Older adults
Anxiety, late-life depression, sleep difficulty, grief and bereavement, loneliness, retirement and role change, adjustment to illness or dependency, elder abuse and neglect, and distress around serious or terminal illness.
Satoru Foundation · Geriatric Counselling Centre
Aatmeeya Sparshaఆత్మీయ స్పర్శ
Counselling for seniors and their caregivers in Hyderabad
Satoru Foundation's work on the emotional and mental wellbeing of older adults. Counselling is the first service we offer under it, and it is open now.
- Telugu · English · Hindi
- In person in Hyderabad
- Online sessions
- Subsidised, not-for-profit
Who it is for
Counselling for seniors, families and caregivers
Ageing rarely brings one difficulty at a time, and the person struggling is not always the person who calls. Aatmeeya Sparsha offers counselling to three groups who usually need support together.
Memory and dementia
Support for people living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions — counselling after a diagnosis, help with mood and adjustment, structured activity sessions, and work with the family around changing roles and decisions. We do not diagnose dementia; diagnosis is made by a neurologist or psychiatrist, and we help you reach one.
Free memory screening →Caregivers
For family carers and professional caregivers: exhaustion and burnout, guilt and resentment, sibling and family conflict, setting boundaries, grief while the person is still living, and caregiver support groups.
Support for family caregivers →What we help with
Common reasons people come to us
You do not need a diagnosis, a referral, or the right words for what is happening. If something about ageing, memory, or caregiving has become hard to carry, that is reason enough.
- Late-life depression
- Anxiety and worry
- Memory concerns
- Life after a dementia diagnosis
- Caregiver burnout
- Grief and bereavement
- Loneliness and isolation
- Retirement and loss of role
- Adjustment to illness or disability
- Family and intergenerational conflict
- Elder abuse and neglect
- Sleep difficulties
- Decisions about care and living arrangements
- Serious and terminal illness
- End-of-life concerns
Our approach
Therapies adapted for later life
Much of mainstream counselling is designed for younger adults and handed to older people unchanged. We work the other way round. The approaches we use were chosen because they have been studied in older populations, and we adapt each one for hearing, pace, cognition and the realities of family life in Indian households.
Cognitive behavioural therapy, adapted
For depression, anxiety and insomnia in later life, with slower pacing, shorter sessions where needed, written summaries, and family involvement when it helps.
Reminiscence therapy
Structured use of memory, photographs, music and objects to support mood, sense of identity, and conversation, including with people living with dementia.
Life review
A guided look back across a life, used where there is regret, unfinished business, loss of meaning, or the approach of the end of life.
Supportive counselling and grief work
For bereavement, loneliness, and the accumulating losses of older age, including anticipatory grief in caregivers.
Psychoeducation
Plain explanations of dementia, depression, medication, and what to expect, for the older person and the whole family.
Caregiver support and skills
Individual sessions and facilitated groups: managing behaviour changes, sharing the load, protecting your own health, and planning ahead.
We will not promise you an outcome. What we will tell you, before the first session ends, is what we think would help, roughly how many sessions it is likely to take, and what it will cost. We keep records of our own work and we intend to publish what we find, including where it does not work.
How it works
Getting started
- 1
Get in touch
Call or email us. Tell us briefly who the support is for: yourself, a parent, or someone you care for professionally.
- 2
First session
A conversation to understand what is happening, with a brief assessment where it is useful. Family members are welcome if the person wants them there.
- 3
A plan you agree to
We tell you what we think would help, how many sessions it is likely to take, and what it will cost, before anything begins.
- 4
Ongoing sessions
In person at our Punjagutta office or online, in Telugu, English or Hindi. Where a medical opinion is needed, we refer or bring in our visiting physician.
Fees
Subsidised, and told to you upfront
Satoru Foundation is a Section 8 not-for-profit. Counselling at Aatmeeya Sparsha is offered well below private practice rates, with further concessions for those who need them. You will be told the exact fee before your first session, and there are no charges you have not agreed to.
Who you will see
Trained specifically in work with older adults
Aatmeeya Sparsha is staffed by a team of psychologists comprising clinical psychologists and counselling psychologists, all trained in work with older adults. A visiting physician advises on medical questions. Supervised trainees assist with follow-up contact only — never as the therapist. All clinical work is supervised, documented, and guided by current evidence.
What you tell us stays here
What you say in a session is confidential. We keep brief clinical records so that your care is consistent, stored securely and seen only by the clinicians involved in your care.
There are three situations where we may need to share information: when you ask us to; when someone is at serious risk of harm; and when a court or the law requires it. We will tell you if this happens, unless telling you would increase the risk to someone.
We do not sell, trade or share your information for any other purpose. You may ask us what we hold about you, and ask us to correct it.
Who can come to us
Aatmeeya Sparsha is for adults aged 50 and above. It is also for family members and professional caregivers aged 35 and above who are looking after an older person. If you are unsure whether you qualify, call us and ask. We would rather have the conversation than turn someone away by rule.
What we do not do
- We do not prescribe or change medication. Our visiting physician can advise, and we refer to psychiatrists and neurologists where that is what is needed.
- We do not diagnose dementia or any other condition.
- We are not an emergency or crisis service.
- We do not provide nursing, attendant or home-care staff. For that, our Saanidhyam directory lists verified providers.
Book an appointment
Talk to us
Appointments can be booked by phone or email. If you are enquiring on behalf of a parent or a client, that is completely fine — most of our first calls come from family members.
Visit
Satoru Foundation, Punjagutta, Hyderabad, TelanganaWe see older adults and families from across Hyderabad — Punjagutta, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Secunderabad, Gachibowli, Kukatpally and Madhapur — and online from anywhere.
About the Satoru Foundation
The Satoru Foundation is a research-driven non-profit working on health, dignity and connection for India's older adults. Our leadership includes trained gerontologists and public health researchers, and our programmes are built on peer-reviewed research in ageing alongside what we learn in the field.
Satoru has conducted research on cognitive health, digital inclusion and community-based elder care across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
CIN U72200TS2024NPL189603 · Donations are eligible for deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.