“I am a counselling psychologist, Nabin Joshi. My academic qualification is a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology. I have been running PICS Nepal since the year 2018 and am engaged in the field of mental health awareness for the past six years. I provide counselling services as well as teach at a few institutions.

The primary highlight of my life as a counsellor at present is “Coffee with Counsellor’. It is an initiative where we provide free of cost counselling service four hours a weekday and two hours on weekends for a nominal fee of hundred rupees. People from diverse occupations, economic settings and remote areas of Nepal come to attend the sessions we have been providing since Falgun of 2078 BS.

Here they get the time of non-judgemental listeners to share their woes. We have received many positive feedbacks from the participants. Some of them return often. A few other certified counsellors have volunteered to join me in this attempt.

The problem of mental health is rampant in Nepal as it is in the rest of the world. Surveys show 20 percent of Nepalese have been suffering from the issues of mind and 18 percent of medical patients are diseased with mental health problems. This matter is increasing ever alarmingly because first, there is an acute lack of mental
health awareness in Nepali people and second, the costly health and counselling services aren’t encouraging enough for sufferers to seek help.

My efforts have been focused on decentralising the mental health facilities in Nepal and making this service accessible to people of all ages and from all geographical, cultural, professional, and economic backgrounds.”