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Mental Health at BITS Pilani

Mental health—it is a ubiquitous phrase of the discourse of this millennium. Gradually, mental health awareness has been rearing its head over stigma and societal taboos, and new avenues to seek help have opened up. However, the world today places mounting stress on students and the youth, both socially and academically. To gauge BITSians’ mental health awareness, the English Press Club surveyed students of the Pilani campus and provided an overview of the facilities available on campus (such as the Mpower Cell).

Before delving into the article, it is worth mentioning the difference between psychology and psychiatry. Psychology focuses on studying human behaviour and emotions, and psychologists treat patients through therapy and behavioural intervention, often for mild to moderate mental health symptoms. Meanwhile, psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medications to help those with mental health disorders.

The Survey

The mental health survey conducted had 233 respondents, and the statistics paint a concerning picture of the mental health of BITSians.

Five broad takeaways from this survey are:

  1. Nearly half of those surveyed said that their mental health was ‘not great’, and a further 20% said that their mental health was ‘poor’.
  2. 13% of those surveyed had actually been clinically diagnosed with a mental health disorder in the past. Since this number is significantly lower than those reporting issues in the above point, it suggests that many students may need help that they have not received over the years.
  3. When asked how being at BITS has affected their psychological well-being, nearly half the respondents said that their mental health had worsened since they had joined the campus.
  4. 37% of those surveyed said that while they had someone close to them to confide in about their struggles, they still felt the need for professional advice. Concerningly, 22% reported that they did not even have such a confidant to help them with their mental health.
  5. There is clearly not enough awareness about the mental health facilities present on campus, as half the respondents said they knew of the existence of the Mpower Cell, but knew no details about it. Nearly 20% of those surveyed were unaware of what Mpower is!

The Mpower Cell

In 2016, Neerja and Ananya Birla (respectively the wife and daughter of BITS Pilani’s Chancellor, Kumar Mangalam Birla) founded Mpower, a mental health initiative under the aegis of the Aditya Birla Education Trust. Its goal was to destigmatise and spread awareness about mental health issues, and to extend professional (psychological or psychiatric) services to those in need. The Mpower Cell for students, faculty, and staff at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus was inaugurated in 2019, on the first floor of the Medical Centre (MedC).

As evidenced by the fifth point in the survey described above, awareness of this mental health cell is clearly lacking among the student populace. An evident reason for this may be the lack of information available online; the names of the therapists at the cell are listed on the MedC website, but their visiting hours and any contact details are absent, and the hyperlink to the Pilani Campus Cell on the Mpower website leads nowhere. A dedicated website for this cell detailing its purpose and the facilities available would go a long way towards increasing awareness, as the occasional emails sent out by Mpower to students during examinations may be easy to miss.

The EPC visited MedC and interviewed Dr Shikha Joshi, Senior Psychologist and Head of the Mpower Cell, to understand its workings and the services available to students in need of help.

Dr Joshi began by saying that, in addition to students booking appointments for themselves, the Mpower Cell does student outreach via email every few months, the frequency of which has slowed down lately because the cell is much busier than it has ever been. The psychologists work 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Saturday; if any emergency arises on campus outside these hours, they attend to that as well. Online therapy sessions are also available to students who are away at Practice School (PS), for example. Common issues for which people come to the cell for therapy are stress, anxiety and depression, or just because they want someone to talk to about issues in their life. Dr Joshi added that in recent years, the 1993 batch of BITSians has been supporting the cell on campus. She said that the cell conducts workshops, open mics, seminars, and faculty training programs to advance mental health awareness. Mpower also partners with the Peer Mentorship Program (PMP) network to reach students directly. In Oasis ’25, the Mpower Cell had set up a stall and conducted a ‘mental health march’, along with a canvas painting event, to raise awareness.

Moving on to the sensitive topic of client confidentiality in the context of psychology and psychiatry, Dr Joshi asserted that the cell only breaks this in cases of high risk, where a student poses a threat to themselves or others (for example, active plans of suicide or homicide, psychosis, etc) or if there is a case of harassment. In such cases, a dedicated helpline number is provided to the student. If they express that they are unable to control their impulses, then the Chief Medical Officer is notified to hospitalise them for their safety. The Student Welfare Division (SWD) is also notified, and they coordinate with the warden of the student’s hostel to send an attendant with the student. The institute authorities may contact the parents, but Mpower itself reaches out to only the nominated representative given by the student (who need not be a parent; for example, a trusted friend or family member suffices). Whether it be the SWD or the nominated representative, the Mpower Cell only tells the party that there is a risk to the student, without mentioning details about the student’s consultations. Dr Joshi stressed that aside from these rare cases, no student information is ever shared with anybody.

Coming to when a student may require psychiatric consultations, Dr Joshi said that some anxiety issues, homesickness, and relationship issues, for example, could be tackled by therapy. Problems like panic attacks, bipolar disorder, and debilitating anxiety, however, make it difficult for a person to lead a functional life. In such cases, the cell recommends psychiatric involvement (medication) in addition to therapy. The decision to take that route rests entirely on the client.

Taking a moment to talk about her journey as a psychologist, Dr Shikha Joshi said she wanted to help people since her childhood, and attributes such as being a good listener, assisting people to open up to her and trust her for advice, helped her decide on this career path. She added that while her role is often emotionally challenging, it is gratifying to see the mental health of a client, who may have lost so much hope in their life, improve after seeking help; it is a blessing to have the capacity to hopefully make someone happy again. In the course of her eleven years in psychology, she loves most when her clients come back to tell her that she has been a part of their journey towards betterment.

In discussing the unique stresses faced by students at Pilani, Dr Joshi compared BITS to an Olympic arena, where students compete against their peers, every one of whom was the cream of the crop at their old school. This competition may become unhealthy, leading to stress about academic performance and heavy workloads. High-achieving students from well-to-do families often face ‘rejection’ for the first time here in college, for example, with dissatisfactory academic performance. Apart from this, students do yearn for a more ‘happening’ life, a masquerade that others often put on for social media, and the isolation of a backwater like Pilani does not help things. Dr Joshi added that college is also a ground for challenges in friendships and romantic relationships. Students often feel socially disconnected and left out of campus life, especially if they are not part of many clubs. By the time they reach their third year, they are left with an existential guilt of ‘What did I really even achieve in all these years of college?’ The fourth year then brings with it another wave of stress, this time about one’s career prospects.

Dr Joshi’s parting words to the students were that grades are not everything, and we should not be concerned with ‘proving ourselves to the world’. We are always so self-critical, but never take a moment to appreciate our achievements; she advises people to celebrate those small successes to uplift their mental health. Another message is that it is okay to seek help and that one should prioritise their mental wellbeing. Thinking of feeling low as just ‘a phase you will get out of’ and putting off seeking professional help only makes the situation worse. Dr Joshi added that it is essential to have someone in your life to talk to, not necessarily a therapist, but maybe just a friend who can listen to you without bias.

For those who wish to contact the Mpower Cell, here are the relevant details: working hours are 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Saturday.

Other Resources

Apart from professional psychological help, the Academic Counselling Cell (a student support group of faculty mentors) offers students motivational counselling and life coaching through visiting counsellor Emerson Noble Scott. Periodic emails are sent out when he comes to campus, and students seeking personal or academic guidance can contact: friend2comfort@gmail.com.

The BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) also has an initiative called Project Sahaaya, a mental wellness service for students and alumni. Its website lists alumni with expertise in mental health and wellness. A series of webinars is also available on YouTube.

Website: https://www.bitsaa.org/page/sahaaya.

As of the first semester, academic year 2025–2026, the Student Welfare Division (SWD) has launched a new initiative called ‘BITS CARES (Comprehensive Action for Resilience, Empathy, and Support)’ to enhance student well-being. Under this program, wellness coaches are to be appointed, counselling services will be expanded, and academic support will be strengthened. Campus-level committees, protocols for handling sensitive situations, and feedback systems will be instituted. It remains to be seen whether there will be meaningful changes in this regard.

Conclusion

College is a challenging place to navigate, and students often have to juggle many responsibilities and expectations. We included a section in our survey for people to tell us about their struggles and how their mental health is; the responses showcased the stresses faced by these students, all while they learn to be adults.

Responses revolved around the pressures of intense academic competition, the sinking feeling of loneliness and ‘falling behind’ others socially, the lack of emotionally meaningful friendships and commitments, and frustrations about Mpower (for example, concerns about them breaking patient confidentiality to inform parents and wardens, a significantly lower quality of mental health care than struggling students were used to back home, etc). We hope this article can be a source of awareness about student wellbeing and the mental health facilities here at BITS. The EPC encourages anybody who is struggling to seek the help that they deserve.