A 17-year-old girl from South Mumbai, who had been on psychological counselling before Covid, dropped out of therapy after her sessions went virtual due to the pandemic. She told her psychologist that her parents would eavesdrop throughout the sessions and she felt her privacy was invaded. The SoBo teen’s experience mirrors the state of mind of hundreds of young people who require similar help, say psychologists.

I have seen 20-30 per cent of my adolescent patients dropping out because of privacy issues. In physical sessions, it was easy to keep the parents out while we talked to the child, but with online sessions, it becomes difficult as they are more in control of the situation,” said Ritika Agarwal, a clinical psychologist from Jaslok Hospital. She is a part of the hospital’s adolescent clinic — Light House Clinic — where psychological counselling is an integral part of adolescent health care.