I’ve wanted to become a psychologist since 11th grade. You could say it was my first real love - the first thing that felt like me. There was something about those psychology classes: the way they made sense of people, emotions, and behaviors - it felt like opening a door to a world I had always been curious about, but never had the words for. I was hooked.

The ability to connect with people across diaspora, continents and be able to assist them in their mental health journey is very rewarding. To be able to hear their stories, learn from them, give a little, and just be that listening ear for someone, can be therapeutic in itself.

I want my clients to go back feeling validated and affirmed. It’s important that we all acknowledge that our lived realities are ours, and therefore, completely valid. And no one should make us feel otherwise.

Think of counselling as that safe space where you can be who you are, share your innermost thoughts and get the validation that you have been seeking. Your therapy sessions are and will always be about you. Therapy is not for forever, and every client has different yet completely valid needs. So, give therapy a chance.

I wish to let my clients know that they have my uninterrupted attention for those 50 minutes. If my clients want to work on their issues using a cognitive approach, so we do that. But if my clients want me to just be present and provide that space, where I need to be the sponge for their trauma, I will do that too. Therapy is all about you.

I have come across people and lived realities which affirm the power of human resilience, which can take a backseat at times but always finds a way to bounce back.

I can listen without interrupting. I am able to subtly guide my clients towards the rational beliefs and help them acknowledge the unhealthy attitudes which they may be holding onto, while at the same time ensuring that they don’t feel invalidated.

I read (being an omnivorous reader, I can pick and read any genre, as long as it is able to capture my attention with it’s cover & title but I am biased toward my favourite authors and make it a point to read everything by them), love to watch web series & other media on different OTT platforms, play with my child (my biggest bundle of oxytocin), & in better times, hang out with my friends.

My primary approach is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, which is a kind of Cognitive therapy. The main therapy work involves understanding the belief system behind your thoughts, emotions and behaviour, understanding it’s impact and working towards healthier rational attitudes, in the quest to change the way we feel & behave. The whole approach is about distinguishing the unhealthy from healthy, all the time acknowledging the validity of one’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours.

I also follow an eclectic approach with clients, meaning I draw from the different schools of psychotherapy to pick and choose what works best for my client.

I have been trained in the queer affirmative practices. One of the things done for online sessions, is that in the intake form we have kept the gender option as open & not given the binary categories of male or female. At the physical space, we have displayed my training certificate in this domain, displayed books & other reading materials for clients to access.