“What drives me is the understanding and reminder of what a privilege it is to be a part of another human being’s story, in a space so authentic and vulnerable.”

It’s not just Serene’s name that exudes calm. As a therapist, Kerala-born Serene has a warm humility and compassion that is endearing. On her LinkedIn profile, she calls herself a ‘student of life and human behavior.’ Like another of our MyndStories Reviewers, Ankita Magdani, Serene found her calling in mental health after a bit of a stint in the corporate world. As a finance professional, no less. 

Serene had always been interested in psychology and mental health but thought her career path lay in finance. Until she realized that it wasn’t. “I took a break and enrolled myself in an experiential training program in non-directive counseling, mostly out of curiosity and to further explore the strong sense of empathy I felt after having gone through my own journey with mental health. This was my introduction to the subject, and the fieldwork we were required to do as part of the course evoked an authenticity I hadn’t felt before in my work.”

Today, Serene is a practicing therapist and the co-founder of Reflective Conversations along with Asma Ansari. Reflective Conversations originally started as a FB page, a shared platform for them to explore ideas together and do something impactful. 

It has been a year since she started her therapy practice after a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from IGNOU. While client stories hold a special place in her heart, it’s a group experience that stands out in this short period. 

“We had wrapped up this workshop for a group of high school teachers, and there was a little something we planned for them as a giveaway. They all approached us, wanting us to sign off those goodies. We felt really embarrassed doing that for all those experienced teachers. What they told us has stayed with us till now–they said that it meant a lot to them that we chose to speak about their well-being and address their burnout, too, even though the topic was about their work with adolescents. Apparently, that is not something they get asked about often. It was quite a humbling and overwhelming experience,” Serene says. 

But being a therapist in a country where mental health is still stigmatized is difficult. The Deepika Padukone-founded non-profit The Live Love Laugh Foundation found in its 2018 report that 71% of Indians use words such as pagal or sanki to describe mental health illness.

Only about 10-12% of those who suffer from a mental health problem may seek help because of stigma. 

Serene knows that all too well when she admits that she, too, didn’t think of seeking help for her own mental health for a long time. Eventually, when she did, the support she received from her therapist helped her to become a mental health advocate during her college days. It’s not just stigma, though. Affordability is another concern in seeking mental health care. Serene is aware of this and says that Reflective Conversations tries to do its bit. 

“We offer a few free slots to children from underprivileged backgrounds whenever we plan group workshops. We are also planning to take up some monthly group outreach engagements in a tie-up with a charitable organization in our vicinity. In our therapy practice, too, we soon hope to open up some ‘pay what you can’ slots,”

Both Serene and Asma also work with children in groups, often trying to give them a 1:1 experience so that the idea of seeking professional support is not alien to them, with the hope that they will become mental health advocates in the future. Serene admits that finding her own way as a therapist has often been a huge challenge. It’s why she wants to do something to help new therapists find their way. “Much of our time has been focused on nurturing our practice and upskilling as early career practitioners,” she explains. Given her experience as a young adult navigating life transitions and self-exploration, Serene finds that most of her clients also tend to be young adults. But no matter their age, Serene acknowledges it’s a beautiful privilege to be part of another human being’s story. 

“This is not something I ever take for granted, and it does help me put things in perspective on a day when my self-doubt tries to get the better of me.”

And while therapy, like any other helping journey, can be gratifying, it can also be exhausting. Serene realized this about six months into her work as a therapist and made conscious efforts to care for her well-being. This includes journaling, therapy, singing, and breaking into a dappankuthu dance. (We checked and found that dappankuthu is a form of South Indian dance that can be a terrific stress-buster).

Ultimately, the learning never stops, Serene says. Not as a therapist and not as a student of life. 

If you find a therapist dancing with abandon somewhere, you might have just chanced upon the gentle, reflective Serene.