Mental healthcare should be cross-sectoral, say experts

There is a need to move away from episodic interventions for mental illness and provide longitudinal care, experts said at a session on Resilience and Hope: Women and their Mental Health Journeys’ at The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 on Sunday (January 18, 2026).

In a conversation moderated by Soma Basu, Neha Kirpal, co-founder of Amaha and the India Mental Health Alliance, and Dr. Lakshmi Narasimhan, mental health researcher and practitioner at The Banyan, an NGO working on mental health issues, reflected on lived experience, care models, and the need to move beyond quick fixes in India’s mental health discourse.

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Ms. Kirpal said her new book, Homecoming: Mental Health Journeys of Resilience, Healing and Wholeness, which documents how 11 women navigated severe mental health issues, came together in an organic way. It reflects the resilience of the human spirit and the hope that emerges from adverse circumstances, she said, adding that the book is a starting point for wider conversations on mental health.

“Instagram talks about quick fixes, but sometimes there’s no quick fixes,” Ms. Kirpal said. Social media and young people have nevertheless created a public platform for conversations, she noted. In the six years since establishing Amaha, she said she had realised that there was nothing unique about her own situation.

According to a 2019 National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) study, Dr. Narasimhan said about 200 million people in India live with diagnosable mental health conditions, with a substantial number experiencing serious mental illness. Many people with severe conditions come with histories of social and cultural violence, including caste- and gender-based discrimination, she said. Episodic interventions do not work, she said, and there must be a longitudinal care journey, with care accompanying a person across their life.

The public narrative needs much more reflection, as people with mental illness continue to face stigma and social exclusion driven by normative expectations, she said. Creating inclusive spaces, including opening up workplaces for people with psychosocial challenges, is critical.

Mental health, Dr. Narasimhan said, is connected to all aspects of life and should not be seen as a subset of physical health. Early interventions are important, and responsibility lies across society — communities, families and even corporate boardrooms. The treatment gap, she said, lies in integration — linking mental health with gender equity, housing, and income. Care cannot be approached in isolation, and cross-sectoral integration is essential.

Ms. Kirpal noted that while attention often centres on the person with mental illness, other relationships in the family also suffer. Caregivers experience emotional strain and financial instability.

Both speakers underscored the importance of sharing stories. Those fortunate enough to be untouched by deep trauma or mental illness should “pay it forward” by holding space for others’ stories, Ms. Kirpal said. “We are the experts of our own lives. There’s no silver bullet, or no psychiatrist who can know the solution to all the problems. Lived expertise is important,” she said, adding that the India Mental Health Alliance is considering a fellowship for lived-experience experts.

On gender, the speakers said that while women face added challenges such as menopause, postpartum disorders and sexual abuse, men often do not speak out due to social conditioning, making it an important moment for men to begin talking openly about mental health. Ms. Narasimhan added that while there are not many gendered variations in mental illness itself, there are clear variations in how it plays out.

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Published – January 18, 2026 07:16 pm IST