In this dynamic world, everyone is constantly chasing accomplishments and material objectives while undervaluing the power of a healthy body and mind. Today, it is clearly apparent that maintaining one’s mental health is equally important as one’s physical health. However, this was not the situation just a few years ago. At that time, leaders like Dr. Chinu Agrawal paved the way for the de-stigmatization of mental health and mental illness.
Dr. Chinu Agrawal, Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Founder, and Director of Feeling Minds®, has excelled in transforming people’s vision of mental health. Through her research based strategies, she brought a wave of awareness and healed many. She started with a strong desire to help people and a mission to use Psychology to transform people’s lives and end their emotional pain. She saw the critical need for emotional education among Indian youth early in her career, as a senior professional in the training and development department of a prestigious university in Northern India.
She firmly believed that providing academic instruction to children is insufficient; and so she felt that her team must be trained in critical coping mechanisms to help manage students daily stressors, emotional setbacks, and upsets.
Over thirty-five thousand students in India are impacted by E-Cube, a program created for the Experiential Emotional Education. This experience spurred her investigation into mental health on a larger scale. Feeling Minds® was founded by her in 2016. Since then, her main goal has been to equip Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) with the necessary scientific instruments and techniques by training them in various evidence based therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Agarwal also established a distinctive, scientifically based Career Guidance and Counseling program after realizing how important it was for school-age children to receive career guidance. Thousands of students have benefited from her scientific career counseling protocol, which helps students scientifically identify the best career to not only become successful but also happy & effective in both their personal & professional lives and job satisfaction. She has trained & certified more than 130 career counselors over the years, and these professionals now help students make educated career decisions both domestically and internationally.
After seeing how important parents are to their children’s emotional health, Dr. Chinu launched a Parenting Education program. Through this program, professionals gained the knowledge and scientific methods necessary to assist parents in meeting the emotional needs of their kids and developing stronger relationships with them. To date, Feeling Minds® has successfully certified over 120 Expert Parenting Educators.
She set out to create the first-ever six-month relationship counseling certification program in India, motivated by the growing difficulties people in relationships face today. With three batches of certification and over 50 media outlets covering it, this program hopes to certify over 100 Relationship Consultants by the end of 2024.
In 2022, KHDA, Dubai, approved Dr. Chinu and her team’s Social Emotional Learning program due to their global efforts; the honorable president, Smt. Draupadi Murmu ji and the former president of India, Ramnath Kovind ji, acknowledged their contributions in succession. She is recognized as a leading expert on school mental health. This year, she was invited to address an international assembly of educators at the esteemed University of Cambridge.
A Kind Educator
Dr. Chinu served as the founding member of Training & Development at the Sharda Group of Institutions (U.P.) for ten years. The institute offered courses in medical and management, eleven different engineering branches, B. Pharma, and other diplomas at its four campuses and fourteen colleges. As the Director of Education and Training, she observed that most graduates suffered from self-doubt, had a strong need for approval, were prone to get depressed, and some even had suicidal ideatime. She said a mental and emotional education deficit existed in families, schools, and society.
She then started Suicide Prevention Groups, created and shared videos, held workshops, and organized events to raise awareness of mental and emotional health issues, reach outed to as many students as possible in higher education institutions and classrooms, and eventually reach the general public.
Her determination to bring “Psychology to All” was sparked by this measure. Her constant concern was ensuring that the lessons and research revealed by psychology reached the people who were meant to benefit from them, not just those who could write thesis and dissertations. Her vision led her to found Feeling Minds®, which offers exceptional psychology-based training to Mental Health Professionals in addition to individual counseling. Her team’s primary goal is to help people of all ages realize their full potential and become more effective in their work, all while enhancing the effectiveness of various organizations.
Contributions that Aim to Make a Difference
Dr. Chinu aspires to be an ambassador in the global psychology field, seeing mental health and emotional well-being as essential and widely available in the future. Her goal is to be a guiding light for others, assisting them in realizing their most significant potential, establishing deep happiness, and promoting fulfillment for both the individual and the community in which they live. In keeping with that, she and her team hope to transcend national boundaries and establish themselves as India’s first multinational business committed to raising the bar for psychological practice, education, and entrepreneurship.
As a founder and director of Feeling Minds®, Dr. Chinu proudly says, “We are on a mission to continue being a leading authority on mental health. Our commitment involves actively contributing to discussions, awareness, and initiatives that address individuals’ diverse mental health needs, making a positive impact on a global scale.”
Her initiative aims to make a substantial contribution toward eradicating the stigma attached to mental health problems. They provide thorough, internationally acclaimed training programs to empower professionals in their field. They aim to develop a network of knowledgeable, morally driven professionals who support people in achieving better mental health. This calculated move aims to increase psychological engagement and collaboration opportunities with organizations, institutions, and corporations. The main goal of Feeling Minds® is to improve emotional well-being on a global scale.
Challenges through the Pandemic
Dr. Chinu battled many challenges as a professional in the field of mental health. Addressing the social stigma surrounding mental health awareness in Indian society was tough. She has witnessed days when no one was open to considering mental health as a serious matter, making it challenging to create awareness, provide a safe space, and build trust. Being the only psychologist in her city at one time she took the plunge and conducted many workshops for parents, teachers, healthcare professionals, and students. These emotional educative programs were experiential, and individuals themselves could tell her how learning about emotions positively impacted their everyday lives.
Due to her persistent efforts, she saw that people’s perceptions of mental health issues were improving. Through her venture, Feeling Minds®, she offered programs exclusively conducted offline for professionals. But the pandemic forced a shift towards the online mode. The programs that emphasized experiential learning were challenging. Dr. Chinu was quite skeptical about delivering online classes with the same impact as in-person sessions at that time.
With passion and dedication, the transition to the online platforms was smoothly achieved. This provided an opportunity to spread the work globally. The success rates of online and offline workshops remained consistent, as attested by positive student feedback.
The pandemic conditions put Dr. Chinu in a position to think about how she could help those in need, especially those staying at home. This led to the initiation of a series of heart talks with Dr. Chinu Agrawal (available on the YouTube channel Feeling Minds) as part of a mental health program. These talks involved discussions on various mental health issues with experts from across the globe.
She also took proactive steps by providing free training to professionals and counselors on dealing with depression anxiety and coping with grief and loss during pandemic. Amongst these problematic situations, Dr. Chinu learned more about herself and the resilience that can be found in challenging circumstances.
She says, “Challenges are integral to personal and professional growth, shaping the journey and contributing to a deeper understanding of oneself.”
A Dream of a Healthier Future
Dr. Chinu advises young learners to live life to the fullest and uphold their core values. It is crucial to identify what is essential and make choices that are aligned with these choices. A holistic learning pattern is evident instead of keeping it limited to academics. Ultimately, a fulfilling life integrates passions, values, and continuous learning.
She is very enthusiastic about the upcoming endeavors of Feeling Minds®. With the status of India’s first multi-speciality company in Psychology, she aspires to become India’s first multinational company in this domain. With a zeal to practice ethical business practices and establish a thriving community of professionals in Psychology, the team collectively takes pride in their students’ achievements, which motivates them to encourage more individuals to pursue fulfilling careers in Psychology.
Dr. Chinu plans to launch franchise centers nationwide and abroad in the coming years. This strategic move will broaden their reach and create new avenues for individuals interested in Psychology to engage with them.
She is also thrilled to introduce upcoming programs like Feeling Minds® Certified Emotional Educator and Entrepreneurship Development in Psychology. They are actively contributing to addressing the mental health needs of men, an area that often receives less attention, with Feeling Minds® Men’s Mental Health Forum. They create a safe space for discussions and awareness and provide professional help.
Dr. Chinu aspires to unite people to form a vibrant community dedicated to advancing psychology and improving people’s lives everywhere.
