Aarathi Selvan’s ‘Pause for Perspective’ is providing mental health support to underprivileged

At Pause for Perspective, Aarathi’s team makes an effort to go into marginalised communities to talk about the mental impact their socio-economic standing has on them

Hyderabad: Pioneering a one-of-its-kind mental health and wellness organisation in Hyderabad, Aarathi Selvan is an experienced clinical psychologist with around ten years of experience.

She is the founder-director of Pause for Perspective, located in Kundanbagh, where she and her team of mental health professionals provide counselling through the prism of social justice.

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“Growing up, I was always interested in something that was out of the box and I struggled through the typical school. After my Class 10, I decided that I wanted to be a psychologist,” she says, adding that she felt it was meaningful.

After completing her Master’s in Psychological Counselling from Columbia University, Aarathi returned to Hyderabad and started practice here.

She founded the organisation in 2013 with the intention to provide support to underprivileged and marginalised communities. Interestingly, members of her team are primarily women and non-binary individuals.

Speaking about the state of awareness around mental health these days, she says that social media has played a pivotal role.

“Marginalised people, however, may not have that awareness because they are pushed out even of social media sites, mainly because they are English-language based,” she adds.

At Pause for Perspective, Aarathi’s team makes an effort to go into marginalised communities, low-income schools, and other spaces where they hope to talk about the mental impact their socio-economic standing has on them.

She is also actively involved in educating the future generation of mental health professionals.