Chaitra Mahesh: Meet The Psychologist Turned Entrepreneur Who Is Building High Quality Mental Health Care in India

Discussions on mental health in India have experienced a silent revolution during the last ten years. Some of the issues that were previously discussed behind closed doors are now a matter of an open debate- much to credit, however, a new generation of psychologists who are redefining what ethical, accessible and efficacious mental health care can resemble. These practitioners are not merely therapists, but all-purpose entrepreneurs, systems builders, as well as advocates who make an industry that is deeply personal, socially impactful, and shaped.

One such practitioner, Chaitra Mahesh, heads Untangle, a mental health organization that values ethics, science, and client welfare in an area frequently perplexed by misinformation, a deregulated environment, and unreliable quality measures.

Chaitra Mahesh – Founder, Untangle

At the time, when Chaitra Mahesh founded Untangle, a mental health organization in Bengaluru, her idea of the future was simple: to establish an environment in which therapy would be not only ethical but also evidence-based and genuinely client-centred. Chaitra, a 13 years experienced professional and master degree holder in psychological counselling, has known the path to entrepreneurship by being frustrated herself in her search for good therapy as a client.

Upon having worked at an MNC, she realized a big discrepancy between the requirement of credible mental health services and the quality of provided therapy in the market. This fact and her very struggle to find a good therapist drove her to establish her own practice. During four years of independent practice, she gained clinical experience, acquired knowledge of optimal practices, and adapted her ideas of the successful and sustainable therapies.

In 2022, she registered Untangle. which, at the moment, is one of the reputable mental health organizations in Bengaluru. The core of Untangle is providing high quality therapy services that prioritises ethics, evidence based therapies and empathy - something that Chaitra has needed since day one. The organization also has pro-client and pro-therapist policies, which uphold integrity in all areas of its operations.

Unlike most mental health centres that follow the volume-based approach, Untangle does not incentivise therapists to have repeat sessions, eliminating any form of conflict of interest that may affect the well-being of the clients. The therapists are onboarded after rigorous screening and assessment to ensure they meet the high standards of care provided by Untangle. Moreover, they are not allowed to have more than a set number of sessions per day to avoid experiencing emotional burnout and therefore every client gets undivided attention and care.

Chaitra is not alone in her approach since there is an increasing trend in India of psychologists not only offering therapy but also creating the systems and ethical frameworks on which it depends.

Changing Face of Mental Health Entrepreneurship

The common ground, however, of the psychologists who have become entrepreneurs is that they are all focused on establishing ethical and sustainable mental health systems. They are also a kind of anchor in a fast-evolving sector in which sometimes wellness trends cloud judgment over scientific standards.

Chaitra’s work is an indication of a wider cultural change in the Indian mental health arena: a move away towards single-practitioner clinical practice and towards collaborative and ethical entrepreneurship.

As mental health discourse finally receives the treatment it warrants, the new generation of therapist-entrepreneur is stepping up in India to make sure that care catches up with conscience.