Conversations with a Mental Health Professional
As #mentalhealthawarenessmonth is coming to an end, I wish to remind everyone that tending to your mental health and emotional wellbeing is an everyday practice. Today I speak to my dear friend Ashika Jain about her journey as a Mental Health Professional. Ashika is one of kindest women I have met - subtlety in her voice, grace in her step and generosity in her actions is part of her soulful personality. Have a read about her learnings!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself
Hello, my name is Ashika Jain and I am a Mental Health Professional. I have been practising as a psychotherapist and counseling psychologist for over 3 years. I enjoy meeting new people, having stimulating conversations and spending time outdoors photographic scenic blue skies.
2. What do you enjoy about your Profession?
The nuances of the mind’s workings have always intrigued me. I enjoy the deep connections that I get the privilege to form, with the people I work with. I enjoy and feel privileged in witnessing the sheer resilience of human beings. But most of all, I enjoy beholding the journeys of growth and healing that people take.
3. Let’s zoom back, Can you describe a few challenges you faced while finding your first internship at Ummeed Child Development Centre?
It was tough, I had just moved to a new city (Mumbai) and didn’t know very many people (from the field of psychology or otherwise). I relied heavily on LinkedIn and friends of friends to connect me with people from my field. I was lucky to have met some very generous people.
4. How was your experience at Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families, London? What was your biggest learning?
My experience at the Anna Freud Centre was phenomenal; it was part of my Master’s program at University College London (UCL) and I got the opportunity to attend lectures in Anna Frued’s personal library! I got to learn from pioneers in the field and build my theoretical and clinical knowledge, it was wonderful.
One of my biggest learnings was the fortification of the idea of ‘nuance’ in mental health - there is no one size fits all.
5. How did your several internships help you gauge the industry and build connections that eventually led you to your own private practice?
I interned at several places - from hospitals to private clinics and NGOs; with several people - from psychiatrists to clinical & counseling psychologists and psychotherapists. All of my experiences taught me vital things not only about the field, but also about my interests. As a mental health professional in India, it is imperative to learn about the cultural, social and structural contexts within which mental health care is delivered - it teaches you so much about the industry.
As for building connections, each place I worked at, I have met and made connections with colleagues and mentors who have all eventually helped me build my private practice - either directly by way of referrals or indirectly by way of giving me strength and courage.
6. What learnings did you take from your internship at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital?
During my time at LTMGH, I worked closely with psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and a psychiatric social worker - this was an incredibly rich learning experience. It was a space that provided complete mental and psychological healthcare and I got to witness the fields of psychiatry and psychology (clinical and counseling) work together in harmony to provide mental health care to the marginalized/underprivileged.
7. Would you want to change your journey of navigating through the different internships? If so, how and why?
In hindsight, all things just seem to align somehow, but if I had to, I would have liked to have found these internships quicker so I wouldn’t have had to struggle in between internships to find the next one.
8. Any advice you would like to give recent graduates, especially those who are finding it difficult to navigate and find a path, especially amidst a pandemic?
Firstly I’d like to empathize with them. Finding educational/helpful internships in this field is hard enough, and now with the pandemic things have become tougher. As for advice I would encourage recent graduates to wait for and find quality internships and not worry about the number of internships. Here, quality > quantity.
9. How did your different volunteer experiences shape you not only professionally but also personally?
Well, my experiences have taught me things important for both personal & professional life, like building connections, the value of continued learning, and the power of living an authentic life.
