Counseling slowly losing insanity tag in India

By Jennifer Robin Raj

BANGALORE (Reuters Life!) - Raju was having difficulty controlling his anger and turned to a counselor for help, an unusual step in India which ran him the risk of being branded insane.

As India's economy booms and pressures in the workplace increase, the taboos associated with therapy are slowly lifting, and experts say the introduction of corporate-sponsored counseling services are helping drive the change.

While commonplace in the West, going into counseling, or even talking about it, is still a touchy issue in this largely conservative society where marriage arrangements have been known to fall apart at even the hint of mental strain and counseling only acceptable from elders or religious leaders.

"Friends and colleagues keep wondering what problems I have that I (need to) go for counseling, for they find me perfectly fine," said the 30-year-old Raju, who is candid about going to a company counselor but who preferred not to give his full name.

Called employee assistance programs (EAPs), the corporate services are intended to increase productivity and reduce job attrition by helping workers deal with personal problems that might impact their work performance, health and well-being.

Most of the companies that offer EAPs are in the IT sector, including call centers and offshore support services that have mushroomed in Bangalore. These firms are often mandated by their global headquarters to offer the service for Indian employees.

"Some are aware of the need. Some are doing it because it is an instruction given to them. They might not be so convinced," said Karuna Baskar, director of 1to1help.net, an online firm that offers counseling to employees of several companies.

"Some do think counseling is a Western import. They think it is not needed here."

Counseling programs are also difficult to sell to company managers who want to see profits.

"For EAP, I'm not able to show return on investment because it is a confidential service," said Kumud Rajendran, who heads PPC Worldwide in India, a UK-based EAP service provider.

DE-MYSTIFYING MYTHS

Counselors say long working hours, tight deadlines and other work pressures are contributing to increased stress levels, and in the IT industry, there's the added worry of job security.

Problems at home and work are also being exacerbated by several factors including the loss of family support due to migration to cities like Bangalore for work and the general lack of a sympathetic ear, said Divya Paul, who heads the counseling department at Bangalore's Montfort College.

With many unaware of the differences between a counselor and a psychiatrist, a counselor's first job is often to educate clients about their work, and what to expect from it.

"Some clients ask, 'What kind of a session was this? There was no advice given at all,'" said Malini Sridhar, director of counseling centre Parivarthan.