GET TO KNOW ME MORE..

MY CORE VALUES:

As a therapist what I value the most is the relationship between me and my clients. Our therapeutic alliance, imbued with deep care and empowered by joint intentionality, is what forms the bedrock of everything that happens in therapy.   

I deeply appreciate a dialectical approach and am committed to a lifelong attempt to hone my skills of allowing dualities to exist in the interest of helping my clients get closer to what matters to them in the long run. That means the co-existence of patience and intentional movement. That means being fully present with my clients and listening deeply, allowing struggle to co-exist with living an intentional life, therefore neither jumping into rescue behaviour nor being completely non-directive (there's a LOT of action in ACT, my favourite approach to psychotherapy!)   

Communicating deep care and respect, acknowledging the role of hegemonic systems in individual and family distress, working with my clients' existing strengths, a focus on living in the body and in the here-and-now as opposed to in one's mind, and empowering my clients with tools that help them all their life, long after they have terminated therapy, deeply matter to me as a therapist. The same values shape my work in supervision.  

THERAPEUTIC APPROACH/MODALITY:

My specialisation is in ACT though my work is also heavily influenced by DBT and Narrative Therapy.  I adopt a humanistic-existential stance with every client and determine my go-to approach with each client depending on their goals from therapy. If their concerns are primarily present oriented, an area I have seen best outcomes in, my go-to approach is ACT. For past-oriented work, I borrow from a range of approaches, tailoring the sessions to the client's unique needs and their hopes from therapy.  Regardless of which approaches guide the sessions, an intersectional social justice lens forms the backdrop of all I do. In therapy, supervision as well as coaching, I am feminist and queer affirmative.  

EXPERIENCE: 

I've had 10 years of experience as a psychotherapist and a community mental health practitioner, working with NGOs and in private practice. I provide couple therapy and family therapy in addition to individual therapy. In the past, I have worked as a marital therapy intern in Bandra Family Court, Mumbai for 6 months. 

I typically work with adults of all age groups, and am currently open to seeing clients between 13-18 years of age as well. I have worked with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds, mostly Non Residential Indians based in the US, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Austria, Australia, and Germany. 

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS: 

Certification in Clinical Supervision by Indian Academy of Professional Supervisors for MHPs

Certification in Trauma Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Russ Harris)

Certification in Queer Affirmative Counselling Practice (Mariwala Health Initiative)

PhD in Psychology (JRF; University of Delhi)

M.A. in Applied Psychology with specialization in Clinical Psychology (TISS, Mumbai)

B.A. Hons. Psychology (University of Delhi; Gold Medalist) 

LANGUAGES: 

English and Hindi  

CHARGES: 

Individual Therapy- Rs. 3500 for clients based in India and 50 USD for clients based abroad

Couple Therapy- Rs. 4000 for clients based in India and 60 USD for clients based abroad

SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT ME: 

I love metaphors and books, so if by any chance you have an affinity for either please let me know! Both have a very special place in my work as a therapist. 

https://koalendar.com/e/first-inquiry-meeting-with-dr-sudha-shashwati