India’s mental health system faces a 90% treatment gap—driven by workforce shortages, urban–rural inequities, stigma, and policy challenges. Solutions require expanding the mental health workforce, integrating services into primary care, leveraging digital innovations, and sustained public education—so no one falls through the cracks. Dr. Jothi Neeraja, Founder, Maarga Mind Care discusses challenges and gaps faced in the industry.
1. India faces a 90% treatment gap in mental health. What are the key barriers preventing patients from receiving timely care?
India’s large treatment gap is driven by multiple, overlapping barriers. At the health-system level there is a shortage of mental health trained professionals and limited mental health infrastructure outside metro areas. India has 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 population, whereas the need is at least 3 psychiatrists per 100,000 population. This constrains specialist access and forces long wait times or no-service in many districts as the distribution of them are majorly in the cities and bigger towns. Social factors amplify the problem: pervasive stigma (including family stigma) delays help-seeking and reduces treatment adherence, while low mental-health awareness means symptoms are often not recognised as treatable conditions. Less Accessibility further affects large segments of the population. These constraints were made worse by rising post-pandemic demand, underlining that expanding mental health workforce, integrating mental health into primary care, and scaling tele/tech-enabled models are urgent priorities.
At Maarga Mind Care, we try to overcome these barriers. Our model directly addresses them through teleconsults, Out-Patient Consultations, OUT-reach Clinics and AI-powered tools and In-Patient and Psychiatry Emergency Services that make mental health care stigma-free, and continuously accessible, especially for those who otherwise fall through the cracks. Our team of Internationally trained Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists & Social workers also work continuously on spreading awareness & accessibility in Schools, Colleges, Universities, Corporates, etc.
2. Mental health concerns are reportedly increasing across India. In your view, what are the main drivers of this rise, and how should the healthcare system respond?
The rise in mental-health needs in India reflects both broad social determinants and more proximal stressors. The key drivers include socio-economic pressures, gender inequalities, rapid urbanization and related social isolation, and increasing exposure to environmental and political stressors – all of which raise population vulnerability. Young people are showing higher incidence of mood and anxiety disorders and suicidal behaviour, and the COVID-19 pandemic amplified demand for mental-health services. Addiction problem to substance is rampant and alarming and there is a sharp increase in technology and digital addiction.
The healthcare response should therefore be multi-layered: scale community-based, human-centric care, expand preventive and school-based interventions to catch problems early; and rapidly scale tele-mental health and tech-enabled platforms to extend reach. Mental Health Workforce strengthening (more training slots/centres of excellence) and sustained public education to reduce stigma must accompany these clinical and digital strategies.
3. While mental health patients may access adequate care in metros, many in tier 2 and tier 3 cities struggle. How can infrastructure, policy, and workforce development bridge this urban-rural divide?
Bridging the urban–rural divide requires coordinated investments in infrastructure, clear policy levers, and accelerated workforce development. At the infrastructure level, leveraging upgrades to primary health centres and scaling satellite clinics with teleconsult capability will make specialist support reachable in smaller towns. Policy measures should prioritize district-level rollouts of community mental-health services (District Mental Health Programme style expansion), strengthen the national tele-mental health platform for 24/7 access, and incentivise decentralised, stigma-free community models rather than just institutional expansion.
Maarga mindcare’s upcoming expansion into Delhi NCR and plans to scale from 40 beds in 2024 to over 1000 + beds by 2030, which includes 25 Acute & critical care Psychiatric centres across India, embody how private and community-driven initiatives can complement government efforts. Our partnerships with corporates and educational institutions like NLSIU, Toyota Kirloskar, ABB, and Vidyashilp University demonstrate how outreach and tech-enabled care can extend to Students, young population, work-places and also spread awareness and accessibility.
4. How are innovations like AI, neuromodulation, and digital therapeutics transforming mental health care in India?
Innovations are broadening the treatment toolbox and creating new pathways to scale care. AI and digital platforms enable scalable, stigma-reducing engagement through teleconsults, triage, monitoring, and decision support, making continuous follow-up possible for patients distant from specialist centres. Digital therapeutics and VR are being adopted as adjunctive expressive and rehabilitative therapies, while neuromodulation expands options for treatment-resistant conditions. At Maarga mindcare we not only offer Multi-disciplinary treatment approach, but also provide Several Neuro-modulation techniques like TMS, TDCS, Modern ECT, Virtual Reality Therapy and also bring in Holistic care like Yoga, Meditation, Dance, music and drama Therapies.
5. Recent reports from the U.S. highlighted mental health practitioners using ChatGPT during therapy sessions, raising ethical and patient trust concerns. How do you see the role of AI tools in mental health care, and what guidelines should ensure ethical usage in India?
AI can be a valuable clinical adjunct, improving triage, supporting decision-making, and enabling scalable psychoeducation, but it must operate within strict ethical guardrails. The core principles should include informed consent, clinician oversight, data privacy, transparency, and pre-deployment validation.
We leverage AI at Maarga to enhance care delivery- all clinical decisions and therapy remain under direct professional supervision. AI assists with follow-ups, engagement, and assessment, never with diagnosis or prescription. We believe technology must empower human empathy not replace it. Usage must align with the Mental Healthcare Act’s patient-centred protections, and India needs a regulatory framework to certify and audit AI-based mental-health tools.
6. Mental health issues are reportedly rising among young adults under 25. What factors are driving this trend, and how can families, schools, and healthcare providers support the mental well-being of this population?
Young adults are vulnerable because developmental stressors, academic pressure, peer pressure, social media exposure, and family-level dynamics intersect with larger socio-economic stressors. Support requires early, school-based interventions, family education, and youth-friendly accessible services.
Integrating expressive therapies like art, dance, and VR enhances engagement, and linking schools to mental-health providers ensures timely referrals. Families play an equally critical role — empathy and open dialogue can often prevent crises long before professional intervention is required. Educating and training families, schools, communities go a long way in mitigating the rising challenge.
7. As per reports, mental health challenges and suicide risks are rising in India’s corporate sector. What practical solutions such as employee assistance programs, mental health screenings, counseling, or workplace policy changes would you recommend to create a supportive work environment?
To create supportive workplaces, organisations should implement a combination of preventive and responsive measures, including confidential Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and 24/7 helplines for immediate support, routine mental health screening campaigns to detect early signs of distress, manager training in empathetic leadership to identify and respond to employee needs, and organisational policies addressing workload, working hours, and return-to-work after mental health leave. Resilience and stress-management training, along with facilitated referral pathways to tele-mental health services or local clinics for more intensive care, are also essential. These interventions must be sustained rather than one-off and embedded into HR policies and performance metrics to foster a culture of mental health support.
Maarga mindcare contributes significantly in creating mental health safety measures in corporates and educational institutions by workshops, lectures, training to detect red signals. At Maarga mindcare, we have prepared Tailor-made EAP (Employee Assistance Program,) Program on Psychological Safety & Mental Health First Aid Kit for big industries like Toyota Kirloskar and others.
8. What is your take on the current policies and the quality of mental healthcare professionals in India? How can improvements in these areas enhance patient care and access to mental health services?
India’s robust policy framework—including the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), District Mental Health Programme (DMHP), Mental Healthcare Act (2017), Tele-MANAS/NTMHP, and primary care upgrades—provides a strong foundation for action. However, mental health workforce shortages and uneven quality remain significant challenges, with specialist density low and concentrated in urban centres. Strengthening postgraduate training through Centres of Excellence, expanding task-sharing to trained workers, and leveraging tele-supervision to maintain care quality can help address these gaps.
