During my growing-up period, I hardly got a safe and non-judgmental place to talk and express my feelings. As I grew older, I came to know about therapy and counselling and chose to study psychology. During my master’s program, I got a chance to be more aware of my childhood traumas and emotional struggles and worked on them. This led me to continue practicing as a psychotherapist/counsellor. I am very grateful for having an opportunity to support people in their healing journey.
Along with my therapeutic practice, I always try to break the stigma around mental health.

1. My life purpose is to be there for people who really need genuine support, and my profession/work is greatly aligned with that. Practicing therapy and counselling combines my passion and profession.
   
   2. The most exciting thing for me as a therapist/counsellor is developing a safe, trustworthy client-therapist relationship, which is the core of any therapy. The process of understanding a person from their perspective and creating a space, and aura where a person can comfortably express themselves is really wonderful because it makes us keep faith in human connections.

As a therapist, I believe in making my clients feel easy and familiar with the therapeutic alliance by discussing the confidentiality clause and therapy approach before I dive into taking an in-depth history of their symptoms.

1. The understanding that therapy is not the process of fixing ourselves. It is all about being aware of our unhealthy patterns and exploring new healthy coping strategies to help ourselves.
2. Understanding my (therapist’s) therapeutic approach and how I will help them to manage their symptoms.
3. The understanding of how they feel around me.
4. The idea that now they have space to share and talk about their inner difficulties and they are not alone in the healing journey.
5. Learning some of the emotional regulation techniques.

We can never understand any process completely before experiencing it. Everyone possesses their perception and idea of therapy. Do your research and be familiar with the idea of taking therapy. You can have an introductory call with a couple of therapists to get an idea about their credentials, experience, and approach before booking an appointment.

The therapy process is not about talking and listening it is about understanding and exploring. When you approach a trained and experienced therapist/counsellor they will answer your all queries about therapy and help you to understand the process before starting actual therapeutic work with you.

Going to therapy is the practice of self-compassion and self-care. Try it out!

• The quality of the client-therapist relationship is the leading factor in determining treatment success. I have learned from my professional experience that acceptance and empathy are the core of any therapy. I always try to make my client feel heard, seen, understood, and accepted.
  
  - It is a collaborative work. I make sure that my and my client’s therapy goals are aligned. I never make my client completely dependent on me or the therapy process. I believe in empowering them with an understanding of their inner experiences and healthy strategies so they can manage their current and future circumstances effectively.

Therapy is a two-way process because it involves two or more than two human beings who develop a trustworthy professional relationship.
My greatest learning from my clients is that healing occurs when you allow someone to be themselves without projecting your beliefs and emotions onto them.

I feel,
1. I am good at making my clients feel easy to connect with me.
2. I have developed an understanding from my training that, it is really great that you are trained in different therapies, but it’s always important to have a clinical judgment about what, when, and how much to give your clients as per their requirements. I really value this strength of mine.
3. Apart from different therapy modalities I always explore creative ways to make the therapy process effective according to the client’s age and interest.
4. Compassion is one of my basic personality characteristics, so while interacting with my clients it comes naturally.
I appreciate these qualities of mine.

I am an artistic soul and like all sorts of art.
My ‘Me-Time" activities are Designing, Sketching, Dancing/Zumba practice, Gardening, Reading, and spending time with nature.

• I use an ‘Eclectic Approach’ in my therapy where I focus on using different therapeutic techniques as per the requirement of the case.
  
  - I try to understand my clients through ‘Person-Centred Umbrella’, and I believe every client has the potential to grow and self-actualise, and the role of a therapist is to be genuine and provide a non-judgemental acceptance and empathetic environment for healing and change.
  
  - I am a ‘Queer Affirmative’ therapist and I accept my clients with their most authentic selves.
  
  - I assess my cases through ‘Trauma-Informed Lens’, which means understanding and acknowledging the impact of trauma on a person’s life, body, and brain.

• I have mentioned a column of preferred pronounces in my client intake form so I can call them the way they want them to be called.
  - I always ask my queer clients to correct me if I state anything that made them feel judged or uncomfortable unintentionally.
  - I always apologize if they feel uncomfortable in the therapeutic conversation, and I make sure not to repeat that.
  - At the end of every session, I check with my clients if they feel safe and non-judgemental in the therapy alliance. I prepare myself accordingly for the coming sessions.
  The space is always open for feedback from the client’s side.