Building a Mental Health Community in India: A Fireside Chat with Daniel Lobo

BY MELANIE JOCHHEIM-ATKINS

In this Fireside Chat, Megan Silvestri, Executive Director of The Stability Network, interviews Daniel Lobo, Founder & CEO of BecauseYOU, a mental health social enterprise in India. Daniel was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a year of rapidly changing time zones for business travel set off a roller coaster of high highs and low lows. He was fortunately able to receive the care that his father, diagnosed with the same condition decades earlier, had not been able to access. In this Fireside Chat, Daniel emphasizes the need for more mental health professionals in India, sharing that there is only one psychiatrist for every 150,000 people.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Daniel realized there was a huge need for community-based mental health support, leading him to launch BecauseYOU. BecauseYOU centers mental health for businesses and individuals based on three words: “Connection, Compassion, and Wholeness.” BecauseYOU meets its members wherever they are in their recovery journey by providing group therapy experiences, and works in partnership with organizations to conduct well-being circles, build psychologically safe workplace cultures, and provide employees with trauma-informed mental health education.

Daniel’s hope for the future is to combine Eastern and Western practices to give everyone access to holistic mental health care. He believes people with mental health conditions are inherently wise and creative and the world needs their voices.