- 5+years in psychiatry
- ~300patients treated at de-addiction camps
- 27primary health centres served by telepsychiatry
- 8national & state conferences and CMEs
- 5languages she consults in
Career highlights
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Senior Resident, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College and HospitalOutpatients, inpatient wards and consultation-liaison psychiatry at a major teaching hospital in Bengaluru.
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Child & adolescent psychiatry at NIMHANS, BengaluruTrained at India's national institute for mental health during her MD.
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Around 300 patients managed independentlyAt de-addiction camps with the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, Ujire.
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Research presented nationallyMD dissertation on alcohol use, readiness to change and religiosity, presented at the TIPPS Excel National Conference, 2024.
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Telepsychiatry for a city corporationMedical Officer with BBMP's Smart Virtual Clinic, linking 27 Primary Health Centres across Bengaluru.
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Teacher and supervisorHas taught medical undergraduates and supervised interns and junior residents.
About Dr Mekhala
Dr Mekhala Divakar is a psychiatrist, a medical doctor who specialises in mental health. She holds an MBBS from M.V.J. Medical College and Research Hospital, Bengaluru, and an MD in Psychiatry from K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore. She currently works as a Senior Resident at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru, where she sees outpatients, manages inpatient wards and provides consultation-liaison psychiatry: mental health care for people admitted with physical illness.
Her training has spanned tertiary-care hospitals, rural community psychiatry and technology-based public health. During her MD she trained in child and adolescent psychiatry at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, worked at the Nitte Rural Psychiatry Centre, and independently managed around 300 patients at de-addiction camps run with the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, Ujire. As a Medical Officer with the Smart Virtual Clinic of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), a telehealth programme linking 27 Primary Health Centres, she provided teleconsultations and psychiatric screening and coordinated referrals and prescriptions with PHC teams. That is direct experience of doing psychiatry well over video, which is how she consults at Rooh Mind Care.
She has treated patients of all ages, from children and adolescents to older adults, in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Her interests are evidence-based clinical psychiatry, de-addiction, and child and adolescent psychiatry.
What Dr Mekhala helps with
- Depression & bipolar disorderDiagnosis, starting or adjusting medication, and relapse prevention.
- Anxiety & stress-related disordersPanic, generalised anxiety and stress that has not settled with therapy alone.
- OCDMedication alongside exposure-based therapy with a psychologist.
- Substance use & de-addictionAlcohol and other substances, safe withdrawal and staying well afterwards.
- Child & adolescent psychiatryMedical assessment for young people, always with a parent or guardian.
- Psychotic disordersAssessment and long-term medication management.
- Older adultsGeriatric psychiatry, where memory, mood and physical health overlap.
- Personality difficultiesLong-standing patterns in mood, relationships and behaviour.
- Mental health with physical illnessConsultation-liaison psychiatry and medication review.
How she works
A first consultation with Dr Mekhala is a full psychiatric evaluation: your history, a mental state examination, any medical conditions and current medication, and a careful assessment of risk. She then explains what she thinks is going on in plain language, and what the options are.
- Medication only when it helps. If she recommends medicine she explains why, what to expect and the side effects, and monitors them at follow-up. The decision is yours.
- Therapy skills as well as prescriptions. She practises CBT, DBT and Motivation Enhancement Therapy, and uses supportive therapy and psychoeducation within consultations.
- Families included where it helps. With your consent she counsels family members and explains the condition to them, which matters especially in addiction and in young people's care.
- One plan with your therapist. If you also see a psychologist at Rooh Mind Care, she coordinates with them, with your consent.
- Safety first. Trained in suicide risk assessment and crisis intervention, she will tell you directly if you need to be seen in person or urgently.
What she brings to a consultation: independent clinical judgement, clear communication with patients and families, experience of working in multidisciplinary teams, an ethical and patient-centred approach, and comfort with technology-based care.
Education, training & experience
- July 2026 – presentSenior Resident, Psychiatry
M.S. Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru: OPD, inpatient wards and consultation-liaison psychiatry.
- 2026Medical Officer, Smart Virtual Clinic (BBMP)
City-corporation telehealth programme linking 27 Primary Health Centres across Bengaluru: teleconsultations, psychiatric screening, and referral and prescription coordination with PHC staff.
- 2021 – 2025MD Psychiatry
K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore. Included child and adolescent psychiatry at NIMHANS, Bengaluru; a two-month posting at the Nitte Rural Psychiatry Centre; and de-addiction camps with the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, Ujire.
- 2014 – 2020MBBS
M.V.J. Medical College and Research Hospital, Bengaluru.
Hospital-based clinical skills
Beyond outpatient consultations, her hospital training covers psychiatric emergencies and inpatient stabilisation, modified ECT, capacity assessment, de-addiction assessment and management, and standard psychiatric rating scales.
Research & teaching
- MD dissertation on the severity of alcohol use, readiness to change and religiosity among people seeking de-addiction treatment, presented at the TIPPS Excel National Conference, 2024. A manuscript is being prepared for journal submission.
- Regular seminars, journal clubs and case presentations throughout her residency.
- Has taught medical undergraduates and supervised interns and junior residents.
Conferences and CMEs
- ANCIPS 2024, Kochi (Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society)
- TIPPS Excel, STEP 2024: national PG conference, Pune and Bengaluru
- KSHEMA 2024 national PG CME, "Womb to Tomb"
- IPS-KC PG CME 2023, NIMHANS, Bengaluru
- IPS South Zonal PG Training Programme / CME 2023, Chennai
- Psychiatry Insight 2023, "From Trauma to Healing"
- Psychiatry Insight 2022, KMC Mangalore: behavioural addictions in children and adolescents
- Muller Psycon 2022: state CME, "Recent Advances in Psychiatry"
Languages
Consultations go better in the language you think in. Dr Mekhala consults in:
- English
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Telugu
- Malayalam
Beyond the clinic
Dr Mekhala is trained in Carnatic classical music, and in her spare time she sketches and makes mandala art.
Fees & booking
15 minutes₹1,000
A medical consultation for diagnosis and medication. It is not therapy. If you would like therapy, our psychologists offer 50-minute sessions, and Dr Mekhala can work alongside them.
Pay now or pay later. Book a single session with just ₹2$1. It counts towards your fee, and you pay the rest before your session.
Consultations are by secure video, from anywhere in India. Her live availability and the booking button are on her card on the homepage: see Dr Mekhala's next available times. For what an online consultation covers and what can be prescribed remotely, see online psychiatric consultation.
What an online consultation can’t cover
Online consultations follow India’s Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 2020. Under them:
- Medicines that cannot be prescribed online. Drugs in Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, and narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances listed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. If one is clinically needed, you will be asked to see a psychiatrist in person.
- Medicines that need an in-person visit first. “Add-on” medicines (List B of the Guidelines) are only for someone the psychiatrist has already seen in person for the same condition.
- Situations that need in-person or emergency care instead: thoughts of harming yourself or others; severe agitation, confusion or a loss of touch with reality that may need hospital care; anything that needs a physical examination or tests first; and anyone under 18 without a parent or guardian present.
- The psychiatrist decides in each consultation whether online care is appropriate, and may recommend an in-person visit.
In a crisis, call 112 or Tele-MANAS 14416 (free, 24×7).
Common questions
Is Dr Mekhala Divakar a psychiatrist or a psychologist?
A psychiatrist. She is a medical doctor (MBBS) with a postgraduate MD in Psychiatry, registered with the Karnataka Medical Council (No. 134015). Unlike a psychologist, a psychiatrist can make a medical diagnosis and prescribe medication.
Can Dr Mekhala prescribe medication in an online consultation?
Yes, where India's Telemedicine Practice Guidelines allow it. Most antidepressants and many other long-term psychiatric medicines can be started after a video consultation. Medicines in Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, and narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under the NDPS Act, 1985, cannot be prescribed online and need an in-person appointment.
Which languages does Dr Mekhala consult in?
English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam.
Does Dr Mekhala see children and teenagers?
Yes. Child and adolescent psychiatry is one of her main interests. Anyone under 18 is seen with a parent or guardian present, as Indian telemedicine rules require.
Can I see Dr Mekhala while I am in therapy with someone else at Rooh Mind Care?
Yes, and it is often the most effective approach. With your consent she coordinates with your therapist, so medication and therapy work to one plan rather than two.
How can I verify Dr Mekhala's medical registration?
Her registration number with the Karnataka Medical Council is 134015. You can search for it on the National Medical Commission's Indian Medical Register.
Profile last updated .
Talk to Dr Mekhala
Fees are shown in full before you book, with no hidden charges. Consultations are online by video, in five languages.