Dr. Anindo Mitra is a Consultant Psychiatrist based in Gurugram, trained at JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research), Puducherry — one of India's premier central government medical institutes. He completed both his MBBS and MD in Psychiatry from JIPMER, spending 11 years at the institution before moving to Delhi NCR.

He currently practises at Athena Behavioural Health, Sector 47, Gurugram, and offers online consultations pan-India via Zoom or Google Meet.

DMC Registration No. 121463

Why I started ManoMitra?

During my training at JIPMER, I regularly saw patient loads of 150 to 200 per day. Many of these patients came from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with limited access to consistent care. What troubled me most was a pattern I saw repeatedly: patients who had been on psychiatric medications for 20 or even 30 years — without any clear treatment plan, without ever having been told why they were taking what they were taking, or whether they might one day stop.

No one had discussed an endpoint. No one had explained the long-term strategy. Over time, the idea of living without medication had become frightening to these patients — not because they needed it, but because no one had ever told them they might not.

That experience shaped everything about how I practise today.

ManoMitra was built on one belief: every patient deserves to understand their diagnosis, their treatment options, and the realistic plan for their recovery — including, wherever possible, a path toward the minimum effective medication or none at all.

How does Dr. Mitra approach psychiatric treatment?

My starting point is always the diagnosis. It sounds obvious, but in practice, many patients spend years on medications without ever having a clear understanding of what they are being treated for. Getting the diagnosis right — carefully, thoroughly, without rushing — is the foundation of everything that follows.

Because of this, I prefer longer first consultations. I take a detailed history covering biological, psychological, and social factors. I try to understand not just what symptoms are present, but why the illness may have developed, and what the contributing factors are.

I follow what I call a cafeteria approach to treatment. I lay out the available options — medications, psychotherapy, neuromodulation, lifestyle interventions — explain how each works, what the evidence says, what the side effects are, and what the realistic outcomes look like. Then we decide together.

If you are hesitant about medications, I will not push you. I will make sure you understand every pathway available to you. If pharmacotherapy is appropriate, I will explain what it is for, how long you may need it, and under what circumstances we would consider tapering or stopping — because starting treatment and planning for recovery are not two separate conversations.

What are Dr. Anindo Mitra's qualifications and training?

Qualifications

• MBBS — JIPMER, Puducherry

• MD (Psychiatry) — JIPMER, Puducherry

• DMC Registration No. 121463

Research

• MD Thesis: Clinical Predictors of Lithium Response in Bipolar I Disorder

• Published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2025)

  • View publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41503081/

Specialist Training

• Motivational Interviewing — trained under Dr. William Miller, pioneer of the MI approach

• rTMS (repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) — hands-on training in AIIMS New Delhi

• tDCS (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) — hands-on training.

• ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) — hands-on training at NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

• Perinatal Psychiatry — supervised training under Dr. Balaji Bharadwaj, author of Indian Psychiatric Society guidelines on perinatal psychiatry.

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — IACAM fellowship training (ongoing)

• Sexual Medicine — International association of sexual Medicine practitioners fellowship training (ongoing)

Academic Presentations

• ISAM Congress, Istanbul

• AIIMS Delhi

• ANCIPS, Hyderabad

• BDICON KMC Manipal