying for help. Since I am safe, non judgmental and highly approachable, most students favor to call upon me; however I am ill equipped to treat them. Hence I channelize them to campus doctor and counselors. 

We are short of mental health care staff in our country and it is urgent that many more personnel should be trained in counseling and psychiatry. Next big lucrative career will be Psychology professionals because robots and AI cannot touch the soul of a human being. Common mental disorders will be the next pandemic unseen but known to all and with no help nearby the patients will feel helpless, frustrated. Even if they forget the stigma there will be no one to approach because of shortage of trained mental health care professionals.

In this regard I suggest a book " Where there is no Psychiatrist" by Dr Vikram Patel which can be a First aid for mental health. The link is given, free to download.

https://asksource.info/pdf/30256_wherethereisnopsych_ch1_2003.pdf

I also think it is time to increase enrolling of psychological counselors.

Hope is eternal and things will change.