Get to know Utkarsha.

City & Background

Utkarsha Jagga (She/Her) is a mental health counsellor from Delhi who practices online.

They're 27 years old, identify as Queer, and have been practicing since 4 years.

English, and Hindi are some of the languages they know, and hourly fee is (₹) 2,000 - 3,000.

Education

They have the following qualifications: BA (H) Psychology, University of Delhi ,MA Applied Psychology (specialisation in Counselling Psychology), Tata Institute of Social Sciences .

Additional qualifications:Suicide First Aid: Understanding Suicide Intervention by City & Guilds, UK, South Asian Diploma in Narrative Practices Facilitated by Narrative Practices India.

Why they became a therapist.

"I am someone who feels a lot, expresses a lot, and always wear my emotions on my sleeve. I think building such a relationship with my emotions helped me to cruise through life with such rich experiences. Therefore, I decided to use it as my strength; becoming a counselling psychologist gave me an opportunity to witness and facilitate people’s stories and their relationship with their emotions. "

What they'd like a client's first session to be like.

"After our first session, I hope for clients to take away a sense of feeling heard, understood, and safe. Additionally. I structure my sessions in a way that clients also take back an overview of what direction we'll be moving towards and how the process might look like. "

How they make their practice a safe and affirmative space for queer and trans* folx.

"Ever since I have started therapy, I have been in supervision that has been queer and trans affirmative. I have been a part of groups, trainings, and learning circles led by queer and trans folx where we have had the opportunity to learn from lived experiences and personal narratives. Additionally, I am continually learning by reading and participation in conversations around queer and trans mental health. "

Areas of concern they address in counselling.

"Across my years as a counselling psychologist, I have worked with a varied population. But some areas that I specialise in, include, trauma, gender, sexuality, anxiety, and concerns around attachment and relationships. I have worked majorly with adults aged between 18-40 years. "

A Quote Utkarsha Resonates With.

"To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.” I love this quote because it explains so wonderfully talks about the dichotomy of human emotions, and only when we open ourselves wholly to the spectrum of human emotion, the good and the bad of it, we allow ourselves to be loved. ~ My favourite quote from the book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry"