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We've put together a handy list of mostly free online counselling, legal/ medical / OBGYN advice, student counselling, for those who need it during lockdown.
We’ve put together a handy list of mostly free online counselling, legal/ medical / OBGYN advice, student counselling, for those who need it during lockdown.
It’s already been more than a week of this lockdown now, and everyone, and especially women, are feeling the stress that comes with trying to juggle a ton of things like – ~ Everyone feeling cooped up, restless, irritable. ~ Women trying to work from home. ~ Exam stress/ exam cancellation stress of older teens. ~ Kids, husbands, elders needing attention and / or help if they have a disability or illness that needs to be taken care of. ~ No domestic help, so all work needing to be done by family members; which, given our traditional gender equation, becomes “women’s work” in a majority of homes. ~ A lack of easy access to essential services and goods, etc.
What if you had access to resources for mostly free online counselling? Wouldn’t that help tremendously? Here’s a list of professionals that the Women’s Web team has put together. Share it so that more people can benefit.
Many of the people listed here have full time jobs and hence may not always be available, but they will do their best to come back to you if they are not available at the time you call/ message.
Dr Sweta Singh
Details: OBGYN. DGO, Fellow in Reproductive Medicine. Can offer medical advice for women’s gynaecological health issues as well as ordinary medical problems for anyone. Only advice, no medication/ prescription. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Kannada Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 8800377049 Charges: Free
Rachana Gupta
Details: Founder, Gynoveda. Can counsel and help women with any questions around period problems/ menstrual disorders. Only advice, no medication/ prescription. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Marathi, Konkani Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 7710020341, on email at [email protected] Charges: Free
Aishwarya Sandeep
Details: Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism), with LL.B. Practising Advocate in Mumbai. Can offer legal online counselling help for domestic violence both men and women, and legal advice for entrepreneurs. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam Contact: On email at [email protected], and on Facebook. Charges: Free
Thara Nair
Details: BSL (Bachelor of Science in Law) with LL.B. Practising Advocate in Pune since 2001. Can offer legal advice as free online counselling for domestic matters and criminal cases. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Marathi Contact: On email at [email protected], and on phone/ WhatsApp at 9850419162. Charges: Free
Jaya Kumar
Details: LL.B. Languages spoken: English Contact: On email at [email protected], and on phone/ WhatsApp at 9113324341. Charges: Free
Madhuram Aparajita
Details: B.A., LL.B. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On email at [email protected] Charges: Only 1 formal legal advice per woman free (so write down all details in the mail), anything above that charged.
The Alternative Story
Details: Offers offline and online counselling help for emotional wellbeing. Languages spoken: Depends on individual counsellors available. Contact: On phone at 7428292922, by email at [email protected] and on their website. Charges: This is a paid service, at their rates, but they also offer a #PayAsYouWant option at a basic rate of at least Rs 299, that is offered to those who cannot afford it.
White Swan Foundation
Details: Offers offline and online counselling help for emotional wellbeing, as well as legal help related to mental health. Languages spoken: Depends on individual counsellors available. Contact: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on their website. For legal help, contact here. Charges: This is a not-for-profit org, so charges are nominal; can find out on contacting them.
Point of View
Details: Offers offline and online counselling help for emotional wellbeing, for domestic and gender based abuse survivors, and is supportive of LGBTQIA+ and physical & mental disability rights. Languages spoken: Depends on individual counsellors available. Contact: By email at [email protected], on Facebook, and on their website. Charges: This is a not-for-profit org, so free or at nominal charges; can find out on contacting them.
DIWA – Depression in Women Awareness
Details: Org that has psychiatrist, therapist, healers and wellness coach on board to guide through basic consultation, give information about Depression, Anxiety and other Mental Health issues. If needed on a case to case basis, can refer to a psychiatrist. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On Facebook, Instagram. Charges: Basic consultation free.
Dr Radhika Mukherjee
Details: MD Psychiatry. Can offer psychiatric consultation & advice, and psychotherapy, especially trauma oriented interventions. Only advice, no medication/ prescription. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 9712905111 and on her Facebook. Charges: Free
Adhara Ganguly
Details: M.Sc. Clinical Psychology with a P.G. Diploma in conflict management and counselling skills. Can offer counselling for domestic violence survivors. Languages spoken: Bengali, Hindi Contact: By mail at [email protected] and on phone/ WhatsApp at 9836263534. Charges: Free
Aparna Rana
Details: Postgraduate in Clinical Psychology, certified hypnotherapist. Counselling offered for domestic violence survivors, and for teens regarding exams. Languages spoken: Hindi, English Contact: By mail at [email protected] and at classicrhythm@twitter. Charges: Consultation free. Some specific therapeutic sessions may be charged.
Archana Sharma
Details: Qualified Clinical Psychologist. Can provide telephonic or online psychological support. Languages spoken: Hindi, English Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 9899331188. Charges: Free
Dr Sharmila Rao P.N.
Details: Counselling and therapy for domestic violence survivors, for teen exam anxiety, general anxiety, and addiction relapse. A practising dentist and healer trained in hypnotherapy, choice theory and reality therapy, compassionate meditation, and executive emotional state. Only advice, no medication/ prescription. Languages spoken: Kannada, English, Hindi, Tamil, Konkani, Marathi. Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 8830956697 and can also schedule an appointment on calendly.com/sneckhar. Charges: First call free. If any therapy is required, will charge Rs 500/hour.
Dr Manpreet Kaur
Details: Ph.D in Child Psychology and child development specialist. Counselling and therapy for domestic violence survivors, teen exam anxiety, general anxiety, and addiction relapse. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 8518040010 and can also connect on Facebook, Instagram. Charges: Free
Swetha Mishra
Details: M.Phil. in Psychology. Offers counselling & therapy for all neurosis. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Kannada Contact: On email at [email protected], on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Charges: Free
Pooja Priyamvada
Details: Mental Health content writer, can offer psychological First Aid to anyone in distress. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On email at [email protected], on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Charges: Free
Aastha Bothra
Details: Second year Psychology Honours student, can offer counselling for teens regarding exams. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On Instagram. Charges: Free
Deeksha Sharma
Details: Work experience as a counsellor and motivational speaker. Offers counselling and mental support to women facing challenges, domestic violence survivors, can counsel teens regarding exams or any other problems they want to share. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 9890453127, and by email at [email protected]. Charges: Free
Usha Kiran
Details: 5 years’ work experience as Social Worker in NGOs working with NGOs working on Domestic Violence and other forms of abuse, and with teens regarding abuse and healthy relationships. If specific therapy/ treatment needed, can refer to suitable professional. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Telugu Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 9885298624, and by email at [email protected] Charges: Free
Khushboo Shah
Details: Master of Social Work, with 2 years’ work experience in counselling children. Offers free online counselling for stress/ anxiety. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 8120458564, and by email at [email protected]. Charges: Free
Shruti Bhimani
Details: Speech and Drama Instructor working in schools across Mumbai, has work experience in counselling children about developing self confidence, about stress management, bullying, exam stress, etc. Languages spoken: English, Hindi Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 9820931313, and by email at [email protected]. Charges: Free
Champa Saha
Details: Experience in teaching and Theatre. Offers Psycho- emotional support to enable people deal with stress and anxiety. Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Bengali Contact: On phone/ WhatsApp at 7760881094, and by email at [email protected]. Charges: Free
If you would like to offer your services for preferably free online counselling during this stressful period, do fill up this online form. If your field of work lies beyond those mentioned in the form, please do write those details; we welcome all help for women who need it. We will be periodically updating this information as more people volunteer help.
Also, if you have any queries beyond what is addressable by the people/ orgs listed here, you can message us at Facebook/ Instagram, and we will try our best to match them with a resource.
Stay safe, folks!
Image source: shutterstock
In her role as the Senior Editor & Community Manager at Women's Web, Sandhya Renukamba is fortunate to associate every day with a whole lot of smart and fabulous writers and readers. A doctor read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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