Originally reported and written in February 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

India has less than one mental health professional for every 1,00,000 people, and this comes at a high cost for many Indians seeking therapy.

In any Indian metro city, the average cost of counselling or psychiatric consultation is around Rs 1,500 per hour, while some mental health professionals charge as high as Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 an hour, according to a column in Mint. So, if you require a weekly appointment, the cost of receiving quality mental health care amounts to Rs 6,000 a month on average, besides the cost of buying medication.

This is something Ekta Prakash Sharma felt required urgent redressal. She has over a decade of professional experience working closely with organisations like the National Human Rights Commission of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Women Commission of India, UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and many more prominent organisations on SRH (sexual and reproductive health) and mental health.

“Between the toil and labour of graduating college and working tirelessly for human rights, I began making progress towards what I wanted to contribute to society. It wasn’t about completing projects and executing orders but taking charge of the current system that had serious gaps. The pandemic was undoubtedly the moment I needed to take that leap of faith in order to realise this ardent dream,” says Ekta, speaking to The Better India.

“Due to the pandemic's prominent themes of loss, despair, and anxiety, there was an urgent need for us to become more conscious of the current state of mental health and the increased demand for psychological assistance. But following conversations with family, friends and colleagues, who were going through high levels of anxiety, I felt my limitations of what I could offer. More importantly, I came to realise that therapy is still very difficult to afford,” she adds.

Responding to these concerns, Ekta decided to get connected with people she knew with the requisite domain knowledge and set up a non-profit rooted in professional support, affordable care and personal commitment to further the case of mental health.

Founded in May 2020, Humanising Lives is “dedicated to enabling individuals in leading humane lives by dedicatedly supporting them to heal themselves from different hues of trauma”. Through various initiatives, it’s seeking to make mental health care affordable.   

One of their standout initiatives in delivering affordable mental health care is the Pro Bono Therapy Project. It began about two years........

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