Akanksha Jayant Rajguru
Psychologist and public mental health practitioner specializing in community mental health, behavioural addictions, and suicide prevention.
Biography
Akanksha Jayant Rajguru is a psychologist, mental health researcher, and public mental health practitioner with expertise in community mental health, behavioral addictions, suicide prevention, and mental health systems. She has submitted her PhD at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, where her research focused on understanding the psychosocial determinants of problematic technology use among young adults through a predictive sequential mixed-methods design.
Alongside her research, Akanksha has worked extensively at the intersection of mental health research and community engagement. She co-founded CO-WeCare, a volunteer-led psychosocial support initiative established during the COVID-19 pandemic that provided free emotional support, mental health awareness, and referral services to individuals and families across India. She has facilitated community-based mental health programs, participated in suicide prevention initiatives, and contributed to mental health promotion activities aimed at improving awareness, reducing stigma, and strengthening access to care across different populations.
Her experience also includes working with the Lakshmi Pain and Palliative Care Trust, where she provided psychoeducation, emotional support, and grief counseling to caregivers of patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families, helping them navigate psychological distress, caregiving challenges, bereavement, and end-of-life transitions with dignity and compassion.
She has also developed educational resources on digital well-being and cyber wellness for the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), supporting national efforts to promote healthy technology use among children and adolescents.
Akanksha has authored multiple peer-reviewed scientific publications in leading national and international journals on behavioral addictions, mental health systems, and evidence synthesis. Her work combines rigorous research with practical implementation, with a commitment to developing evidence-informed, ethical, and compassionate mental health services that are accessible to individuals, families, and communities.
