For many students, college is the first time they live away from home, manage demanding academics, navigate friendships and relationships, and make decisions about their future, often all at once.
But when that pressure becomes overwhelming, knowing where to turn can make a difference.
This has come into sharp focus at IIT Bombay following the death by suicide of second-year BTech student Sahil Wakode on 18 September. Wakode was found dead in his hostel room hours after an incident during a mid-semester examination. The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated.
The incident sparked protests on campus, with students raising 18 demands focused on accountability, student welfare, and mental health support. Among them was a specific call for at least one counsellor for every 250 students, one counsellor in every hostel, and regular independent audits of the Student Wellness Centre.
Students have also sought round-the-clock psychiatric support and mental-health sensitisation for faculty and staff.
The demands have brought an important question to the fore: what does accessible mental health support on a college campus actually look like?
Across India, institutions are approaching this in different ways. Some are bringing trained peers into the conversation, others are creating informal spaces to talk, while some are combining counselling with preventive wellness programmes.
IIT Madras
At IIT Madras, students do not have to begin their search for support at a formal counselling room.
The institute’s MITR programme offers peer support through trained students and faculty, giving students an additional person they can approach when they are dealing with stress or personal difficulties.
Peer-led programmes can make the first conversation about stress, loneliness or emotional wellbeing feel more approachable. Photograph: (iStock)
The programme works alongside IIT Madras’ professional counselling services and its wider student wellness system. The institute also has counsellors associated with hostels and departments, as well as access to round-the-clock tele-counselling support.
The approach recognises something quite practical: sometimes, the first step towards seeking help is simply having someone approachable to talk to.
IIT Kanpur
At IIT Kanpur, Samvad, an initiative of the Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, focuses on creating more open conversations around mental health.
Through interactive sessions, talks and panel discussions, the programme gives students opportunities to discuss emotional wellbeing and everyday struggles outside the setting of a formal counselling session. Its From Lost to Found programme, for instance, encourages members of the campus community to share personal stories of challenges, resilience and growth.
Alongside these community-building efforts, IIT Kanpur’s mental health centre provides professional counselling and other support services.
The idea is to make mental health a conversation that can happen before a student reaches a crisis point.
Bharati College
At Delhi’s Bharati College, Feelings Ka Adda takes an even more informal approach.
The initiative creates a space where students can talk about what is bothering them and be listened to by their peers. Rather than trying to immediately solve a problem, the focus is on giving students room to express themselves and feel heard.
Informal spaces such as listening circles and student-led conversations can help make talking about mental health a part of everyday campus life. Photograph: (AajTak Campus)
It works alongside the college’s formal counselling services, rather than replacing them. This distinction is important: peer support can offer a friendly first point of contact, while students who need professional help can be directed towards the counselling centre.
For a student hesitant about walking into a counselling centre, an informal conversation with someone from their own campus community can sometimes feel like a more approachable first step.
CHRIST University
At CHRIST University, the Centre for Counselling and Health Services combines professional counselling with a structured peer-support system.
Students have access to counsellors assigned to schools and departments, along with individual counselling and group sessions such as Listening Circles. The university also runs a Peer Education Programme, through which students are trained in areas such as active listening, empathy, emotional intelligence, and stress management.
Wellness programmes that focus on emotional regulation, mindfulness and self-awareness can support students before challenges become overwhelming.
Photograph: (Heritage Experiential Learning School)
This creates more than one layer of support. Students can seek professional help directly, while trained peers can also help make mental health conversations more familiar in classrooms and campus communities.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)
At MAHE Bengaluru, Manam brings mental health into the wider idea of student wellbeing.
Launched in January 2025, the programme combines professional counselling and peer support with interactive sessions on emotional wellbeing. Students can take part in sessions on mindfulness, emotional regulation, and the mind-body connection. The programme also provides digital self-support resources through its online platform.
The programme is optional and non-graded, allowing students to participate without it becoming another academic obligation.
What these campuses show
There is no single way to make mental health support accessible on a campus.
A counsellor in a hostel can make professional help easier to reach. A trained peer can make the first conversation less intimidating. A community programme can help students realise that stress, loneliness or anxiety are not experiences they have to navigate in isolation.
Accessible mental health support means ensuring students know where to turn when they need help. Photograph: (AI generated using reference)
These initiatives also do not replace the need for adequately staffed professional services, emergency support or strong institutional systems. Instead, they show how different layers of support can exist alongside one another.
For students, perhaps the most useful thing is knowing that there is more than one door they can knock on, and that asking for help can be a normal part of campus life, not something they have to wait until a crisis to do.
