FLASH NEWS:

NEWS

Mumbai:

Prafulta at 28: A Journey of Healing, Hope and Human Flourishing

8 September 2026

Counselling, Psychology,

News reported by: BIS Correspondent, Mumbai

Twenty-eight years ago, Prafulta began with five psychologists, a modest space and an ambitious dream: to make psychological care accessible to those who needed it. Today, Prafulta – Centre for Psychological Wellness has grown into a vibrant mental health initiative reaching tens of thousands of people every year.

Founded on September 8, 1998, Prafulta began humbly. Fr Adolph, then Rector of Dominic Savio, offered the fledgling centre a space by shifting the NIOS Section to the school, extending not only the premises but also his blessings and encouragement. From those early days, the initiative has grown into a multidisciplinary centre supported by 36 professionals and a network of qualified volunteers.

Over the years, Prafulta’s work has extended beyond the counselling room. Its programmes now reach more than 50,000 students, parents, teachers, professionals and others annually, with over 15 professional training programmes and more than 2,000 workshops for students, parents and teachers each year. Its career guidance initiatives benefit around 3,000 students, helping young people make informed choices about their education and future.

Its outreach has also taken Prafulta beyond institutional boundaries. Programmes are conducted in Aghai Village and Subash Nagar Basti, as well as in several municipal schools. At Dominic Savio, the centre provides daily support to boarders through its Enrichment Programme.

At the Prafulta Centre, people seeking help can access a range of services, including psychiatry and counselling, occupational therapy and remediation, career guidance, psychometric testing, and other psychological interventions.

But Prafulta’s vision goes beyond treating psychological difficulties.

For the centre, mental health is more than the absence of illness. It is the capacity to face life with emotional strength, recover from setbacks, nurture healthy relationships and discover one’s potential. At a time when children, adolescents and adults face growing academic, professional, social and emotional pressures, Prafulta seeks to place mental well-being alongside physical health as an essential part of a fulfilling life.

Its message is simple: asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is an act of courage and self-care.

That philosophy has shaped Prafulta’s work over the past 28 years—not simply to address problems after they emerge, but to promote wellness, prevent distress, build resilience and create conditions in which individuals and communities can flourish.

The centre’s mission echoes Mahatma Gandhi’s well-known vision that nation-building remains incomplete until human suffering is addressed. For Prafulta, that aspiration translates into a continuing commitment to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to grow into an emotionally healthy, resilient and fulfilled individual.

As Prafulta marks its 28th anniversary, the occasion is as much a celebration of people as it is of an institution. It remembers those who walked through its doors seeking help, the lives transformed, the tears wiped away, the possibilities discovered, and the professionals and volunteers who chose to accompany others through difficult moments.

Twenty-eight years on, Prafulta’s journey continues.

There are still lives to touch, wounds to heal, potential to awaken and hope to kindle.

And the centre moves into another year carrying the same conviction with which it began: that enhancing and enriching life can happen one person, one family and one community at a time.