The princess from Baroda who began her career on a ₹2,000 stipend—and is now building systems that could transform how India understands mental well-being.
(Princess Anjanaraje Gaekwad is a Senior Clinical Psychologist trained at NIMHANS with over 25 years of experience across India and New Zealand. A pioneer in child, adolescent and systemic therapy, she founded Sahaya, co-founded Exponential EAP–India Pvt Ltd (serving as Director of Clinical Services), and now leads PsychEd, a pioneering mental health startup for students, parents and educators. Known for her clinical depth, cultural humility and uncompromising standards, she is widely regarded as one of the most thoughtful system-builders in India’s mental health ecosystem today. )
By Chandran Iyer
In a nation where royal lineage is often associated with ceremonial grandeur, Princess Anjanaraje Gaekwad of Baroda stands apart—quietly, deliberately, and with uncommon purpose. Her life’s work has unfolded not in the echoing halls of palaces, but in therapy rooms, classrooms, hospital corridors, and community spaces where emotional distress meets human resilience.
Her professional journey began far removed from privilege, at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru—India’s most demanding mental health institution. As a young MPhil trainee in clinical psychology, she earned a monthly stipend of just ₹2,000.
“It taught me humility, discipline and deep respect for the profession,” she recalls. “If you can survive two years at NIMHANS and remain mentally well, you can face almost anything life throws at you.”
That formative experience shaped not just her clinical rigour, but her philosophy: mental health is not a luxury, nor a crisis response—it is a societal foundation. Three decades later, Princess Anjanaraje Gaekwad is emerging as one of India’s most credible voices in mental health reform, advocating a decisive shift from individual therapy to preventive, system-level intervention through her youth mental health venture, PsychEd.
A Legacy of Service, Not Entitlement
Born into the illustrious Gaekwad family of Baroda, Princess Anjanaraje is the great-great-granddaughter of Maharaja Sayajirao III—one of India’s most visionary rulers and pioneers of social reform. In her family, public service was neither symbolic nor optional; it was deeply embedded in daily life.
“Values like humility, diligence and community service were non-negotiable,” she says. “They weren’t taught formally—they were lived.”
Her grandmother, Rajmata Shantadevi Gaekwad, often shared vivid stories of governance and responsibility from her years as regent of Baroda. Her parents—Late Maharaja Ranjitsinh and Rajmata Shubhanginiraje—and her aunt, the Late Dr Mrunalinidevi Puar, dedicated their lives to social, cultural and civic upliftment. Family dinners often turned into animated discussions on education reform, women and child health, hospital management, art, politics and the environment.
Growing up in an atmosphere where ideas and action coexisted shaped her worldview early on. Privilege, she learnt, carried obligation.
Discovering the Human Mind
Educated at St. Mary’s Convent School in Nainital, Princess Anjanaraje experienced diversity early. Life in a boarding school with children from varied backgrounds sharpened her emotional intelligence and sensitivity.
“I could connect with people intuitively,” she reflects. “Often, I sensed emotional undercurrents before they were spoken.”
At just 17, she made an unconventional choice—to study psychology, at a time when the profession was still poorly understood in India. She had never met a psychologist or psychiatrist then, but her curiosity about human behaviour, emotions and resilience was irresistible.
She pursued psychology at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, before undertaking her professional clinical training at NIMHANS. The two-year MPhil programme was immersive and relentless.
“It transformed me,” she says. “Not just as a professional, but as a person. It cemented my belief that mental health can be a powerful force for social transformation.”
Returning Home: One Psychologist, Many Responsibilities
At the age of 23, Princess Anjanaraje returned to Baroda—only to discover that she was the only formally trained clinical psychology practitioner in the city.
What followed were years of intense grassroots engagement. She worked with nearly 14 NGOs, hospitals and schools, conducted assessments, collaborated with paediatricians, psychiatrists and educators, and supported children with intellectual, developmental and mental health challenges.
But it soon became evident that children could not heal in isolation.
“Parents were overwhelmed, exhausted and often marginalised. Advocacy had to begin with them.”
What started as informal Sunday meetings gradually evolved into Sahaya, a parents’ association for families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities—one of Gujarat’s earliest organised mental health support initiatives.
New Zealand: A Systemic Awakening
In 2007, life took her to New Zealand, where she spent the next 18 years raising her children and expanding her work across child, adolescent, family and community mental health. It was a deeply transformative period—both personally and professionally.
Working within a robust, well-funded public mental health infrastructure exposed her to interdisciplinary collaboration and long-term therapeutic planning—approaches that were still aspirational in India at the time.
“What struck me immediately was the clarity with which mental health was treated as a distinct, well-defined domain,” she recalls.
Children with mental health concerns had access to dedicated services and clearly structured multidisciplinary teams. There were separate, thoughtfully designed pathways for early childhood and adolescent mental health. She began her work with child mental health teams before expanding into adolescent and family services.
She also trained extensively in systemic and family therapy, participating in family therapy clinics where senior clinicians supervised live sessions from behind one-way mirrors—ensuring clinical accountability, ethical rigour and reflective practice.
“That level of structure and supervision was invaluable,” she says.
Learning from Cultural Diversity
What made her New Zealand years particularly enriching was the diversity of communities she worked with. The country’s population includes indigenous Māori and Polynesian families, refugees, and immigrants from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East—each carrying layered histories of migration, loss, resilience and adaptation.
Every clinical interaction reinforced a vital truth: mental health does not exist in isolation from culture, identity or lived experience.
“Cultural beliefs, migration journeys, intergenerational trauma and systemic inequities shape how distress is expressed—and how healing is sought,” she explains.
The work demanded not just professional expertise, but deep cultural humility and sensitivity—skills that would later become central to her vision for India.
Alongside public sector work, she also built a successful private practice in Auckland, serving a global, high-profile clientele. Yet, despite professional fulfilment, a deeper discomfort began to surface.
From Therapist to System Builder
“I felt like the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the hill,” she reflects. “Too many people were reaching breaking point before seeking help.”
That insight marked a turning point. While individual therapy remained meaningful, she began questioning the sustainability of a model that intervened only after damage had been done.
“What if we could intervene earlier?” she asked. “What if we could equip young people with emotional tools before crisis sets in?”
Earlier this year, in March, Princess Anjanaraje returned to India and is now based at her ancestral home in Baroda. The return, she says, is not merely geographical—it signals a new season.
“I’ve come back with a renewed mission—to contribute to India’s mental health ecosystem in a more systemic, inclusive and preventive way.”
That mission has taken shape as PsychEd.
PsychEd: Reimagining Youth Mental Health
Launched in April, PsychEd is a tech-enabled, youth-focused mental health platform designed specifically for schools, colleges and universities. Its premise is deceptively simple but transformative for India: mental health must be proactive, not reactive.
“Educational institutions must become emotionally safe spaces—where emotional intelligence is taught, practised and modelled,” she says.
PsychEd operates across the entire ecosystem:
- Student life-skills and emotional literacy programmes
- Parenting workshops
- Teacher training and capacity-building modules
- One-on-one and 24/7 online psychotherapy
Its approach blends clinical rigour with cultural relevance, integrating evidence-based psychology with Indian traditions such as yoga, pranayama and mindfulness. Storytelling, games, reflective exercises and digital tools make engagement accessible and stigma-free.
Crucially, PsychEd does not replace school counsellors.
“We support, strengthen and extend their work—taking mental health conversations beyond classrooms into families and communities.”
The platform is also developing an AI-enabled triage system to ensure students are matched ethically and efficiently with the most appropriate therapists.
“Our strengths lie in accessibility, cultural sensitivity and clinical integrity,” she says firmly. “We do not entertain mediocrity.”
Restoring Dignity to the Profession
PsychEd follows a B2B model, partnering with educational institutions to build sustainable mental health frameworks. Princess Anjanaraje is particularly vocal about professional dignity.
“For too long, psychological services in India have been treated as voluntary or supplemental,” she says. “That undermines a profession that requires over seven years of rigorous training.”
Her advocacy is as much about systems as it is about respect—ensuring mental health professionals are valued, fairly compensated and ethically supported.
A Vision Beyond PsychEd
Her long-term vision extends far beyond one platform.
“I want to help build societies that are emotionally intelligent—capable of navigating change, adversity and conflict with awareness and compassion.”
If people are emotionally upskilled early, she believes cycles of trauma, disconnection and violence can be disrupted.
“Only then can a true rising of consciousness take place,” she says. “PsychEd is simply a medium to serve that larger purpose.”
