Seeking counselling might not be an easy step. For anybody who is thinking about seeking counselling, I want you to know that I see so much courage, strength and self-compassion in this first step that you have taken. I am also curious, if you could name this action of ’thinking about seeking counselling’ what would you call it ?

I want you to know that counselling/ therapy is a safe, non-judgmental and confidential space. You may have various questions/ concerns about starting therapy and it’s completely ok to ask therapists questions about the process, their qualifications, fees, or any other question you may have that could help you make an informed choice.

Therapy is a collaborative process and throughout the therapy journey, you retain control over your decisions and experiences. Your therapist will be by your side to guide you and to explore possibilities with you, but will not make or impose decisions on you. It’s perfectly okay to provide feedback to your therapist about what is working and what is not working for you.

I’d just want you to pat your back for taking this first step and I’d want you to know that you are not alone in this journey!

I draw from a mix of various approaches, and integrate different approaches while holding on to the principles of post-modernism and trauma informed care. Some of the key ideas that guide my work are :

1. Problems are not experienced in isolation; they are experienced within a context influenced by systems, cultures, histories, norms, and power structures of which people are a part.
2. People know their lives the best and they are the experts of their lives.
3. People are not the problem, and problems need to be seen as separate from people.
4. Problems are not the only stories of people’s lives. People’s lives are also so much about stories of hopes, dreams, values, skills, commitments that people cherish and give importance to.
5. Even through the toughest circumstances, people are always responding to the problems.
6. Small steps, actions, efforts create meaningful and fulfilling impacts.

I take conscious efforts to create a queer affirmative space for my clients which includes:

1. Respecting and honoring people’s diversities (in and outside therapy)
2. Being mindful of the language I use
3. Staying away from assumptions- asking and directly checking with my clients rather than assuming
4. Using an intersectional lens to recognize that queer individuals may face multiple, overlapping forms of oppression related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, class, and other aspects of their identity.
5. Taking steps to build my awareness and knowledge on concerns experienced by the queer community through trainings and readings.
6. Being mindful of and increasing my awareness of my own social location, biases, privilege and shortcomings as a cis-gendered, heterosexual therapist through self-reflection and supervision.