The Narayana Group has launched Disha Helpline, a toll free number for students across the country for professional help with mental health issues.
Students can call 1800-419-1828 to reach experts who will guide them on handling stress apart from emotional and hormonal changes that they undergo in their teenage years.
Narayana Group managing director Sindhura Narayana and executive director Puneet Kothapa launched the helpline. Ms. Sindhura said psychologists and health professionals visited Narayana Junior Colleges and conducted group sessions, individual sessions and counselling for students, parents and faculty.
Over 40 dedicated on-roll counsellors made regular visits to 82 branches and conducted over 1,000 sessions with 80,000 students. The programme will be scaled to over 100 dedicated professionals catering to the entire group covering 4 lakh students. However, feedback from the first two years of the programme suggested that the initiative needed to be expanded beyond the group, she said.
Dr. Sindhura said a team of highly qualified professionals will be made available to counsel, mentor and guide students who contact them through the helpline. She said timely intervention can help students handle the emotional transition smoothly.