This may not be the easiest time to be alive for the average young person. There is a pandemic that has to be contained, the economy is not in its best state and every day, thousands of people are losing their jobs and lives. At this point, it is almost redundant to say that it is taking a toll on people's mental health too.
That was when a group of people, led by theatre artist and poet Nupur Saraswat decided to create a therapy fund, to help fund people's psychotherapy sessions. The fund also lists a few therapists who deal with grief, trauma and isolation. Anyone willing to fund therapy for people who find it difficult to afford therapy could lend a hand online. "The idea was to fund two therapy sessions for somewhere around 10 to 11 people," says Nupur. While the fund began with Rs 20,000, it later expanded to a whopping Rs 70,000 with more people donating to it. Along with that, the number of takers too shot up - so much that at one point, Nupur had to close the Google Form where people could register themselves. However, she says that they are planning to reopen it soon.
"People were generously coming forward from all over the world to fund therapy," says Nupur, adding, "Therapy fund has become a movement. People are getting other people to go to therapy." While most of the takers are young people between 18 to 35, Nupur notes that there are a few in their 40s and 50s as well. The reason, she says is because mental health awareness is still a taboo topic in the country and most youngsters do not have the means to fund therapy sessions.
With her Instagram posts about the fund getting shared widely, Nupur also saw a lot of therapists slashing their fees, considering that mental health wellness is sort of the need of the hour. "Some even offered pro bono services. We're staying away from pro bono because we have funds and the idea is to not burden professionals," she says. And for the ones taking therapy, Nupur says that "this is a way for them to selfishly own their grief and say I'm going through a horrible time and I need to do something about it."
