Mental healthcare is often defined by the moment someone seeks help. But for Sukoon Health, the larger question is what happens after that first intervention.
Recognised at the ET Healthcare Leaders Awards 2026 with the Excellence in Clinical Services – Psychiatry (National) award, Sukoon Health’s approach reflects a vision it has pursued since 2019: to build a more dignified, structured and comprehensive system for acute mental healthcare in India. The organisation was founded by Vidit Bahri and Kanishk Gupta with a simple but consequential ambition: to ensure that people experiencing mental health conditions have access to care that is compassionate, transparent and centred on their needs.
That philosophy is reflected in Sukoon’s A2R+ (Acute to Recovery Plus) Model, which challenges the idea that psychiatric hospitalisation should be the endpoint of treatment. Instead, it positions hospital care as one stage within a broader recovery journey.
The four-phase model begins with Acute, where the immediate priority is safety and stability. Stabilise focuses on reducing symptoms and establishing the clinical and psychological foundations for recovery. Embed builds on that progress through therapy, activity, wellbeing and skill-building, helping individuals carry recovery into everyday life. Finally, Pre-Discharge prepares both the individual and family for the transition beyond the hospital, with emphasis on continuity, relapse prevention and aftercare.
The distinction is important. By connecting evidence-based treatment with psycho-social rehabilitation, occupational recovery and family therapy, Sukoon seeks to turn what can otherwise be episodic psychiatric treatment into a coordinated continuum of recovery.
From Treating a Diagnosis to Understanding a Person
A central part of this model is its multidisciplinary foundation.
Sukoon brings together psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatric social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, clinical nutritionists, yoga therapists, expressive art-based therapists, addiction specialists, recovery coaches and care managers. Rather than viewing these disciplines as separate interventions, they work towards a shared understanding of the individual and a common recovery plan.
The organisation’s multidisciplinary team meets daily to monitor progress and adapt treatment. Every admitted individual receives a treatment plan within 24 hours, supported by clinical huddles, consultant rounds, structured nursing handovers, case conferences, family meetings and weekly recovery reviews.
This approach expands the definition of psychiatric care beyond symptom management to include functioning, relationships, routines, behaviour and the ability to return to everyday life.
Making Safety Part of the Care Architecture
In psychiatry, safety and dignity cannot be treated as competing priorities. Sukoon has therefore designed its clinical systems around both.
Patient acuity determines workforce planning, with structured clinical triaging assessing psychiatric risk, medical complexity, functional impairment, behavioural needs and rehabilitation goals. Controlled access, biometric security, self-harm prevention features and dedicated psychiatric emergency response protocols form part of the physical and operational environment.
At the same time, safety is continuously monitored through indicators covering medication safety, behavioural incidents, falls, restraint use, infection prevention, emergency response, patient experience and recovery outcomes. The objective is to make safety proactive rather than reactive, supported by clinical governance, competency development and evidence-based practice.
Responding When a Mental Health Crisis Cannot Wait
One of the most significant gaps in mental healthcare is what happens during an emergency. Families may recognise that something is wrong but lack the knowledge or support to determine what to do next.
Sukoon’s MERA Sukoon, a 24×7 Mental Health Emergency Response and Admission service, was created around this need. Trained mental healthcare professionals conduct retrievals based on the individual’s clinical needs and level of risk, while ensuring compliance with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, including time-bound intimations to the Mental Health Review Board of India.
The organisation also sees education as part of emergency preparedness. Through initiatives such as Sukoon Learn, psychiatrists and mental healthcare professionals come together to discuss psychiatric emergencies, share case experiences and examine emergency retrieval practices.
Building Care That Moves With the Individual
For Sukoon, integration is not simply about connecting services. It is about ensuring that a person does not have to repeatedly restart their healthcare journey every time their needs change.
Its ecosystem currently spans residential psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centres, outpatient care, psychiatric emergency services, online consultations and specialised interventions. Sukoon On Campus extends this approach to student mental health, while future expansion is being considered across workplaces and other environments where mental health needs may differ.
The organisation is also placing greater emphasis on measurable outcomes. Its Clinical Outcomes Report 2025 is helping create stronger evidence around psychiatric outcomes and supporting individuals and families in navigating mental health insurance through clearer clinical documentation.
Technology That Strengthens, Rather Than Replaces, Psychiatry
As AI, digital health and remote care become increasingly relevant to healthcare, Sukoon’s philosophy remains clear: technology should help clinicians see more, sooner, but never replace the clinician.
AI can process large volumes of clinical information, identify patterns and flag changes that might otherwise be missed. Data can make treatment outcomes more visible, while digital care can extend specialist support beyond hospital walls. Yet psychiatry remains deeply contextual, requiring an understanding of symptoms alongside relationships, behaviour, circumstances and changes over time.
This principle will also shape Sukoon Health’s expansion across India. The ambition is not simply to establish more centres, but to create a connected clinical network where expertise, data and learning can move across locations, while remote consultations and digital systems strengthen continuity of care.
Ultimately, Sukoon’s vision is not to create a more automated version of mental healthcare. It is to create a more informed, connected and accessible system, where technology manages more of the complexity in the background, and clinicians remain focused on what lies at the heart of psychiatry: understanding the person, building trust and helping recovery become sustainable.
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