livelypsyche

About me….and why I’m writing

I was born and raised in the Midwest to parents who emigrated from India to the U.S. in the 1970s. I grew up in a small town, but was fortunate enough to be surrounded by both Indian/Hindu and “Western” cultures and ways of being. I diverted from a well-traveled medical career path midway through college, entered the wild world of psychology, and eventually earned my doctorate in clinical psychology. I have been seeing patients (mostly adults now, but also children and adolescents in the past) for psychotherapy in private practice for 7 years. My life is now situated in the suburbs of Cincinnati, where I am a Clinical Psychologist and mother (in varying order).

The Purpose of this Blog:

I love psychotherapy. I love the invitation to enter someone’s world in such an intimate way and to witness the growth that comes from delving into, exploring, understanding, and beginning to organize the psyche. It’s amazing how much stronger people become as they start to understand why they feel and think in certain ways and why their relationships play out as they do. With greater self-awareness comes greater choice – opportunities to live your life more freely and genuinely.

But I have had the thought for a long time that, while I know the work I do with individuals has an impact, it’s somehow not enough. The opportunity to increase self-awareness is something everyone should experience, in my opinion, as it benefits not only you as the individual, but also everyone else in your life. And I don’t mean the kind of awareness that comes from being told who you are, what you should do, and how you should live your life (a la TV mental health “experts”). I mean the kind of awareness that grows naturally when curiosity meets relevance and good timing.

That’s where this blog comes in. For the purposes of starting out and needing to narrow my scope as a writer, I’m sticking to topics that I know and that I suspect may be useful to potential readers. Being an Indian American myself, the intersection of my cultural background, upbringing, and current life stage will be central among the themes I explore. You don’t have to agree with my perspectives and insights to get something out of my writing. In fact, I hope you will comment and spark a dialogue about anything you see here that makes you think or feel something. The topics I explore are ones that I think deeply about and are informed by both my personal and professional experiences. If what I write stimulates you to think about your life and experiences differently, then I’ve accomplished my goal.