The Team
Natasha D’Cruz is a PhD in psychology with close to two decades of experience in the field of mental health. She is a practicing psychologist/psychotherapist and has been extensively trained by stalwarts in the field from across the globe in the entire gamut of Cognitive and Behaviour Therapies as well as Adlerian Psychotherapy, Person Centred Therapy and Arts Based Therapies. Being a licensed performer in Pianoforte and certified in Voice from Trinity College of Music, London has helped hone her skills in using Arts Based Therapies with clients as well as exploring research in Music and Dance as therapy.
Although her clientele ranges from ages 3 to 73 years and she is adept at handling cases across the developmental lifespan, her forte is working with tweens , young adults as well as with couples. Creating a safe exploratory space and building a strong therapeutic relationship are at the core of her practice which incorporates an eclectic therapeutic approach.
Over the years she has been an international consultant with leading multi-national Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers where she provides corporate training, brief therapy and coaching for their client companies. Being passionate about teaching and training has led her to develop several courses for early career psychologists/counsellors as well as teachers and parents on various aspects of child psychology using innovative experiential techniques.
EMRC India hosted a series of lectures by her on the use of Music and Dance in Psychology on National Television. In addition she has been featured in several International and National publications for her use of Psychology with young people.
To help incorporate elements of psychology into our daily living and wellbeing she is currently researching Evidenced Based Design for interior spaces and psychological variables in sports, besides being the founder president of Reach Out to Life Foundation a suicide prevention and youth development non profit organization and the founder director of NANIHI Group Pvt. Ltd.
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Dr. Ruth Fernandes is a consultant Psychiatrist with experience of 12 years. She is very passionate about working and helping patients achieve their best outcomes. Her areas of interest include anxiety and stress related disorders, depression, grief, psychotherapy especially mindfulness,relationship problems and parenting.
Dr. Ruth Fernandes‘s area of expertise is in Reproductive psychiatry, helping women with emotional distress during times of hormonal change, from menses to menopause. She specializes in treating women before, during and after pregnancy, as well as other times of transition in their lives. Her special interest in treating new mothers with stress and anxiety got her to begin the “Mindful Moms” programme. She has been trained by the Institute of Noetic Sciences, U.S.A. for mindful motherhood. She regularly conducts workshops on Mindful Motherhood and Mindful Parenting as she views it is as a vital way of strengthening mothers & building stronger families. She also provides grief counselling and support for women who have undergone miscarriages.
Her approach when treating a patient is to focus on the whole patient and not just the symptoms. Her forte is to treat patients empathetically in a non judgemental, warm, safe and confidential environment.
After Dr. Mrinal developed a keen interest in the field of mental health during his early years in medical school, he went on to be trained in Psychiatry at the prestigious Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health( VIMHANS) in New Delhi, and subsequently at AIIMS, Rishikesh. He has also been awarded the MRCPsych (UK) degree, and is a life member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK.
His areas of interest include Mood Disorders, De-addiction Medicine and Personality Disorders. His passion for mental health goes beyond the routine, having worked in the field of refugee mental health for the UNHCR, and rural mental health in the hills of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. He has also worked as a spiritual mental health consultant at Aurbindo Ashram, New Delhi.
Naomi is a RCI licensed Clinical Psychologist. She has graduated from Manipal University with an MPhil degree in Clinical Psychology. She holds a Master’s in Applied Psychology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences-Mumbai, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Xavier’s college-Mumbai.
Naomi also works as a project assistant at King Edward Medical Hospital-Pune and has been involved in developing content for online courses, and workshops. She has worked on a short freelance project which involved developing CBT based scripts for an app aiming to improve adherence to medical treatment.
Naomi is extremely interested in working with both individuals and groups, and has a special interest in working with children and adolescents. She prefers to take on an eclectic therapeutic approach which allows her to adapt the therapeutic techniques to the needs of the individual.
Ashima Mahajan is a RCI licensed Clinical Psychologist, having completed her M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Ashima works with both individuals and groups for psychotherapy sessions. She is skilled in evaluating individual behaviour and mental state through observation, interview, and psychometric tests. Her practice style is patient-focused, that emphasizes the well-being and autonomy of patients. In the past, Ashima has worked as a school counsellor where she provided counselling to students, conducted life skill training sessions, and provided remedial training to children with specific learning disability.
She actively participates in various workshops and seminars to enhance her knowledge and deliver seminars and guest lectures to propagate these learnings. She has interned at VIMHANS, New Delhi and has trained at NIMHANS, Bangalore’s Family Therapy unit under student exchange programme.
Ashima follows and practices the philosophy of Nichiren Diashonin Buddhism that emphasizes the infinite potential and high life force inherent in all life. She passionately believes in Nichiren’s humanistic philosophy of enabling people living in the real world and facing real problems to become empowered and help modify their lives for the better.
Radhika Bhatt is a TEDx speaker and a mental health professional who specialises in counselling, psychotherapy and early communication interventions. She is trained in Social Thinking and Hanen’s 4 I’s to Socialise Programs. Radhika has worked with various schools as well as clinics in Mumbai and Pune. Her experience spans over approximately 10 years, where she has worked with diverse individuals with a wide age range spanning from 3yrs to 50yrs. Along the way Radhika drew towards the concepts of neurodiversity and self acceptance which are the foundations of her therapeutic framework. She enjoys her work with both adults and children to help them navigate through the ever changing social world, by strengthening the foundations of social cognition. Radhika’s work mainly focuses on emotional and social needs and their impact on behaviour. She incorporates Person Centred Approach, REBT and CBT in her therapy sessions. Apart from therapy sessions and counselling, she is also actively involved in developing workshops and awareness-building seminars for both children, parents and educators. Radhika tries to approach each therapy session with curiosity and interest and is a firm believer in the transformative nature of the therapeutic alliance for the client as well as the psychologist.
Wendy Burby is a certified practicing Transcultural Counsellor and consultant therapist. She works with adults, couples and groups across age and gender spectrums offering psychological intervention to deal with issues such as anxiety, depression, grief and loss, abuse, and trauma. Her 1500+ hours of counselling experience cover related areas such as self- development, relationships, gender identity, sexuality, emotional regulation, workplace issues, marriage, parenting, work-life balance, and coping mechanisms in critical situations.
Wendy favours a highly person centred and goal-oriented approach to therapy. She focuses on her client’s individual experiences and how this impacts their behaviour and feelings. She believes this self-explorative approach has been invaluable to clients in helping them find their own way out of feeling stuck and unable to make decisions. Her use of writing and other expressive mediums has been crucial to this process.
Wendy brings to the table years of experience as a trainer and teacher. She believes that teachers are the first line of defence when dealing with mental health among the student population and should therefore be equipped appropriately. She has designed programs focused on enabling educators to equip themselves with the skills required to identify mental health issues, and to point students in the appropriate direction for the help that they need. She favours a highly facilitative approach to instruction and is especially partial to group work in this domain.
As a strong advocate for the importance and sustenance of the mental health and wellbeing of employees in a work place, Wendy customises her experience adroitly in working with corporate clients. Her understanding of the impact and relevance of cultural diversity in the sphere of mental health at work has been invaluable to her work within organisations. Her wide experience as a Transcultural Counsellor (founded upon world renowned certification), affords her the opportunity to lend deep insight into the challenges that arise from working in culturally diverse environments.
Wendy is an accomplished musician and song writer with a love for all things lyrical. She is a passionate home chef too, and enjoys both food and feeding people in equal measure.
Ava Ichaporia is a qualified counsellor with a Masters in Counselling from the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK. She also holds a Diploma in Counselling from CYDA, Pune, and TISS, Mumbai. Formerly, she worked as a researcher on gender equality issues. She has counselled clients in the UEA Counselling Service and in private practice in Pune and Mumbai. She also is associated with a counselling service in Bengaluru.
Ava has volunteered in India and the UK on a student counselling helpline and a helpline for survivors of abuse. She has conducted workshops on the Diploma in Counselling at CYDA, Pune, and at the University of East Anglia. She believes that people possess the capacity to heal themselves and wants to support development of an individual’s resources. She practices in a person centred way using insights from focussing and mindfulness. She enjoys following food bloggers on Instagram, reading and taking walks.
Harkirat is a psychologist with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. She has been trained in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) as well as in the Essential’s of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) from the Beck’s Institute, Pennsylvania. In addition Harkirat is also currently training in Presence Oriented Therapy from the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS).
Harkirat utilizes an evidence based integrated, relational and goal oriented approach in therapy while aiming to work collaboratively with the client to help them navigate various life experiences. Thus far Harkirat has worked with a diverse age spectrum that have dealt with a range of difficulties from anxiety, depression, grief/loss as well as relationship and career related issues. Her pet peeve is working with adolescents and young adults in the social-emotional space that reflects in her recent work with at risk adolescents and youth.
Her personal solace comes from creativity be it stitching, embroidery or design. She has deep admiration for poetry and dabbles in writing too.
Mr. Rishi Talwar is a Psychologist with a Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pune. He has participated in numerous workshops to further enhance his training, knowledge and skills. He has interned at The Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (VIMHANS Hospital), New Delhi and trained and volunteered with Connecting NGO as a psychologist on their suicide prevention helpline. Finding solace in animals and nature, he has also trained in Animal Assisted Therapy and Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Since his early years, his desire to help those in need has directed his interests and consequently his career in mental health. He has experience working with individuals; those dealing with severe mental illness as well as those finding it difficult to cope with day-to-day stressors. Additionally, victims of abuse and those suffering traumatic events have found comfort and support from him.
With a keen interest in Sexuality and Gender, he has also worked with the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA) community.
Rishi is spiritually inclined and hopes to have a positive impact on those he comes across; enabling them to help themselves move, in a direction of their choice.
Roselle Vaz is a special educator and a psychologist with more than 6 years work experience. She has a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune. In addition, she has trained at Alpha to Omega and has done several courses on remediation and specific learning difficulties. She has successfully completed the international certification Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment both basic and standard level.
Roselle has worked as a special educator in various schools like Christel House Lavasa, Sunderjee’s Institue, Pune as well as The Bishop’s Co-Ed School, Undri Pune. She is eager to further explore remediation in all facets and work towards providing children she works with, with a positive and nurturing learning environment that will help growth and development.
Mrs. Prabhjot Kaur is an Occupational Therapist with a Masters of Occupational Therapy in Neurosciences from All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mumbai and is certified in Dysphagia Rehabilitation. She specializes in hand therapy, cognitive perceptual training, splinting, functional rehabilitation, ergonomics, and social skills training. She satiates her curiosity to keep herself updated by conducting seminars, publishing her work in reputed journals, and attending workshops and conferences.
In her career of 7 years as an Occupational Therapist, she has received the GEM (Going an Extra Mile) award for service excellence at Max Hospital, Saket, Delhi, where she headed the team for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation as well. She has worked across domains of adult neuro-rehabilitation (including Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis & Dementia) and pediatric rehabilitation in Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Autism Spectrum disorders, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders to name a few.
At Nanihi, Gauri hopes to bring her experience in these varied areas to help the children and adults she works with get independent in all possible aspects of their lives. This drives and motivates her to be efficient and dedicated.
Runali Patil is a Speech Language Pathologist and Audiologist with a Masters degree in Speech Language Pathology from All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, Karnataka and a Bachelors degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Runali has worked and trained at various institutes like the Tata Cancer Hospital, Mumbai and the Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, Sion in addition to gaining clinical experience in her alma maters while doing her degrees. Runali’s areas of professional interest are : Audiological Evaluation and Management (Adult and Child), Paediatric and Adult Swallowing disorder, Congenital and Acquired Voice disorders, Acquired Adult Neurogenic disorders, Motor Speech and Language disorders, Fluency Disorders and Articulation Disorders.
Roshni Kawade is a Consulting Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist (MASLP). Her sincerity and dedication is evident in her work ethic and her patient interactions. She’s extremely adept at dealing with patients across the age spectrum and her acumen is evident in the range of projects she has undertaken that range from difficulties experienced in childhood like Autism, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Neuromotor Speech therapy as well as difficulties in the audiology spectrum.
She is eager to provide client led interventions and is dedicated to achieve the best outcomes for all involved.