The short answer would be, I did not know who else to be.

The longer answer would be, I grew up as an undiagnosed highly verbose and curious adhd + autistic kid, who felt immensely, who was too blunt to her own fault, and would have a lot of questions for everyone. I felt misunderstood everywhere I went. For a long time, I thought this is how everyone feels, all the time. I grew up and I realized, “not everyone, Lakshman.”

I have always had a deep innate calling to understand others and hold what feels misunderstood and discarded. I have found my heart and bones reach out for those who have been pushed to the margins. After all, disability and trauma are not nouns. They are living words, verbs. These are experiences – disabling and traumatizing.

I have arrived in my therapist practice as a wounded healer. I firmly believe in the power of love, care and being vulnerable as the antidote to all the hate, disparity and difference in the known human-world. We are all inherently unique, different and diverging from one another, however our need to be seen is shared. I chose to become a counsellor to see the human in front of me, ebbing and flowing, slowly and gently arriving at a life of meaning, authenticity, safety and connection.

The continuous privilege of witnessing human lives in their full spectrum of colour, never ceases to amaze me. At my core, I am a curious artist, excited and marvelled at the opportunity to just see life from someone’s perspective. It is my honour that people come to me to show me their core parts and allow me to witness it for them.

This work humbles me everyday. I get to learn something new and find creative ways of becoming a kinder, softer and more rested human being. My clients make me a better practitioner.

It is of course a hard job too, the emotional labour can get very draining from time to time. There is always more to read, learn and process. Yet, I find myself almost charged (no matter how drained I have been) to meet folks who trust me with care, comfort, compassion and confrontation. Holding and containing clients keeps me grounded in my values of feminism, social justice, and anti-oppression practices. It is thoroughly enriching to have a career that allows me to be value-driven, autonomous and sit with the discomfort/ pleasures of the human condition.

1. We did not come on this planet to make it alone.
2. Reach out.
3. We all need other humans to witness us and help us understand ourselves.
4. Therapy is not a quick fix.
5. Therapist is not an expert on the human experience.
6. Therapy is not a personalized self-help book.

Therapy is relational work. Therapy is an opportunity to experience a safe, non-judgmental, caring, present, and attuned relationship with another adult within the ethical boundaries of the therapeutic relationship.

Therapy with me is a space for exploration and collaboration towards bringing together your vision of life and center what is valuable to you. I use talk based and body based approach in sessions. I also use art, writing and picture books for expression of your version of your life and exploration of what matters to you.

I actively work towards an anti-oppressive approach in my work (anti-caste, social and disability justice, queer affirmative, neurodivergence informed).

Theoretically speaking, I use a mix of Internal Family Systems, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Existential Therapy and Person centered therapy. My practice is trauma sensitive.