I am a licensed medical doctor and have worked in several different subspecialities in psychiatry in the Helsinki region as a medical doctor, and as a general doctor in Finland, the UK and New Zealand. I am currently in training with the University of Helsinki to become a psychotherapist. Once I am a registered psychotherapist, I will be able to provide KELA subsidised psychotherapy in Finland. 

I have always had a passion for individual and group therapy and working with the international community.  This is the reason I am so eager to work at Compass Psychology, and why I applied for the integrative psychotherapy program with the University of Helsinki.

I have completed the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Skills training program created by the founder of DBT, Marsha M. Linehan, PHD, which is one of the main therapy modalities I offer at Compass Psychology. Research has shown DBT to be especially effective for clients struggling with impulsivity, self-harming tendencies and difficulties in regulating their emotions, such as those with borderline personality disorder (BPD). What is less commonly known, is that DBT is also used to treat clients with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and ADHD. 

I am interested in working with the neurodiverse community. I also have a special interest in working with clients belonging to minority groups, such as the immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ communities, but also Finns who feel they have an international mindset, or feel they never quite fit into the Finnish culture. 

While I am passionate about working within a scientific and evidence-based framework, I have a passion for spiritual psychology, and working with concepts related to spiritual beliefs.

As I am training to become a psychotherapist, I will be taking on clients with more complex mental health challenges and disorders.

These include:

• any acute mental health crisis,
• trauma and complex PTSD
• anxiety disorders such as social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• psychosomatic conditions (such as pain syndromes, chronic fatigue syndrome, stress-induced immune reactions such as urticaria) and unexplained medical conditions
• personality disorders
• substance abuse and other addictions
• eating disorders
• paranoid/ delusional and psychotic disorders.

Where necessary, I collaborate with the public health sector and specialized health care units in providing more client-centred and holistic health care.  

It is worth noting that I am not yet offering KELA subsidized psychotherapy, but therapy. I will be utilising my background as a doctor in psychiatry, however I will not be working in the full capacity as a medical doctor at Compass Psychology, so I will not write prescriptions nor write sick leave certificates.

Background

I have always been exposed to a diversity of cultures and languages as I was born to Indian parents and brought up in Austria. After completing the International Baccalaureate Diploma (high school diploma/ ylioppilastutkinto/ A-level equivalent) at the Vienna International School, I completed medical school training in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK. I first worked in the northeast of England and in acute medicine in New Zealand, before moving to Finland in 2009. As part of my research into trauma healing and working with the subconscious, I studied techniques and scientifically validated approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and also creative and body-based methods, such as somatic therapy and parts work (more specifically a therapy known as Internal Family Systems). Mindfulness is a core skill and component of several of these therapies, just as it is in DBT Therapy. I have also researched and attended workshops in group therapies such as group Gestalt therapy and Family Constellations, that make use of more creative approaches. I have completed courses in improvisation-based art forms that strengthen awareness of one’s thoughts, impulses and emotions when alone, and when interacting with others. These include the Meisner Technique, and (Inter)acting with the Inner Partner) (IWiP), the latter created by a psychologist and theater practitioner, Professor Ivan Vyskoçil.

Work Experience

• Compass Psychology since August 2023, doing individual therapy as well as group DBT
• In Finland working for HUS, child and adolescent psychiatry, adult psychiatry, neuro-and geriatric psychiatry – You can check my medical registration with JulkiTerhikki / Valvira at: https://julkiterhikki.valvira.fi/
• Acute Medicine, Capital and Coast District Health Board, New Zealand
• Medical residency (Foundation Program) with Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

My approach

I provide therapy for anyone who is struggling with a mental health issue, regardless of the cause, and who wants to improve their ability to regulate their emotions, connect with themselves and others on a deeper level, and therefore live a more fulfilled life.

My aims for therapy are to help you build self-trust, self-compassion and a kind presence with yourself, as I guide you in exploring your inner world. The end-goal is to increase desired/ positive emotions and increase resilience to life stressors. If your life feels like there is an insurmountable crisis, the aim is to to build distress tolerance, so that you do not engage in unhelpful or harming behaviours that intensify suffering. I want you to feel safer in your body, with your emotions, thoughts, and in your relationships. I want you to feel that you can cope with life, which is the foundation for thriving in life. 

My aim is that you learn these skills so effectively that you will not need me, and I become redundant!