Starting Thursday and through July, all Indian users of dating app Tinder will have access to mental health resources including up to two free sessions with licensed therapists across eight languages, said Tinder India, adding that there will be “continued support at discounted rates for beyond the first two sessions” till December. These sessions can be over video, chat or call.

The popular app has partnered with VisitHealth, to provide existing and new members free access via the Tinder app to emotional wellness content curated by VisitHealth including guided meditations, fitness videos and more.

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“VisitHealth psychologists are equipped to handle all emotional wellness concerns including relationship and stress management, confidence building, premarital situations and suicidal tendencies. Users can seamlessly transition from the Tinder App to book therapy sessions either on a web-based platform or the Visit Health app. The first two sessions are free for all existing and new Tinder users. Post the free sessions, members can continue to receive support at discounted prices,” Tinder and VisitHealth told IANSlife exclusively.

Asked how many therapists pan-India will be engaged in sessions and which languages will be available, the platforms shared, “At present, a team of 50+ VisitHealth psychologists will be dedicated to offer support and provide a safe space to young adults for their emotional and social wellbeing. We are open to expanding the team to ensure maximum Tinder members are reached. Counselling services/Quality care will be available 24/7. The sessions will be available in all major Indian languages. Our psychologists can converse in 8+ Languages across English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, and Punjabi.”

More than half of all the Dating Apps members are Gen Z (18 to 25-year-old young adults). The loss, longing, and loneliness created by the pandemic has accelerated a new normal in every aspect of their lives including being more open on Tinder. It has led members to be more truthful and vulnerable about who they are, how they look, and what they’re going through with mentions of ‘anxious’ growing by 20 per cent and “normalize” by 11X in Tinder bios in India between the start of the pandemic in 2020 to now.

“The pandemic has put things in perspective for all of us. Covid-19 has been hard on mental health, especially for our young members who are dealing with a new normal across all facets of their lives. The last couple of months have been particularly hard with nearly everyone dealing with heightened levels of grief, stress, anxiety and loss. We recognise that every once in a while, one needs to pause and check-in and hope that with this initiative, our members find comfort in the fact that now support is just a click away on Tinder,” says Taru Kapoor, General Manager – Tinder & Match Group, India.

“The pandemic has been hard for everyone, including young people. Many are feeling lonely in their own homes. Their safe spaces whether college, workplaces or even the freedom to spend time with friends have been impacted. The feeling of time slipping away is present and they are grieving for missed opportunities, for friendships, dating or even the ability to be out and about in the world. This increased loneliness, frustration along with privacy concerns has added to the anxiety the young are experiencing today. At a time like this, reaching out and addressing emotional concerns can be the first step towards one’s own well-being’, says Sonali Gupta, a Mumbai-based clinical psychologist.

Asked about the data protection and privacy guidelines for the therapy sessions, the platform told IANSlife: “All conversations with Therapists are strictly confidential and Visit Health has a built-in 256 bit end-to-end AES encryption. All communications over the Visit platform are secured over the transport layer with bank-grade TLS/SSL Encryption. Visit also complies with all regulations set under the Telemedicine Guidelines of India.”