Mental health firms grow, but therapist shortage a hurdle

Mental health startups are on the rise in India, as more people seek treatment. (Image/Pixabay)

Mental health startups are on the rise in India, as more people seek treatment. Sample this: more than 200 investors have invested in such firms in just the last three years, with startups such as Amaha, Wysa, Trijog and Lissun raising $25.4 million, of the total $42.7 million which has flowed into the sector so far, data from Tracxn shows. There are 456 such startups in the country.

What is fuelling this rise? An increase in willingness to talk about mental health struggles, particularly among the younger population, say investors who FE spoke to, even though mental health awareness is still in a nascent stage, and demand for practitioners hasn’t yet reached the level of developed economies.

Availability of certified mental health practitioners, however, continues to be a problem. “India faces a significant gap with only 0.3 psychiatrists, 0.07 psychologists, and 0.07 social workers per 100,000 people. This stands in sharp contrast to developed nations, where the ratio of psychiatrists is 6.6 per 100,000,” says Tracxn co-founder Neha Singh.

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According to Ankur Khaitan, principal at venture capital firm Fireside Ventures, an investor in Amaha, stress levels are on the rise across age groups. “More importantly, as the recognition of mental health issues gathers steam, people suffering from these issues are seeking treatment. This is also driven by an increased propensity to pay,” says Khaitan .

Amaha, which recently raised $6 million, offers therapy, psychiatry and self-care services on its platform, along with virtual support groups and digital mental health tools. The company is competing with startups such as Lissun and Clarity to capture a part of India’s mental health app market, expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 15% in the next four years as per data from UnivDatos Market Insights.

Amaha has more than 150 therapists and psychiatrists on its payroll, and its clinical psychologists are registered with and regulated by the Rehabilitation Council of India. It also has in-person clinics in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Both online and in-person, the platform handles more than 10,000 consultations a month at present, its founder and CEO Amit Malik said.

When asked how Amaha stands out from in-person mental health clinics, Malik said, “One thing that is different here is that you are working with an entire ecosystem that includes therapists and psychiatrists working together, based on clinical care protocols aligned with international guidelines.”

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However, some investors are still concerned about the quality of mental health practitioners on digital healthcare platforms. “Right now, top tier providers self-certify, focus on qualifications, international affiliations or certifications, and quality of institutes, and have strong internal processes to maintain quality. There is no external, trusted and widely used regulatory or certifying agency,” said Manish Singhal, founding partner at pi Ventures, which has invested in Wysa, an AI-chatbot led mental health platform.

Singhal argues that the sector is still in its early stages in terms of propensity to pay for treatment, so for the medium term, out-of-pocket payment models are likely to stay. The sizeable cost of consulting a mental health practioner has also created the need for tech-enabled solutions such as Wysa.

“Even if you wanted a human to talk to, access to therapists and cost of treatment could still be an issue. In the absence of the opportunity to speak to someone, you can speak with the AI chatbot at Wysa. Not all cases require a human-led intervention; for a lot of these cases a chatbot-led or a tech-led solutions work very well,” said Sunitha Viswanathan, partner at Kae Capital, also an investor in Wysa.