Mental health professionals suggest Instagram accounts they find helpful

Lady sitting

When psychotherapists Lima James and Rutuja Kaushik launched Beyond Conditions, a mental health page on Instagram, earlier this year, the idea was to create a safe, non-judgemental space to have difficult, yet healthy conversations around mental health. James, who is currently volunteering for iCall, TISS, a dedicated COVID-19 helpline, says that there's an incredible amount of resource available online for therapy seekers. Here, the mental health professional suggests four Instagram accounts that they find helpful.

Rahat Sanghvi
The pandemic sucks. Period. Clinical psychologist Rahat Sanghvi's Instagram handle, launched a few weeks into the Coronavirus outbreak, spells out the problems many of us have been experiencing through the lockdown, providing us tools to cope effectively. Sanghvi who employs a neuropsychotherapeutic approach-a practice that understands how the brain-body system is impacted by social, political, economic and cultural structures-shares ways to process the current situation, this includes how we engage with news, reaching out to safe people and creating a routine. Apart from this, she discusses activities one can engage in when their anxiety isn't at its peak, avoiding self-criticism, and tackling addictions.
To follow: www.instagram.com/rahatsanghvi_therapist

Therapize India
For those constantly pondering over whether they need therapy or not, Therapize India, started by researcher Anushka Kelkar and mental health advocate Aviva Bhansali, has some answers. Having been therapy seekers themselves, the duo has experienced first-hand "how confusing, complicated and frustrating finding a qualified therapist in India can be". From offering tips to choosing the right therapist, to helpline initiatives that offer free or low-cost mental health service, and how to talk to family about mental health, this Instagram handle is for everyone negotiating the complex world of mental well-being.
To follow: www.instagram.com/therapize.india

The Healing Strategy
This page is most useful for therapists, especially those navigating the world of social media. Started by Josie Rosario, a New York-based licensed relationship therapist, the handle is aimed at providing therapists the "foundational marketing knowledge they need to be online, connect with therapy-seekers". She discusses mistakes therapists make on Instagram, and how the boundaries online should mimic those in the therapy room, things your online content should achieve and how not to post for the heck of it, among other things.
To follow: www.instagram.com/thehealingstrategy

The Depression Project
One of the most significant and useful mental health platforms on social media, The Depression Project is both for those dealing with conditions and for those, who aren't, but need to understand how they can become more empathetic towards others. The page offers a variety of guides-warning signs when someone is in survival mode, tips for dating someone with depression, worst things to say to people with depression, signs of OCD and gaslighting, types of overthinking, and simple ways of making someone feel loved. This is a wonderful primer, and will equip people with tools to create a safer environment for everyone.
To follow: www.instagram.com/realdepressionproject