Crystal Minds may have evolved in the present to become a holistic mental healing centre that promotes mental wellbeing but its roots were born – as is the case with most good ideas – in the mind of someone who had a vision.
The Starting Point: A Brief History
Dr. Mukherji passed her MBBS from Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College and DPM from Kolkata University where she ranked first. She subsequently went to the UK from where she trained in various premiere institutions and passed her MRCPsych from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London. After having spent 7 years in the UK, she returned to India in 1996, where she used her experience and expertise to set up Crystal Minds in south Kolkata, formerly known as Crystal Clinic.
What is Crystal Minds?
Founded in 1997, Crystal Minds is a mental wellness centre which boasts of a multidisciplinary team offering a wide range of psychiatric and psychological services for all age groups and has a specialised Child and Adolescent unit. Various workshops are also conducted on the clinic premises covering wide-ranging and relevant topics such as parenting, sexual abuse prevention, women’s groups as well as workshops for mental health professionals.
Awards and Accomplishments
Dr. Mukherji has worked in various premiere hospitals of Kolkata such as CMRI, AMRI Hospital, West bank Hospital (now part of Narayana Hospital) and Sri Aurobindo Seba Kendra and is currently working as a Visiting Consultant in Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital. However, apart from her regular clinical work, she has played an active role in the All Bengal Women’s Union, a 75 year old NGO for victims of child trafficking, domestic violence and destitution, and is heavily involved with educating people about mental health issues through her work with the media both print and electronic. In fact, she was a regular columnist for the Telegraph (1997 – 2000) and Hindustan Times (2005). Apart from engaging with the world through media, she participates regularly in seminars, workshops and conferences held in various schools, colleges and corporate houses. She is a Life member of the IPS and IAPP and has been a speaker in national and international conferences. She has been felicitated by the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, FICCI, FLO as a women achiever in 2008 and Brainware University in 2017 for her outstanding contribution in field of Psychiatry and Wellbeing. She has also been felicitated by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2020 for her exemplary work in child protection. In 2021 she was felicitated by the Rotary International for her exemplary service rendered to society during Covid.
The Founder’s Vision
Dr. Mukherji has won several laurels to her name through her fierce passion and unwavering dedication in the mental health industry, where she not only recognized an urgent need to promote mental wellness as opposed to merely removing pathology but also addressed it using a holistic and balanced approach. Crystal Minds is an astute and ever-evolving representation of Dr. Mukherji’s vision for a safe society that is geared towards living without the fear of stigma, experiencing awareness and promoting positive mental health.