Published Paper Details:

Despite long-standing research evidence for the effectiveness of psychological treatments, there still exists a wide reluctance to seek psychological help. This study aims to unveil the challenges in seeking professional's help among South Indians. For this purpose, the schedule for the Semi-Structured Interview was developed through 4 focus group discussions and validated with Subject Matter Experts (n = 7). Out of this process, 12 interview questions were developed. Through the purposive sampling technique, the data was obtained from 136 samples (68 males and 68 females) between the age group of 12 to 40. The responses were analyzed based on the gender and age group, and it was categorized into: opinion towards approaching a professional's help, the barriers in seeking a professional's support, perspectives about psychology as a profession, and insights about psychological illness and interventions. The findings revealed that 70% of the respondents addressed the psychological profession as holistic and realized its importance, but still 48% of the sample had a negative opinion towards seeking professional's help, the factors that contributed to the negative impact were labeling, the revelation of personal information, expenses, and quack therapists. Though the respondents were aware of common mental illnesses like anxiety, stress, and depression, they were not aware of the intervention techniques available in the present time. The paper elucidated a detailed picture of the constraints, limitations, awareness, and opinion toward mental health support among South Indians.