Mumbai therapists clock close to 18 hours of therapy every day amid second wave

Malvika Fernandes, counselling psychologist, who is spearheading Project Mumbai’s mental health helpline, says she attends to 20 to 25 calls a day, managing it alongside her private consultations

The early stages of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns were hard for many. Isolation, stress, and a variety of emotional challenges have impacted people's mental health. But, a year later, nothing has changed. The problems have only exacerbated, say city therapists, who have been working overtime to accommodate requests coming to them.

Mumbai-based Tanvi Sardesai, a licensed clinical psychologist, says that she attends to at least 20 patients daily. While the number may seem insignificant, every patient warrants undivided attention of 45 minutes to an hour each, which means she is clocking in close to 18 hours of therapy every day. "This pandemic has changed the way people live. We are not used to spending so much time indoors, so we see a large number of people suffering from stress, existential crisis, and self-doubt," she says.

Tanvi Sardesai, Vandita Morarka and Dr Priyanka Thukral Mahajan

Dr Priyanka Thukral Mahajan, a city-based psychiatrist, says that there has been a three per cent increase in calls coming to her, regarding mental health, compared to the first lockdown. "I've seen cases where people who were suffering from anxiety and depression were doing well, but now [with the second lockdown] they're back to square one." When the situation peaked in April due to the devastating second COVID-19 wave, Dr Mahajan was attending to about 15 patients daily.

The challenge for most therapists now is to try and make themselves available to as many patients as possible. Malvika Fernandes, a counselling psychologist, leads the mental health programme for non-profit, Project Mumbai, which offers free "counsellors on call" facility. On an average, she attends to 20 to 25 calls a day, managing it alongside her private consultations.

While Fernandes tries her best to offer immediate support to anyone who reaches out to her, it is not always possible to accommodate everyone in a single day. There are occasions when Fernandes is overbooked, and an emergency case arises. "In such a situation, we assign severity ratings to our patients. If I believe someone is improving, I try and reschedule their appointment, and at the very least have an introductory session with the emergency case," she adds.

In order to ensure that she doesn't experience burnout, Fernandes at present, only sees six patients per week. "This allows me to thoroughly investigate each case. I do about five to eight follow-ups with each patient at least." When she feels overwhelmed with the calls, she says she tries and consults less serious patients. "This way, we do not end up disrespecting the person who has come to seek help," says Fernandes.

Vandita Morarka, a lawyer and founder of One Future Collective, is working with a pool of therapists to offer therapy support, especially to COVID-19 health workers. She says that therapists have a network of psychologists, who are willing to share the load of calls and provide free services. "They are on various WhatsApp support groups, and even have an excel sheet with the names and contact information for therapists all over India."

Many organisations have started outreach programmes, to help share the burden of therapy. Earlier this week, the Archdiocese of Bombay's Health Outreach Project launched a helpline facility, offering counselling services, among other support. A team of five psychiatrists attend to callers. They've already received over 30 calls.

How can therapists protect their mental health?

>> Sleep for at least eight to ten hours: On days with fewer appointments, try to take short naps.
>> Be kind to yourself and constantly remind yourself that you're doing fine and doing everything you can within your abilities.
>> Talk to friends who are from the same background, because as therapists, they have empathy for what you are going through as mental health professionals.
>> Journal your thoughts.
>> Do not keep your worries bottled up.