Start with the check, not the booking
Most people who need support don’t arrive looking for a counsellor. They arrive trying to work out whether what they’re feeling is normal, or a phase, or something to take seriously. That question deserves an answer before anybody asks you for money.
So start here instead. The checks below use the same short scales clinicians reach for as conversation starters: PHQ-4, GAD-7, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Two to four minutes each, free, and your answers are never stored, sent or seen by us. You get a band and a plain-English reading of what it points at. What you do next is entirely yours to decide.
Free, private self-checks
No sign-up, no email, nothing saved. Pick whichever fits what you're dealing with.
These are reflection tools for self-awareness and counselling discussion. They aren’t a diagnosis, and no questionnaire can give you one.
What counselling can help with
These are the things people bring to a first session most often. You don’t need a diagnosis, a crisis, or a tidy explanation. "Something feels off and I can’t explain it" is a perfectly good place to start.
Racing thoughts before exams, blanking out despite real preparation, sleep collapsing in the weeks before boards, panic after results.
Things you used to enjoy going flat, mornings getting harder, withdrawing from friends without quite deciding to.
Exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, dread on Sunday evening, effort that stopped feeling like it counts for anything.
Measuring yourself against classmates, cousins and everyone's edited version of their life, and always coming up short.
Expectations you can't meet and can't argue with, conversations that turn into fights, feeling unseen at home.
A breakup you can't talk about at home, a friendship that turned, loneliness in a hostel full of people.
Drift after a drop year or a degree that no longer fits — where career confusion and low mood feed each other.
Constant low-level anxiety, catastrophising, checking and re-checking, a body that stays braced even when nothing is wrong.
Confidential means confidential
Price isn’t the main reason people in India don’t book. It’s the worry that somebody will find out. That a parent will ask what the payment was for. That a college will write it down somewhere. That an employer will file it away as a liability.
So, plainly:
- Nothing is shared with your parents, school, college or employer. No report, no summary, no confirmation that you attended.
- You can book using a first name only. You don't owe us your full name, your institution, or your reason in advance.
- The self-checks store nothing. Your answers live in your browser for the length of the check and are gone when you close it.
- Sessions are online by default, so there is no waiting room and nobody to run into.
Who you'll be talking to
Sachin Bajaj holds an M.Sc in Clinical Psychology from Gurugram University and a PGDGC from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and has personally supported 500+ students and families across India. You talk to the same counsellor each session rather than being rotated between strangers by an app.
What this is — and what it isn't
Being straight about scope matters more here than in any other kind of service, so here is the honest version.
It is counselling support, not treatment. Confidential, structured conversations about what you’re carrying, what keeps it going, and what would actually help. It covers the very large space between "I’m fine" and "I need psychiatric care", which is where most people actually live.
It isn’t a diagnosis, a prescription, or an emergency service. We don’t label conditions and we don’t prescribe medication. If what you describe needs a psychiatrist, your counsellor will say so in the first session and help you work out where to go. You won’t be sold a package instead.
Counselling in your city
Everything runs online, so where you live doesn’t limit who you can talk to. These pages cover what the pressure looks like locally, and what’s already available near you:
Delhi · Gurugram · Noida · Mumbai · Bengaluru · Hyderabad · Pune · Jaipur · Chandigarh · Lucknow · Rohtak
What a first session costs, and how to book
A session is ₹499 for 45 minutes, and your first session is ₹249 with the code FIRST50. Private counselling in India typically runs ₹1,500–₹3,000 a session; this is priced deliberately low so that a student can afford to find out whether it helps without asking anyone for money.
You’re not signing up for a course of treatment. You’re booking one conversation. If it helps, book another. If it doesn’t, you’re out ₹249 and an afternoon, and you know something about yourself that you didn’t know yesterday.
Book a first session — ₹249
Pick your own slot from the live calendar and get the video-call invite immediately. Video, voice or chat, whichever you'd rather.
Frequently asked questions
Will my parents, school or employer be told?
No. Sessions are confidential — nothing is reported to your parents, school, college or employer, and no record is shared with anyone. You can book using a first name only. The one exception is the standard limit above: a serious risk to your life or someone else's.
How much does online mental health counselling cost in India?
A Lume Live session is ₹499 for 45 minutes, and your first is ₹249 with code FIRST50. Typical private counselling runs ₹1,500–₹3,000 per session.
Is the free self-check a diagnosis?
No. The checks use well-known reflection scales such as PHQ-4 and GAD-7 and give you a band to think about, not a diagnosis. Only a qualified clinician can diagnose a condition, and that takes a proper assessment rather than a questionnaire. Your answers aren't stored.
I'm under 18. Can I book?
A parent or guardian needs to consent to a paid session if you're under 18. The free self-checks are open to anyone — and if talking to your parents about this feels hard, that's itself something worth planning with support. Tele-MANAS on 14416 is free, confidential and available to under-18s without parental consent.
Is counselling the same as therapy or psychiatry?
No. This is non-diagnostic counselling support. We don't diagnose conditions and we don't prescribe medication. If what you describe needs psychiatric care, your counsellor will say so and help you find it.
What actually happens in a first session?
You talk, and someone qualified listens properly. No form, no test. Most of it is spent understanding what's been going on, for how long, and what you've already tried. It ends with one or two concrete things to try and an honest view on whether more sessions would help.
Do you offer sessions in Hindi?
Yes — Hindi or English, whichever you actually think in. For most people that matters more than they expect.