Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s special 24x7 mental health helpline for people with psychological illnesses will be launched from Wednesday. ‘Hitguj’ (a conversation within) will offer telephonic counselling to people on a range of mental health issues.
Mayor Sunil Prabhu will inaugurate the helpline at civic headquarters. In addition to this, the civic body will also kick-start psychiatric outdoor patient department (OPD) at all 24 wards in the city on this occasion.
The helpline has been started under BMC’s “Life is Beautiful” project. It will be operated by KEM Hospital’s psychiatric department. Two counsellors will be available 24x7 in three shifts on this helpline, for which a separate line has been laid at the KEM Hospital.
Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said, “The helpline will be operated by certified clinical psychologists who have been trained to counsel people over the phone. It will also be linked to the police control room so that immediate help can be sought in case of an emergency.”
According to civic health officials, cases and crimes related to psychological illnesses are on the rise in the city due to modern lifestyle. The helpline will prove beneficial for those seeking counselling for their problems and also for their families.
“We are also planning to concentrate on vulnerable categories like patients at the TB Hospital, victims of domestic violence, executives under stress and students writing their exams,” said Ms Mhaiskar.
According to the Central government’s statistics, 20 per cent of Indians need counselling at some point in their lives. One per cent of the population suffers from serious mental health disorders, while five to 10 per cent of Indians suffer from moderate disorders.