Counseling helplines
These are services with free, professional psychological help via telephone accessible across India. The caller can connect to a counsellor directly and talk for as long as they need, while being assured of anonymity and confidentiality. Counsellors may share details of the cases amongst themselves as the same staff may not receive different calls.
The helplines serve people across all ages, gender and sexual orientation. Counselling is free but standard call rates may apply at times.
iCALL- Initiating Concern For All
Also available on email and chat; marginalised and queer focused service.
Contact: 022-25521111 (Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 10 PM)
Email: [email protected]
Chat Based Counseling: nULTA App`
Facebook: iCALL Psychosocial Helpline
Twitter: @iCALLhelpline
Available 24 x 7
Contact: 1860 2662 345 , +91 730 459 9836 , +91 730 459 9837
Email ID: [email protected]
Booking appointment with a counsellor:
Contact:+91-84229-84527 between 10 am and 4 pm (Monday to Friday)
Available 8am-8pm, on all days,
They have counsellors who speak Marathi, English and Hindi.
Contact: 1800 102 4040
Though they primarily provide sexual and reproductive health related care, they provide counseling over chat, including post-abortion related mental health support, for a nominal fee. Contact.: +91 88617 13567
Emergency/ crisis helplines
These are helplines for immediate help with suicide prevention, distress or panic.
For suicide prevention, depression and stress. Any Day 5 pm to 8 pm.
Contact:+91 84229 84528 / +91 84229 84529 / +91 84229 84530
Email ID: [email protected]
NIMHANS - National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
24X7 psychosocial support and services during disasters.
Toll-free number: 080 – 4611 0007
Available in 16 different Indian languages including Hindi and English.
Toll-free number: +91 8376804102
24x7 Suicide prevention helpline. Languages- English and Hindi. Visit the link for a state-wise directory of helplines in India
Contact: 91-9820466726
Lists
These lists collate information about costs, qualification, conduct, area of specialisation, etc of mental health practitioners (MHPs) from different parts of India, to help users make a choice at enquiry level. Some of them are crowdsourced, so do keep that in mind.
Created by iCall (Run by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)
iCALL’s crowdsourced list of Mental Health Professionals
Created by Nazariya, A Queer-Feminist Resource Group, New Delhi
Crowdsourced List of Psychologists/ Counselors and Medical Doctors in Delhi
The AOI Queer Support Resources Of All Kinds
If you are looking for a queer support group, many in this list also provide some counseling and connect queer people to other resources. The list mentions organisations in different parts of India.
Created by Mahima Kukreja
Organisations
Groups of mental health practitioners (MHPs) offering different therapy styles- counseling, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, etc. through online or in-person sessions of varying duration (mostly an hour). The websites below detail their location, languages, work experience, charges to help you make a choice or match you with an appropriate one. For appointment and enquiry, you may either need to fill a form or contact them directly.
The Alternative StoryAffordable, intersectional, caste-aware, kink-aware, queer affirmative and are open to individuals as well as organisations. They pioneered a #PayWhatYouWant model where they charge a base price of Rs. 299 over which you can pay what you can. Their offices are in Mumbai and Bengaluru. You can book a session with any counsellor listed on their team. Contact: Phone no: +91 7428292922Email ID: [email protected] Therapize IndiaOut here, they also list therapists offering sliding fee scales, helplines for domestic abuse support, and covid-19 related help. The Psychotherapist CollectiveA collective of 5 professionals, each offering therapy using a psychoanalytic approach. Charges: Rs. 2,200 for a 45 minute session, negotiable depending on the client’s capacity to pay. To set up an appointment, you may fill this form or-Contact: 011 41306663Email ID: [email protected] Pause for PerspectiveHyderabad- based therapists for individuals, children and teens, women and couples, and groups, with intersectional, social-justice based, mindful, LGBTQIA+ affirmative and neurodiverse approaches. They design short-term programs for training professionals in corporate environments too. For appointments, refer to this link or contact- Phone: 9490708947, 8106864001, 7032562301Email: [email protected] or [email protected].Social Media Accounts
Neha Bhat: @indiansextherapist A sex and relationships focused therapist specializing in Art Therapy for sexual violence, shares tips, explainers, book recommendations, and other insightful learnings. Hear her talk with us in detail about employing a decolonial approach in therapy- here and here. Omar Bazza: Twitter: @bazzapower , Instagram: @obazza3A Canada-based therapist shares small wisdoms, learnings, observations and tips from his practice. Richa Vashista: @richa_3A queer-affirmative, trauma informed MHP. You can expect regular updates about her talks, webinar and other engagements. Dear Mind| Mental Health: @dearmind.inIG live talks and discussions with mental health professionals, criss survivors, etc. Also find explainers for different mental health disorders- phobia, schizophrenia, body dysmorphia, and more. The Health Collecctive: Twitter @healthcollectif, Instagram @healthcollectiveindiaMental health awareness through stories and comics-healthcollective.iniCALL, TISS Helpline for COVID
Number of the helpline: 9152987820
Timing: Monday-Saturday 10m to 6:00 pm
Languages Available: English, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Tamil
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders
24/7 toll-free mental health helpline number is 1800 1203710
SWAASTHI: 9152987824
Emotional support and referral linkages for healthcare providers and counselors across india.
People Tree Maarga: 8046659999
NIMHANS: 8046110007
Arpan: 9819086444




