ANKUR: What’s your personal motivation for building Amaha?
AMIT: For me, as a psychiatrist, it comes from over 20 years of working both in India and in the UK, with the core observation that people with mental healthcare needs waited a long time before seeking professional support. I believe this is because the mental healthcare system is highly fragmented, with multiple barriers to access. This often leads to people needing more intensive and longer treatments, with lower chances of full recovery. At a systemic level, this means fewer successful recovery stories, which prevents the creation of a virtuous cycle of more people coming forward to access support early. This fuelled my passion to build a coordinated care system in India – a place I’ve always called home – and where I saw both, a massive gap, as well as an opportunity for transformative impact.
For Neha, the journey is even closer to home. She spent nearly two decades building a successful career in the creative and social sectors—she’s the one who started India’s Art Fair. But mental health has been a central focus for her life as she experienced, first hand, her family’s struggles with schizophrenia. Her experiences of the challenges with the care system in India motivated her to build a system that she felt was holistic enough to adequately support families like hers.
ANKUR: What kind of consumers reach out to Amaha? How easy or difficult is it to converse with folks who walk into Amaha clinics?
AMIT: At Amaha, we primarily support individuals (and their families and caregivers) with distress and/ or functional impairment in context of a mental health need that they can’t solve on their own.
We pride ourselves on our ability to support any client with compassion and understanding. This means, in every interaction, we strive to understand the motivations of our clients and the lived realities they face. This approach requires us to provide flexible and accommodating care that meets the needs of every person who walks into our clinics, so that they feel heard, valued, and empowered.
ANKUR: How do you ensure protocols and quality standards?
AMIT: What sets Amaha and Children First apart is our extensive collective expertise and experience – 200+ skilled practitioners, including therapists, psychiatrists, and clinicians with specialised knowledge across a diverse range of mental health conditions. This depth of expertise enables us to create tailored treatment plans that address each individual's unique situation effectively.
Our hiring process is rigorous, involving multiple rounds of interviews to ensure we bring on the best clinicians. Before they officially start, new hires acclimatise to Amaha's protocols and processes, setting the stage for their success. We provide intensive training that is a mix of self-study, role-playing, and Q&A sessions. We also encourage our clinicians to engage in various learning opportunities, such as journal clubs, case conferences, and external training.
Our supervision model supports growth through individual sessions, moderated group discussions, and multidisciplinary team meetings. By prioritising skill development and operational excellence, we deliver high-quality care that is both standardised across clinical protocols and at the same time tailored to each client’s unique needs and circumstances.
ANKUR: How do you measure impact and outcomes?
AMIT: To deliver holistic care at scale, we closely track clinical and client outcomes through multiple rating scales and data sources.
The client’s voice is at the core of everything we do. We continuously monitor Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and gather feedback to stay aligned with their needs. We also track retention rates to understand why clients may disengage and identify areas for improvement. To dive deeper into these metrics, we conduct user interviews to capture the story behind the numbers, helping us create a care experience where clients feel truly seen, heard, and supported in the way they need.
This ongoing conversation helps us refine our offerings, ensuring that we not only meet client expectations but also support them in their mental health journey in meaningful ways.
ANKUR: How are people responding to Amaha?
AMIT: Clients have been extremely receptive to Amaha. It’s gratifying to see how our efforts to create a supportive and nurturing environment are resonating with those who seek help. In just the past year, we’ve welcomed nearly 20,000 new clients in-person in our centers across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, and online across 400 cities in India. With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of ~80, it’s reassuring for us that our clients appreciate the care they receive.
At Amaha, we strive to create a welcoming space where everyone feels safe and supported on their mental health journey. Our team works tirelessly to provide personalised, yet evidence-based clinical care, ensuring that each client receives the attention they need. With sessions conducted and services offered in 15 languages, we are committed to making quality mental health care accessible to all.
ANKUR: How do you see Amaha evolving in the future?
AMIT: Our focus remains on evolving thoughtfully to better serve the mental health needs of people in India. Our vision is rooted in providing effective, evidence-based care that is accessible and personalised to each individual’s unique circumstances. By nurturing a culture of clinical excellence and creating meaningful growth opportunities for professionals at all levels, we are strengthening our team’s ability to support every person who seeks our help.
We believe that transparent communication and genuine community engagement are essential to build a brand trusted by clients, caregivers, and the broader community. We're working to expand both our Amaha and Children First Centers and Residential Care Centers, so we can meet people where they need us most.
Ultimately, our aim is to build a cohesive support system where various aspects of mental health care are seamlessly integrated, providing holistic care for those on their path to well-being. It’s a journey of learning and growth for all of us, and we’re committed to making a meaningful difference, one step at a time.
Part III of this blog takes a closer look at mental health in the workplace, the theme for World Mental Health Day 2024.
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