Hello! My name is Zoe. Imagine this to be a Sooraj Barjatiya movie and I am the narrator, the hero and the villian. But my most important job here is to introduce you all to my amazing team. Let’s start with well, me!
She/ He/ They
Zoe has a Master’s degree in Human Manipulation and is doing her doctoral research on ‘The effect of puppy eyes vs barking – a comparative study."
Zoe is fluent in dog and puppy. She pretends to understand cat as well.
Zoe can be found in the Bengaluru office on most days except when she cannot be bothered to wake up. She loves all people who identify as women and merely tolerates most people who identify as men.
She/Her. Rashi has a Master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration along with a Bachelor’s in Psychology.
Rashi lives with depression, anxiety and diabetes. She has been a part of many internal committees against sexual harassment at the workplace. She has worked within the criminal justice system as well as the state healthcare system.
She is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani.
He/Him.
Paras holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling and is also a Doctoral Scholar in Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
He has over a decade of experience of providing counselling services over multiple media including helplines, online and offline. He loves teaching his Master's students on most days.
He is fluent in English, Hindi, and Punjabi, and understands Gujarati and Marathi.
He/Him.
Rickden has a Master's in Clinical Psychology. He likes looking at mental health using an IFS informed lens.
He seeks to help people in dealing with various aspects of mental health learn about their parts. He is also trying to make mental health more accessible and reducing the stigma around the same in various communities.
On off days, he can be found trying out anime, board games, origami or whatever else becomes their hyperfixation that week.
He is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/her.
Shobhana holds an M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology from LGBRIMH, Assam and M.Sc. Applied Psychology (Clinical specialization) from Pondicherry University.
She has over 6 years of experience as a therapist and 2 years as a teacher. Intersectional feminist lens, anti-caste approach and being queer affirmative are core to her therapeutic stance. She also integrates narrative, trauma-informed and humanistic approaches into her practice. Her therapeutic style relies more on nurturing relationality than religiously following theoretical frameworks.
She thrives on giving quirky analogies, both in therapy and classrooms. She is also an organized person who can’t function without excel sheets and sticky notes (She has an excel sheet for almost everything). Art is both grounding and a passion for her.
She is fluent in English and Tamil and understands Hindi, Telugu, Assamese and a little bit of Malayalam.
Shobhana can be consulted for individual therapy sessions, as well as assessments.
She is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Arpita holds a Masters in Psychology with a clinical specialization. Her approach to therapy is based on a person centered framework along with CBT principles.
She believes in holistic healing and therefore takes in to consideration all aspects of health and well being in her practice.
She has varied interests and likes to explore them all when she's able to.
She is fluent in English, Hindi and conversant in Malayalam
They are available for sessions online and offline in Jp Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Lalitha holds a Master's in Counseling Psychology from Sampurna Montfort College, Bangalore. Her passion for psychology and curiosity about human behavior have shaped her into an open-minded, accepting, and empathetic therapist.
She aims to create a therapeutic space that promotes personal growth and empowerment. Favoring post-modern methods, she uses narrative and feminist approach with trauma-informed lens.
She is fluent in English, Hindi and Tamil.
They are available for sessions online
She/Her.
Shloka has done her M.Sc in Clinical Psychology from Manipal University, Jaipur. .
Shloka's therapeutic philosophy is grounded in her belief that when subjectivity is understood and embraced, compassion, support & acceptance is provided, one then possesses the strength to build resilience to navigate through life's challenges and harbour self-awareness, self-discovery and self-growth.
.
Shloka works collaboratively with her clients, aiming to provide a safe and confidential space where they can explore and/or make better sense of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. She employs a tailor-made approach to fit the needs-goals of each person she works with.
She carries an eclectic approach to her counselling, borrowing from multiple modalities, mainly – DBT, Gestalt, Psychoanalysis, Parts Work, CBT, EFT, QAT, Grief and Trauma-Informed Therapy. Her therapeutic process involves a lens of Intersectionality, Trauma-Informed, Emotion-Focused and Attachment Theories rooted in the foundations of Processwork. .
The goal is to assist clients in realising what they’d want and ultimately help them arrive at it.
Outside work hours, Shloka can be found chilling with-talking to street dogs, crows and practically any living creature that visibly passes by her. She can not only talk about food for hours but can also cook & eat for hours! (yes, that slowly!) She enjoys watching and listening to diverse entertainment with no bounds about the language. She’s a fan of culture, food and travel. Reads and writes alike. .
She speaks English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, and Spanish.
She is available for sessions online and on request, in person in Chembur, Mumbai.
She/Her.
Divya has a Master’s in Applied Psychology with past experience as an Assistant Professor..
She holds a therapeutic space that welcomes you to bring your self authentically and unapologetically.
.
Her approach is integrative, drawing mostly from psychodynamic and existential meanings. She prioritises being inclusive, trauma-informed and socio-politically conscious..
She is fluent in English and Hindi and understands Tamil.
She is available for sessions online.
She/Her.
Samiksha holds an MSc in Psychological Studies.
Her approach is eclectic, rooted mainly in narrative and existential theories, and places emphasis on a person's history and story over labels and diagnosis.
She aims and advocates for therapy spaces to be more trauma-informed, neurodivergent-friendly, queer-affirmative and kink-aware. In her spare time, she can be found sharing dog memes, playing Carpool Karaoke with willing friends, and waiting for the 2026 F1 season. She is fluent in English, Hindi & Tulu.
She is available for sessions online and in Mumbai.
She/Her.
Rashmi’s curiosity and experiences led her to change her career from engineering to psychology. She’s about to finish her Masters in Counselling Psychology from IGNOU.
She strongly believes in building of a non-judgemental and safe space in therapeutic settings. She aims to use person-centred approach in therapy using a trauma-informed, queer-affirmative and feminist lens.
She is fluent in English, Hindi and understands Bengali.
She is available for sessions online
She/Her.
Monazza holds a Masters in Applied Psychology, from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She has undergone 50+ hours of training sessions at The Alternative Story and additionally has interned at various institutes such as Fortis Escorts, CRY, and Cheshire Home.
She has an empathetic person-centered approach and draws from various cognitive behavioral therapies. She has a holistic approach to well-being and aims to create a safe space for her clients.
She speaks English, Urdu and Hindi..
She is available for sessions online
She/Her.
Sanskriti is a trainee counsellor, currently in her last semester of masters, pursuing Msc. Counselling psychology at Christ University, Bangalore. She has spent 100 hours working with children & adolescents in her previous semester.
She employs a socio-political and trauma-informed lens in her work. The approaches that she primarily draws from are Gestalt and Narrative Therapy. Presently, she is also exploring the integration of Cognitive Analytic Therapy in her practice as a trainee counsellor.
Owing to the diverse milieu of cultures & sub cultures that make up our country, she firmly believes in placing individuals within their context and navigating the space with a genuine curiosity, being open to working through rupture with the clients in their therapeutic journey.
She believes every encounter is multicultural in nature and requires a certain sensitivity to be dealt with, and strives to bring that in. Her interest further extends into decolonization of psychotherapy.
In her down time you’d find her with a strong cup of filter coffee, engaging with music, art and literature that challenge her perspective to make way for a broader, integrated lens to surf through the endless tides of life.
Sanskriti is fluent in English and Hindi.
She is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Saamiksha holds an MSc in Clinical Psychology. She draws from a client centered approach in her therapy practice. Being neurodivergent herself, she aims to make mental health more intersectional and inclusive by aiming to be queer affirmative, trauma informed and anti caste, along with providing clients the space to just be themselves.
She has previously worked with young adults in educational & rehabilitative spaces and hospitals.
She is fluent in English and Hindi and understands Punjabi and Kashmiri.
She is available for sessions online
She/Her.
Mini has completed my Masters in English Literature from Kerala University, and Counselling Psychology from TISS, Mumbai. She has been practicing as a therapist for the last 8.5 years. She also works with couples for issues like anxiety, depression, performance anxiety etc.
Trained as a family centered practitioner, she brings a systemic lens to client issues. Although mainly rooted in a client centered paradigm, the therapeutic space is customized to suit the needs and requirements of the client.
Her additional qualifications include Diploma in Buddhist Psychology & level 1 EMDR. She is also currently pursuing her PhD from TISS, Mumbai.
She speaks Malayalam, Hindi and English
She is available for sessions online
She/Her.
Maithili holds an MSc. in Psychology (Clinical) from Montfort College, Bangalore. She is inclined towards a client-centered, strengths-based, collaborative, and inclusive approach to supporting clients through challenges. She believes in a holistic approach to well-being and aspires to create accessible, safe spaces for authentic sharing and healing. She is interested in using the arts as a therapeutic tool for processing emotions.
On a personal level, she loves warm sunny days and spending time in nature. She explores all things artsy when given the chance and enjoys chilling with friends, family, and of course fur babies.
She is fluent in English and can understand basic Hindi.
They are available for sessions online and offline in Jp Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/They Keren has a MSc. Clinical Psychology from Sampurna Montfort College, Bangalore. They identify themself as a Non-Binary Pansexual and connects more with people who identify themselves as queer and are questioning. She likes to use an integrative therapeutic approach. They are fluent in English and Malayalam and can understand both Kannada and Hindi. She is also currently researching how incarceration affects their family relationships. In her free time, she likes to bake and sell baked goods. She is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Saandra has a Masters in Counselling Psychology from Sampurna Montfort College, Bangalore. Using an eclectic approach, Saandra combines a person-centred approach with the feminist lens, drawing from psychodynamic therapy, existential therapy, and various cognitive-behavioural approaches in her practice. She is trauma informed, kink aware, and queer affirmative. She works with individuals of all ages, couples, as well as families.
Outside of therapy, Saandra researches kink, chronic pain, disability, and also film. She loves teaching, and has a million hobbies (because: neurodivergence) that range from reading full-length novels overnight to making a 7-course meal entirely from scratch. She also spends a lot of time obsessing over sci-fi, comic books, and physics. Rest assured, she always has a fun fact ready for you!
She firmly believes in the innate ability of a person to help themselves, learn and unlearn, mend unhealthy patterns, and build new behaviours and mindsets that allow them to thrive. Her goal is to empower her clients to recognise their resilience, strength, and purpose. To choose kindness every step of the way.
Saandra is fluent in English, Malayalam, and Hindi.
She is available for sessions online and in-person in JP Nagar.
She/Her.
She has a MA in Clinical Psychology and work as a counseling psychologist. Her approach to therapy is eclectic, rooted primarily in existential therapy.
She is extremely passionate about the continuous evolution of mental health and learning newer forms of therapy to assist and improve the quality of life for people struggling with mental illnesses. She aims to be trauma-informed, empathetic, and queer affirmative.
Apart from having a passion for psychology and the wonders of the human mind, you’ll find her either playing with her dog or keeping up with pop culture. She is also a huge binge-watcher and a lover of dad jokes.
She is available for sessions online and on request, in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her Radhika has a Masters in Counselling Psychology from Christ University. She works primarily with adults and has experience working with anxiety, depression, trauma, relational issues, and gender & sexuality. Her approach to therapy is humanistic, borrowing largely from psychoanalytic, gestalt, and narrative theories. Radhika endeavours to create a brave space for her clients to be their authentic selves. She believes in the importance of intersectionality in her practice and brings her lived experience in affirming queer clients. In her free time, you will find Radhika petting animals on the street, and singing along to the theme songs of her favourite TV shows. She is fluent in English and Hindi, and understands Kumaoni. She is available for sessions online.
They/Xe/Any
Acquilin is a 2nd Year student of M.Sc. Counselling Psychology at Sampurna Montfort College, Bengaluru. They are queer, leftist, neurodivergent, and live with chronic conditions. So if you're on your journey to explore these aspects of yourself, they'll be glad to walk with you.
Applying a blend of Humanistic, Existential, REBT, and SFBT approaches, they use an anti-caste, anti-majoritarian, and anti-capitalist lens in their therapy. Feel free to say hi to them in the Chronic Illness & Pain support group that they co-facilitate here at AltStory.
When they're not here or in college, you can find them at home curled up with their two cats or online in the recesses of the internet. They're a sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, science and philosophy nerd and are always seeking whispers from the universe.
They are available for sessions online and offline in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
He/Him
Manu is a postgraduate student of Psychology from IGNOU. He has been a civil engineer and an entrepreneur prior to this.
Being perceptive of people’s stories, especially the parts that are unseen and a curiosity of people’s psyche made him feel drawn to psychology in his 30s.
In his therapeutic stance, Manu is drawn towards humanistic and narrative approach. Having read Babasaheb and reflected on his own lived experiences, his stance of being anti-caste, atheist and feminist have solidified over the years.
Apart from psychology, Manu is interested in cooking, baking and reading. His primary love language is making food for his loved ones.
He is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Gayathri holds an MSc. in Counselling Psychology from Christ University, Delhi.
She has focused on working with adolescents and adults who are navigating various mental health issues. She has experience assisting clients with adjustment difficulties, occupational stressors, academic concerns, self exploration, painful thoughts and feelings, and anxiety.
Her empathetic and person-centred approach forms the core of her therapy sessions. By creating a safe and accepting space, she aims to help people explore their authentic selves without judgment.
In her therapeutic practice, Gayathri borrows from various modalities, but lends majorly from the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) perspective. She also aspires to incorporate the narrative and existential approach in her sessions. With a firm belief in positive psychology, Gayathri believes in a strength-based perspective as opposed to harm-reduction approach.
When she is not scrolling through social media for funny videos of animals, she is often trying to catch up on the manga One Piece or learn unimportant facts from Google.
She is fluent in English, Hindi, and Tamil and can understand Marathi.
She/Her.
Smriti has a MSc. Counselling Psychology from Sampurna Montfort College, Bangalore. She is inclined towards a postmodern narrative approach in therapy, using a trauma-informed, queer-friendly and feminist lens.
She has experience working with young and middle-aged adults on a variety of interpersonal and intrapersonal issues. Smriti enjoys spending time with her family, going on long walks and writing prose-poetry.
She is fluent in English and is conversant in Tamil, Hindi and Kannada.
She is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Yoshita holds an MSc. in Counselling Psychology from Montfort College, Bangalore.
She believes and seeks to create a therapeutic journey that empowers a person and brings about a positive and optimistic outlook towards self. Every individual is valued and so are their experiences. She is inclined towards incorporating person-centred approach, CBT/REBT framework as well as post-modern approaches focusing on Solution Focused Brief Therapy.
She hopes to create a space and journey where a person sees the strength within themselves.
Being a pet lover, she enjoys the company of pets. She loves listening to music and grooving, gardening and a little bit of painting.
She is fluent in English, Kodava (Coorgi) and Hindi and can understand Kannada.
They are available for sessions online and offline in Jp Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Sonia has a Masters in Psychology, with a Clinical specialisation from Montfort College, Bangalore.
She is passionate and motivated to make mental health more ethical, accessible and reliable. She has a humanistic approach to therapy and borrows from narrative and gestalt theories. She understands the importance of being empathetic and intersectional and practises evidence based therapies eclectically with a queer friendly and feminist lens.
Apart from being passionate towards Psychology, she aims to blend expressive arts into her therapeutic process. She navigates life with curiosity and believes every bad joke is a hidden gem. A collector of hobbies, she loves embroidery and singing with her ukulele in her free time.
Sonia is fluent in English, Hindi and Marathi.
She is available for sessions online and in person in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Amrita has a MSc. Counselling Psychology from Montfort College, Bangalore. She primarily uses a postmodern approach in therapy, employing narrative and feminist lenses along with being trauma-informed and queer affirmative.
She has previously worked with children in a Juvenile Center and has experience with young and middle-aged adults. She believes in creating a collaborative safe space of warmth and comfort.
When she is not reflecting on Mental Health, she values conversations that spark insight in her and lives in an alternate universe of being at a beach, watching anime, listening to music, and dancing her heart out.
Amrita is fluent in English and Hindi and understands Bengali and Marathi.
She is available for sessions online
She/Her.
Anmol has a MSc Psychology. Her work focuses on helping you navigate your feelings and offer a path forward with her partners, ZZ Hadid and Morgan Treeman (her plants)
She/Her.
Laksha holds an MSc in Counseling Psychology from Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru, where she gained comprehensive training in her field. Specializing in working with adolescents and adults, she focuses on addressing anxiety, career-related challenges, and matters of gender and sexuality.
Embracing a humanistic approach to therapy, she incorporates a queer-friendly and feminist lens into her practice.
Committed to fostering a non-judgmental environment, Laksha offers her clients an empathetic space to embark on a journey of self-exploration. She strives to ensure effective communication and understanding with her diverse population.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Laksha manages a small business. When she's not engaged in her work, she cherishes quality time with her cats. Laksha finds solace in playing the guitar, and expressing her creativity through various forms of art.
She is fluent in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English.
They are available for sessions online.
She/Her.
Ritisha is a 2nd Year student of M.Sc. Counselling Psychology at Sampurna Montfort College, Bengaluru. She's queer, neurodivergent and from a Malayali-Nyshi background. She applies a Humanistic, strengths-based approach to therapy, while using a systemic lens.
A hot-chocolate connoisseur, she is always looking for a way to get attention from animals, recommending Mary Oliver and John Green to anyone that will listen, and uncontrollably remixing songs in her head. She believes the world runs on stories and is desperately curious to hear yours.
She is available for sessions online and offline in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
She/Her.
Nisha is a trainee counsellor, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology from Montfort College, Bangalore. She believes in taking a strengths-based approach with her clients, with a humanistic and existential lens.
Nisha prefers to work from an integrated approach, and each of her interventions is tailor-made for clients based on their unique concerns. She prefers to understand her clients from a holistic approach, emphasizing their stories, their struggles, and their successes over diagnoses and labels.
Nisha speaks English and Kannada. She can understand Hindi and Japanese. On her days off, she loves exploring all the vegetarian food options Bangalore has to offer, or kicking back with a good TV show (Her current obsession is Gilmore Girls).
She is available for sessions online and offline in JP Nagar, Bengaluru.