‘Beta, it’s just stress. You’re alright.’ ‘Why do you need a therapist when you can talk to us?’ ‘Please don’t overreact and create drama over nothing.’

how many times have we heard these phrases? How many times has the mere mention of mental illness caused people to shut down and become defensive to the point of irrationality? 

It took my best friend nearly a year to convince her parents to allow her to opt for counselling. Yes, I’m aware that the words ‘convince’ and ‘allow’ being used in the same context as counselling sounds all sorts of wrong, but that’s the harsh truth of reality most teenagers in India face as far as therapy sessions go.

While parental consent is of paramount importance, when it comes to something as personal and quintessential as therapy, should this potential barrier really be made necessary?

As per a study conducted on 15-17 year olds with eating disorder pathology in 2020, 83% of participants were interested in trying a mobile health intervention apps but only 35% indicated willingness to obtain parental consent to participate in research. Reasons cited included privacy and perceived parental lack of mental health understanding.

If these statistics aren’t enough for us to open our eyes and use our voices, I’m afraid nothing ever will be. It’s about time we kindled the embers of change, one spark at a time, starting from these readily available online resources.

Source study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782920300063