From working in a tea stall to being a Clinical Psychologist dedicated towards helping others - Mukesh Kumar Sen, shares his story

According to the WHO (World Health Organisation), 7.5 % of the Indian population suffers from some form of mental disorder. Mental illnesses constitute one-sixth of all health-related disorders and India accounts for nearly 15% of the global mental, neurological and substance abuse disorder burden. What makes this situation even more severe is the glaring lack of mental health professionals equipped to tackle this problem, the treatment gap being over 70%.

WHO predicts that by 2020, roughly 20 % of Indians will suffer from mental illnesses and to cater to this demographic, the country has less than 4,000 mental health professionals.

An alumnus of Saraswati Shishu Mandir Adhartal Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Mukesh Kumar Sen is one such mental health professional, who has committed himself towards the cure of this vulnerable sector of the society.

Mukesh who holds two MA degrees in Clinical Psychology and Philosophy, had a tough start to his career. He struggled with financial crisis and gave tutions as well as worked in a pizza shop to earn money. He later worked as a journalist and was associated with Jabalpur Darpan and Naya India. He also launched ‘Yuva Chetna Masik Patrika’ for youths.

Mukesh never felt attracted towards the comforts and luxuries of life and visited several holy places of Uttarakhand with aim of taking up ‘Sanyas’, but he felt that his true calling was in helping others. In search of his identity, Mukesh joined ‘Pariwar Paramarsh Kendra’ where he worked as a Clinical Psychologist counselling patients disturbed with family, domestic, extramarital issues etc. 

Mukesh dreamt of setting up his own organisation, where he would be able to help a much wider group of people. He left his job and was forced to serve tea at Dindayal bus stop to earn his living, but he never gave up on his dream. Finally, with the help from his family, he was able to start his own organization ‘Santam Pragya Ashram’ with three employees under him.

Santam Pragya Ashram specializes in helping people with drug addiction, mental disability and children with special needs. Till date the organisation has been able to successfully help 500 to 600 patients. He is also thinking of opening ‘Santam Pragya Sanskrit Vedic Vidyalaya’ to teach attendees moral values based on the Upanishads and Vedic literature.

Mukesh aims to continue working as a psychologist and helping those with mental problems, drug addiction and personality development. He also started a campaign to rehabilitate destitute mental patients with the support from police and doctors, which proved highly successful.

Apart from working in the field of mental health, he is also a passionate writer. On 3rd December, which is World Disabled Day Mukesh plans to publish a book titled ‘Divangta Se Divyata Ke Ore’. 

Mukesh says that he found his inspiration from the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and his parents.He also thanked Vidya Bharati for shaping his passion towards helping others in need. He believes that if other Indian public schools also teach their students moral values and ideology based on Indian culture, more children will grow up to be socially responsible citizens.

Mukesh’s story is truly inspirational, and if you have a similar experience to share, kindly write to us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org