Aishwarya Naik

Aishwarya Naik (She/her)

Aishwarya is a mental health practitioner at Pause for Perspective and a fellow in their Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health program.

She has worked in different roles as a counselling psychologist, a mental health educator, a community facilitator and a qualitative researcher. 

As a therapist, she seeks to work through emotional exploration and redefining the meaning we give to our experiences. She understands therapy as a space for exploring new ways of relating to people and our lives while accepting our inner and external realities, potentially creating a change.

She sees people as individuals with an inherent sense of agency and a need to be “seen” as they navigate the cultural and social histories that we all carry as people. This journey of witnessing and being with “human-ness” is what draws her to being a psychologist.

She has an integrative approach to therapy influenced by insight-oriented psychotherapeutic approaches such as cognitive analytical therapy, existential psychology, and relational psychotherapy.

She has completed around 300 hours of therapy, working with adolescents and young adults across a range of concerns, including grief, academic stress, identity exploration, and relational conflict.

Furthermore, she also has experience in working with groups – holding support groups and providing psycho-educational sessions. 

As a researcher, she has experience in qualitative research and holds an interest in the exploring human experiences of distress and further how this experience is embedded in and in dialogue with social, cultural and historical systems around us. 

Through this fellowship, she aims to learn the practice of intersectional mental health care.

Rooted in social justice, she hopes to learn an approach that is more embodied and allows her to evolve as a therapist, a researcher, a person, and a community member. 

In her free time, Aishwarya loves trying new hobbies such as watercolour painting, embroidery, and jigsaw puzzles. She also enjoys visiting museums and learning about the world, while valuing time spent just slowing down and being in the moment. 

Languages known: Konkani, English, Hindi