Psychologist Anju Vivekanandaraj aims to expand the mental health conversation

As Guyana and the rest of the world observed World Mental Health Day on October 10, a locally registered clinical psychologist was beginning to see results from two initiatives she had taken in an effort to normalise mental wellness and seeking assistance for one’s mental health.

India-born Anju Vivekanandaraj, who has been living and working as a psychologist in Guyana for quite some time, told this newspaper in a recent interview that she has been encouraging people to write about mental health as a “beginning step” to make talking about it “more easy, comfortable and normal for everyone”.

Apart from October 10 being World Mental Health Day, the entire month is also dedicated to depression and mental health awareness. These are topics often not discussed in our personal or work lives, but yet mental health disorders affect millions across the world.

The psychologist noted that there has been a long fight against the stigma associated with mental health but there are still a lot of concerns, false notions and myths surrounding the issue.

“It is making it difficult and challenging for everyone, even if persons are going through some challenges they are not able to talk about it. Many are suffering in silence and they are not able to get that help and support at the right time,” she noted.

She believes it starts with talking about mental health as much as physical health is spoken about, hence her reason for starting the two initiatives.

Vivekanandaraj said she has had an overwhelming response to the first, which she described as a mental health awareness contest where people of all ages were asked to share one page on their mental health journey.

“The reason I have asked them to share on their mental health journey is because it could be anything you are talking about in mental health. It doesn’t mean you have to talk about your challenges or your traumatic experiences or the negative aspects that you are dealing with. It can be even that you are talking about what is mental health to you; how do you care about your mental health; so anything about mental health,” she explained.

Many people have written in and as a reward three of them will receive free mental health and self-care packages in the form of free mental health sessions and body massages offered by Minds Touch, Studio and Spa. The counselling sessions would be provided at times convenient to the people involved at Vivekanandaraj’s Inner peace Counselling and Psychotherapy service.

She believes offering the free sessions would encourage people to talk about their issues as she noted many of her clients have indicated that it is easier to open up and talk to a stranger rather than their family or friends. There is a lack of trust or the fear that the information may be used against them.

“I believe this is one of the ways where they can see reaching out to a therapist. Having these sessions from time to time is also good and it gives them an opportunity to talk about their mental health and emotional wellness,” she said.

The contest, which started last Sunday and lasted one week, saw Vivekanandaraj receive more than 40 entries via email and WhatsApp. The three best entries will be given the mental health care packages.

The second initiative is having professionals from different walks of life talking about their mental health and their words shared on social media. They are explaining what mental health means to them or what they do when faced with mental health challenges. Their comments are placed in the public for people to read and see that people from different walks of life talk about mental health, as an encouragement for them to also talk about their mental health.

In an April 2021 interview, Vivekanandaraj had told this newspaper that while she has a master’s degree in health science and a post-graduate diploma in psychology studies, she was an assistant professor at a university while she lived in India. She had longed to become a practising psychologist, but was discouraged from taking that route.

It was only after she moved to Guyana that she started the career of her choice and over time she said she has seen an increase in people seeking mental health assistance.

“The society in Guyana is changing rapidly… you have oil and gas coming in and the new jobs, new lifestyles. There are going to be an increase of options here in Guyana soon in every other sector of life. I would say the more and more things come the more and more stress also comes with it,” she said.

“So I would say the mental health issues are growing and with that there is a growing need and demand for the mental health services, skilled and qualified professionals too.”

She said it is good that people are becoming more accepting and realising what they are going through and are reaching out and getting the necessary help. The problem though is that some wait too long to seek the help and not at an early stage where their prognosis will be better. She is encouraging people to start talking about their mental health like they talk about their physical health and just as how they are encouraged to have physical check-ups, they should also have mental health checks.

In the future, Vivekanandaraj said she hopes to continue such initiatives in the future.

Vivekanandaraj is the consulting psychologist at Caribbean Surgeries Inc and has a private practice, Inner peace Counselling and Psychotherapy, which she finds fulfilling. The mother of one, who is reading for a PhD in Psychology with a focus in Psychotherapy at Central University of Nicaragua, teaches a Cambridge University course in psychology at School of the Nations. She is also a certified EQ (Emotional Intelligence) practitioner and regional network leader of EQ (6Seconds) in Guyana. It is a worldwide network which focuses on creating emotional awareness. As the regional leader, she is focusing on creating an emotional and social well-being curriculum for school-aged children, which she believes is needed as it would teach children emotional and social skills from an early age. The curriculum is now being taught as a pilot project in two classes at School of the Nations.

Her practice is located at Lot 92 Oronoque Street, Queenstown; she can also be found on Facebook and contacted on 613-9255.