'There is mental illness in every home today,' says co-founder of a mental health startup

The COVID-19 pandemic normalised conversations around mental health but access to care is still an issue.

"Around 200 million people suffering – today it is in every home, whether it is domestic violence, abuse, digital addiction, relationships being strained or any kind of mental illness," Neha Kirpal, the founder of Amaha, an Indian platform for therapy, psychiatry and counselling services.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the estimated burden of mental health problems in India is 2,443 disability-adjusted life years per 10,000 population, while the age-adjusted suicide rate for is 21.1 for every one lakh population.

Between 15-29 age group, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death. The estimated the economic loss due to mental health conditions at $1.03 trillion between 2012-2030.

Neha Kirpal, winner of the President's Nari Shakti award, joined Amaha as a co-founder in 2019. The organisation was founded in 2016 by Dr Amit Malik. "Awareness is not a challenge, for us the idea was to help people see that they can get quality credible mental healthcare under one roof, so that they don’t waste time going pillar to post seeking that help," Kirpal added.

Amaha has been valued at around ₹177.2 crore (about $21 million) after raising about $10 million from marquee investors like Lightbox Ventures and Hitesh Oberoi among others, according to an Entrackr report in January 2024.

Kirpal pivoted to her venture in the mental healthcare after founding and running India's first international art fair for a decade.

Her consulting venture, Librum Ltd, was recently launched in the UK as the world's first strategic think tank for mental health solutions. She is also the co-founder of InnerHour, which aims to improve mental healthcare access.

As a trained counsellor and mental health caregiver, Kirpal has fellowships from the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the Eisenhower organisation. Also, she is part of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders community.