This app can help people find a shoulder to cry on virtually, finds Samhati Mohapatra
Nothing beats the therapeutic effect of a comforting voice when life hits rock bottom. But, at a time when depression is still not accepted as a "major worry" among youngster, perhaps an app can make a world of difference. This is where Counsel App comes into the picture. The app provides users a platform to discuss issues concerning their mental health and crowd source answers and advice from co-users including those who have experienced similar problems. An initiative by Bangalore-based IT professionals Abhinay Bagaria, Mohammad Shabaz Moosa, Shashank Kumar, Manpreet Singh Bedi and Anup Reghunathan, the app was launched in September 2015.
“With depression holding more than 350 million people in its grip across the world annually, research has shown that group counselling is more helpful than professional counselling. In most cases, people don’t need medicines. They just need to vent their agonies to someone they can talk to. What we are trying to achieve through the app is a simple form of cognitive therapy where a small assurance from a fellow user works like a balm for inflamed nerves,” says Abhinay Bagaria.
The app is built along the lines of a social networking site where users, after installing it, can post a query on the live feed or answer a particular query. “If you want to connect to a particular user, you can send them a chat request and directly talk to them,” Abhinay says. And in case, a particular content is inappropriate, the moderators take it off the feed once a user clicks on the ‘report abuse’ option. With most of the problems discussed being related to issues of relationship, family, divorce, marriage, work-stress related problems and LGBT issues, Abhinay says the feedback of users has been quite positive so far. “With 200 downloads per day, the app has a current strength of 6000 users from across India, the US and Phillipines and we receive more than 80 queries per day,” he says.
Planning to have on-board counsellors for special cases, quizzes to assess a person better and invest more on product development, Abhinay says they are currently focusing on spreading the word, which has been the most challenging part.
“Unlike other social networking sites, not many users advertise the app. It is a secretive part of their life that they don’t want others to know about. But we do have a few dedicated users and advisors who are helping us with the publicity. Hope others will join soon,” he adds.
The app has 200 downloads per day. The problems that people share range from queries on relationship, family issues, divorce, marriage, LGBT and work-stress related problems.