At a time when more than one billion people globally are living with mental health conditions, Connected Minds, a community-led mental health ecosystem founded by veteran journalist Ritu Bhardwaj, has launched its integrated web and mobile application platform to expand access to early emotional support and professional care across India.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), anxiety and depression are now among the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide, underscoring the need for scalable mental health solutions.
WHO data further highlights the scope of the challenge. Mental health conditions affect people across age groups and income levels, with women disproportionately impacted. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among young people globally, claiming an estimated 727,000 lives in 2021.
Against this backdrop, Connected Minds has evolved from a grassroots support community into a structured digital platform. What began seven years ago as safe, moderated conversations around emotional wellbeing has grown into a 10,000-member community built on lived experience, peer support, and trust. Rather than starting with technology, the initiative developed through direct engagement with individuals seeking emotional support, reflecting a community-first approach to mental health care.
The platform is founded by Ritu Bhardwaj, whose journalism career spans over two decades across newsrooms including ABP, Star News, Zee Studios, and the BBC. Her work has included projects such as Satyamev Jayate and Zindagi with Richa, along with documentation on gender, society, and wellbeing for organisations including the UNDP and the documentary Please Arrest Me. Her personal experience with depression during pregnancy highlighted gaps in accessible emotional support and informed the creation of Connected Minds.
Ritu Bhardwaj, Founder, Connected Minds said, “After experiencing depression myself and witnessing how little support exists before people reach a breaking point, I realised storytelling alone wasn’t enough we needed accessible pathways to healing. Connected Minds represents 7 years of listening, learning, and building trust with our community. This platform transforms that grassroots movement into scalable impact through technology, without losing its human core.”
The Connected Minds platform is designed to support individuals before emotional distress escalates into crisis, with a focus on early connection, continuity of care, and preventive intervention. The platform enables users to access mental wellbeing assessments and guided self-help tools, seek confidential video or audio consultations with qualified mental health professionals, reach out for immediate guidance through crisis and SOS support features, and participate in structured wellbeing programmes for workplaces and educational institutions addressing stress, burnout, and emotional safety.
Clinical oversight for the platform is led by Ashita Mathur, a clinical psychologist specialising in mental health and corporate wellbeing, ensuring that services remain evidence-based and ethical. Connected Minds is supported by an advocacy and advisory group that includes Richa Anirudh, Vijay Vikram Singh, Dr. Saroj Dubey, Dr. Ankur Sharan, and mental health professionals Rashmi Saha, Karishma Mehra, and Bharti Rakheja, bringing together perspectives from media, healthcare, and mental health practice.
As mental health needs continue to grow alongside limited access to care, Connected Minds positions itself at the intersection of community trust, clinical expertise, and technology. The platform’s launch formalises a community-driven approach focused on providing timely support before distress escalates into crisis.