Selling Worry, Selling Solutions: A Psychological Critique of Mental Development Programs in Contemporary Parenting

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Page: 659-663

Kamya Singh¹ and Sonika Dangi² (Educator & Mental Health Therapist, Jaipur, Rajasthan¹ and
Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi²)

In recent years, a rising trend of Mental Development Programs for children, parenting coaches, and fear-driven content has significantly influenced how parents perceive their children’s behaviour. This qualitative study explores the psychological and social implications of the growing commercialisation of parenting in urban India. This paper focuses on the psychological implications of this shift through a qualitative, practitioner-based thematic analysis drawn from over 65 therapeutic cases with children and their families. The data is derived from the author’s work as a Mental Health Therapist and Chief Mentor at a mental development firm. The paper identifies five key themes: Fear-Based Marketing and The Business of Parenting; The Rise of Formulaic Parenting – One Course Fits All?; The Parent Mirror- Projection, Denial & Exaggeration; What Actually Helped – Therapy, Play and Empathy; Invisible Work, Visible Change – The Uncredited Labor of Therapy Behind Structured Programs. The author analyses how real emotional progress occurred only through relational, personalised intervention using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, narrative work, and trauma-informed practice. The findings suggest that mental development coaching culture claiming as a one-stop solution, may obscures both the root issues in parenting and the genuine emotional needs of children. This meaningful transformation could emerge from the re-centring of human understanding, reflective parenting, empathy, personalisation, and deep psychological insight.