Our Team
Pause for Perspective was christened in 2015. It was founded by Dr.Aarathi Selvan PhD. who had an established private practice since 2010.
We are a team of clinical psychologists, psychological counselors, counselling psychologists and educationists who offer space and presence for the unfolding of human experience. We help individuals understand themselves, live intentionally, resist the impact of trauma, anxieties and life’s challenges to access preferred territories of our lives. We offer one-on-one counseling and psychotherapy, group counseling, family, couples counseling as well as counseling for children. We also work with clients online.
Pause, as we lovingly call our space, supports several non-governmental organizations and collectives in Hyderabad and around the country.
Our approach combines several modalities of counseling and therapy. Our team is trained in Mindfulness and Narrative Practices. We integrate our work with other modalities of psychotherapy such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Developmental Model of Couples work, Relational Life Therapy, Imago therapy, EMDR, Attachment perspective, Gestalt and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.
Manasi Apte
She/Her
Manasi is a fellow and a Mental Health Practitioner. Manasi’s work is grounded in the expansiveness of human experience, with a client-centred, eclectic, queer-affirmative approach beyond pathologising frameworks. Informed by therapeutic modalities, somatic practices, alternative pedagogies, and lived experience, she works with adolescents and adults navigating grief, anxiety, body image concerns, abuse, incarceration, addiction, family conflict, and relational challenges.
Sarayu Narayan
She/Her
Sarayu is a mental health worker and fellow in the Embodied Social Justice in Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective, with an MA in Applied Psychology from TISS Mumbai. She works with adults through queer-affirmative, neurodivergent-affirmative, trauma-informed, eclectic, systemic, non-pathologising, justice-oriented therapy, supporting concerns around anxiety, self-esteem, body image, work, relationships, queerness, and neurodivergence.
Parvathy
She/Her
Parvathy is a fellow and a neuroqueer therapist, writer, and social justice advocate whose lived experience informs her relational, trauma-informed, liberationist practice. She works with queer, ADHD, neurodivergent, and trauma-impacted clients across individual, couple, family, and alternative relationship contexts, drawing from integrative, depth-oriented, harm-reduction approaches rooted in feminist, anti-caste, anti-capitalist, and youth-liberationist values through collaborative, gentle curiosity and care.
Aishwarya Naik
She/Her
Aishwarya is a mental health practitioner at Pause for Perspective and fellow in the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health program. She brings experience as a counselling psychologist, mental health educator, community facilitator, and qualitative researcher. Her integrative, insight-oriented practice supports adolescents and young adults through emotional exploration, meaning-making, relational reflection, and intersectional care.
Manasi Auti
She/Her
Manasi is a mental health practitioner and a fellow in the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Program. Manasi’s whose work is grounded in trauma-sensitive, narrative, and relational approaches informed by social justice values. She has worked with children, adolescents, and young adults across educational, community, and mental health settings, supporting concerns related to identity, belonging, relationships, grief, anxiety, self-worth, life transitions, and experiences of marginalisation. Her practice centres curiosity, care, and collaboration, creating space for people to explore their stories, strengths, and values with dignity and context.
Ananda CN
They/She
Ananda is a Mental Health Worker and a fellow in the Embodied Social Justice in Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective at Pause for Perspective. They work with individuals, groups, and communities and towards grounding their practice in social justice, anti-caste, anti-oppressive, neuro and queer-affirmative frameworks.
Dr. Ponni Arasu Ph.D.
She/her
Ponni Arasu is a Tamil, queer feminist Expressive Arts Therapist whose work is grounded in embodied social justice, trauma-informed practice, and a deep awareness of oppression, hierarchy, and collective liberation. Drawing from her experiences as a historical anthropologist, lawyer, theatre practitioner, activist, and translator, she integrates expressive arts, Jungian perspectives, and Tantric principles of interdependence, radical equality, and situated awareness into her therapeutic work. She primarily practices in Tamil and is a co-founder of the Tamil Speaking Therapeutic Practitioners Network.
Neeraj Kumar
They/Them
Rooted in anti-oppressive, feminist, queer-affirmative, and anti-caste frameworks, they bring 10 years of therapeutic experience across diverse global contexts. Their integrative and psychodynamic practice is supported by ongoing supervision. They have facilitated trainings in crisis intervention, counseling skills, queer-affirmative and anti-oppressive practice, and bring research, teaching, and interdisciplinary training to their work as a therapist.
Bavani Pasala
She/Her
Bavani is a mental health advocate who roots her practice in the concept of mental justice, where mental health is a matter of social justice. She holds an intersectional, rights-based, and anti-oppressive stance, strongly believing that therapeutic spaces are actively political, as hope and healing cannot be found in isolation from the systems we navigate and the communities we form.
Sanjana Satapathy
She/Her
Sanjana Satapathy is a full time therapist at Pause for Perspective. Her therapeutic work often explores themes around autonomy and control, identity, interpersonal struggles, emotional regulation, self-worth, and family conflict.
Mahathi Rajesh
She/Her
Mahathi draws from a narrative and existential approach, prioritizing trauma-informed care. She has worked in community-based settings, supporting individuals from marginalized caste, gender, and religious backgrounds through trauma-informed self-care sessions. In residential elder-care contexts, she has designed and facilitated therapeutic activities to enhance emotional, cognitive, and social well-being in older adults.
Niyati Tayade
She/Her
Neeyati is a therapist and researcher who approaches mental health through a political and intersectional lens. As an Ambedkarite and Buddhist, her practice is rooted in anti-caste, feminist, and decolonial values.
Neeyati is particularly committed to supporting queer individuals and people from caste-oppressed backgrounds.
Aditi Singh
She/Her
Aditi Singh is a therapist who supports adolescents, couples and families, and older adults. Aditi has worked with people from many different backgrounds, including survivors of domestic violence, those from marginalized communities, and individuals from low-income settings.
Subha Kher
She/Her
Subha Kher (She/her) Subha is a psychotherapist at Pause for Perspective. She is a trauma-informed practitioner whose work is shaped by intersectionality and a social justice framework. Subha has worked with children, adolescents, and adults across clinical and community-based settings. She has supported individuals navigating anxiety, grief, trauma, substance use, relational concerns, and gender-based violence.
Ananya Batra
She/Her
Ananya Batra is a Consultant Therapist at Pause for Perspective who thrives on building safe, compassionate, and collaborative therapeutic spaces. She brings in a disability-affirming lens to her work, with the intention of making therapy inclusive and accessible to people from all walks of life.
Promodhni Suresh
She/her
Promodhini became a counsellor out of a deep curiosity about how minds and bodies shape perception, emotion, and action.
She has three years of experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Her work is trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, queer-affirming, and grounded in social justice. She offers therapy in Tamil and English.
Namrata Ajmani
She/her
Namrata is a Consultant Counselling Psychologist who offers therapy as a slow, gentle, and collaborative process. Her work is trauma-informed and social-justice-oriented, drawing from Narrative Therapy and Internal Family Systems. She integrates art, literature, music, and film when relevant. She offers sessions in English and Hindi.
Bhanuja Peddu
She/Her
Bhanuja is a Mental Health Practitioner and Consultant at Pause with over six years of experience. Her work draws from mindfulness-based approaches, narrative practices, and trauma-informed care. She works with children, young adults, and couples, centring community care and collaborative, context-aware therapy. She offers sessions in Telugu, English, and Hindi.
Krishna Priya
She/her
Krishna Priya practices from a social-justice-informed lens, offering therapy as a safe and nurturing space for exploration and growth. She values collaboration and views therapy as a shared learning process grounded in empathy, active listening, and mutual respect. Her work centres personal stories and contexts. She offers sessions in English, Telugu, and Hindi.
Trisha Reddy
She/her
Trisha is a consultant mental health worker and PFP fellow working with adults, young people, couples, and communities. Her practice is grounded in social justice, anti-oppressive and caste-aware frameworks, drawing from narrative, mindfulness, and humanistic approaches. She offers trauma-sensitive, neuro-queer-affirmative therapy in collaborative, context-responsive spaces, and works in Telugu, English, and Hindi.
Divya Raj
She/Her
Divya is a Clinical Psychologist, mindfulness practitioner, and narrative therapist working with individuals, couples, parents, and geriatric clients. She also practices Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and offers clinical supervision. Her approach centres on how systems shape lives and supports intentional living. She offers sessions in Telugu and English.
Batul Hussain
She/Her
Batul is an individual therapist with over three years of experience. Her work is guided by narrative practices and trauma- and grief-informed approaches, with a strong curiosity about people’s lives and the stories shaping them. She is interested in nature-based therapy alongside traditional practices. She offers sessions in English, Hindi, and Gujarati.
Eera Vishnoi
She/Her
Eera is a psychologist at Pause for Perspective. She specialises in seeing children and adults. She works within school communities and with marginalised communities as well.
Manasi Udgirkar
She/her
Manasi is a Mental Health Worker. She was a Fellow at Pause for Perspective. She currently works with adults and young people in individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy.
BN Gayathri
She/her
Gayathri is a mental health worker and completed the fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She works with adults and young people in individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy.
Dr. Rachana Chollangi
She/her
Dr. Rachana is a Neuroqueer surgeon and mental health professional who works with individuals, communities and spaces to make mental health and medical care accessible, affirmative and anti oppressive.
Sammy Sahni
She/Her
Sammy is an expressive arts therapy practitioner at Pause for Perspective. She specialises in seeing children, family and individuals. She works within school communities and with marginalised communities as well.
Meherin Roshanara
They/She
Meherin is a mental health worker and an individual therapist at Pause for Perspective. They have training in Narrative and Mindfulness practices. They work with queer, neurodivergent and c-ptsd individuals.
Anjali Alloria
She/They
Anjali Alloria is an Expressive Arts Practitioner and a Mental Health Worker at Pause for Perspective. She is current a Fellow at the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She sees children, adults, families and communities.
Nithya Sri Buragadda
She/Her
Nithya Sri Buragadda is a Mental Health Worker at Pause for Perspective. She is current a Fellow at the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She sees children, adults, families and communities.
Shwetha Kishore
She/Her
Shwetha Kishore is a Mental Health Worker at Pause for Perspective. She is current a Fellow at the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She sees children, adults, families and communities.
Ramya Shruti A
She/Her
Ramya Shruti is an Expressive Arts Practitioner, a medical professional and a Mental Health Worker at Pause for Perspective. She is current a Fellow at the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She sees children, adults, families and communities.
Nida Mir
She/They
Nida is a counselling psychologist and artist with over six years of experience in therapy and supervision. Her work is grounded in social justice and is anti-oppressive, queer-affirmative, anti-caste, feminist, neurodivergence-affirming, and trauma-informed. Drawing from person-centered and narrative approaches, she offers collaborative, emotionally safe therapy. She works in English, Hindi, and Dakhni.
Shazia Ahmad (She/her)
She/her
Shazia is an individual therapist with nearly five years of experience working with adolescents and adults across the lifespan. Her work is trauma-informed, intersectional, feminist, and queer-affirmative, drawing from mindfulness-based psychotherapy, CBT, DBT, ACT, and narrative approaches. She offers a caring, non-judgmental therapeutic space and works in Hindi, Urdu, and English.
Anjali Nambiar
She/Her
Anjali Nambiar is a Mental Health Worker at Pause for Perspective. She is current a Fellow at the Embodied Social Justice for Mental Health Fellowship at Pause for Perspective. She sees children, adults, families and communities.
Dr. Aarathi Selvan Ph.D.
She/They
Aarathi Selvan is the Founder-Director at Pause for Perspective. She is Clinical Psychologist, Counseling Psychologist and Mindfulness Practitioner, Supervisor and Teacher. She is also TEDxSpeaker