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The art of empathetic listening alleviating pain, stress and brokenness, all via The Vent
The Vent, launched in July year, is run by Deo and Vaidehi Barve, a legal advisor.
PUNE When Rohan (name changed) called the helpline of The Vent--a recently launched listening platform, he was on the verge of inflicting harm on himself.
After spending about three months of lockdown in the confines of his house with his parents, he was frustrated for more reasons than one.
“Rohan was meaning to come out, and speak to his parents about his homosexuality. Before he could break the news to them, he lost his job. Dealing with the challenges of finding employment, not being able to meet his partner too often, and handling the parental pressure to get married, were damaging his mental balance,” says Shraddha Deo, founder of The Vent.
She went on to add that after venting out on the call for almost an hour, Rohan reported feeling lighter and better.
Later, he was directed to see a counsellor for better healing and emotional wellbeing.
Deo, a psychologist, has been working in the field of mental health for a decade. The Vent, launched in July this year, is run by Deo and Vaidehi Barve, a legal advisor.
Deo says, “While working as a counsellor, I realised a lot of people came to me primarily with a motive to be heard attentively and without any judgments.”
Back in the day, people would find this comfort by opening up to family and friends, but the socio-cultural dynamics of today’s times are different, and the need to be heard empathetically is pronounced.
She added, “I believe that people shouldn’t have to pay just for such a fundamental emotional need. This thought kept brewing in my mind. Around the same time, the unsettling news about Sushant Singh Rajput’s death came in. That was a big trigger for me, and it reemphasised the necessity of a space, where people could verbalise their feelings in a safe, and non-biased environment.”
At present, ‘The Vent’ has 12 volunteers, who have been trained on empathetic listening. Their responsibility is to answer calls, reassure the callers that they have their complete attention, and that they will hear them with utmost compassion.
So far, the helpline has addressed 200 callers, and is functional through the day till late hours.
“Most of the calls, typically spanning anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour, come from people complaining of a range of issues, such as loneliness, depression, career problems, relationship and marital troubles, and self-doubt, and so on. Our job is to listen and facilitate catharsis without offering any advice. However, in situations where we feel counselling and therapy can help, we direct the callers to the relevant experts, whom we have on board,” says Noopur Ganu, an empathetic listener at ‘The Vent’.
While ‘The Vent’ is a recently launched portal, there are also similar initiatives that are making a heartfelt effort towards promoting mental wellbeing.
While the city’s Connecting NGO runs a distress helpline for anyone feeling tremendously low or suicidal, Sassoon Hospital’s ‘Manasamvad’ was initially launched to spread awareness about Covid-19, has ended up as a helpline to tackle stress, anxiety, depression, and the trauma after loss of jobs.
Evaluating the effectiveness of a listening portal, counselling psychologist Shrutkirti Fadnavis says, “Unconditional listening is the first step towards the process of catharsis. Listening portals, such as The Vent, facilitate discharge of negative energy and offer relief. This can work as a great stress buster.”
--Distress Helplines--
The Vent:
Call: 8448440267
Timing: 10 am to 11 pm
Website: http://theventforyou.com/
Connecting NGO:
Call: 9922004305/ 9922001122
Timing: 12 noon to 8 pm
Email: distressmailsconnecting@gmail.com
Manasamvad:
Call: 02026127331
