Meenakshi Kirtane

Roohdaar aka Meenakshi Kirtane is a passionate teacher, trainer and philosopher with a vision to develop robust and well-trained psychotherapists for India. She is the Founder of Maanas The Inside Story and has been training people to become psychotherapists for the last 2 decades. She believes in the power of personal transformation She works with the belief that all healing starts at home with ourselves first. She therefore encourages all her trainees to have an aware and continued joyful relationship with themselves.

She has been facilitating organisational heads, social workers, educators, professors, educational institution heads, couples and individuals to live life at their full potential. A certified Person Centered Therapist, she is also an accredited Psychodramatist with the Australian and Aotearoa Board of Psychodrama (AABP). In 2019, she founded the institute ‘Psychodrama in India’ (PiI) auspiced by AABP, for the training of psychodramatists. Meenakshi is the first Indian trainer to be a member of AABP. She believes in the psychodrama philosophy that we all heal and grow through mutual relationships. She helps participants translate their potential into everyday life. Whether it be relationship with one’s self, with significant others, or one’s work purpose, she helps people explore experientially, what provides them deep engagement with life.

Roohdaar is also a committed Yoga Sadhak and believes that an EXPANSIVE definition of SELF helps people optimize all their five layers of being. She encourages people to optimize their energy, wisdom and supreme consciousness layers to live a life of alignment and connection. She enjoys working with people from all walks of life with joy, kindness and warmth. She travels across the country to spread the light and empower others so that the wave of healing and transformation keeps expanding.

Sarita Shah

Sarita Shah is the Co-founder of Maanas The Inside Story and is also, Maanas’s Ahmedabad Centre Head and excels in in-depth personal work and training of therapists.

A Double Post Graduate in Psychology (Gujarat University) and Psychotherapy (IPMS, Mumbai), Ms. Shah specializes in individual counseling and family therapy and has been involved in training counsellors and psychotherapists on different modalities like person centered therapy and codependency model over the past 10 years.

Sarita believes that like a kaleidoscope, life offers each one of us beautiful and unique patterns that keep changing over time. It is accepting the change gracefully by letting the old go and welcoming the new that makes the journey fulfilling. She chooses to enjoy and learn from the ever-changing designs of life.

Begum Saiyed

Begum Saiyed is one of the founding members of Maanas The Inside Story. BM, as she is known in the organisation, holds a triple Master’s in this field. A Masters in Applied Psychology, a second in Psychotherapy and Counselling, and a third Master’s in Psychology and Counselling from United Kingdom.

At present she is working as Psychotherapist at Maanas The Inside Story. Her motive to be in this profession is to contribute in making the society a better place to live in. She believes that preventive is better than curative. Hence strives to be available in her own capacity as a therapist, for clients and other circles of influence that mold a human personality. A wealth of her own life experiences, provides her with an ability to understand common patterns and belief systems. The connections they have with an individual's personality and behaviour, which eventually affect most people in their life journeys.

She is a very passionate and dedicated therapist with more than a decade of experience in working and helping a number of community groups, couples and individuals. She also has experience in working with non profit organisations. She comes across as a very warm and compassionate person in her interaction and work with clients, as she lives by the motto ‘Be Humane to All Humans’. She works on the principle of the ‘Ripple Effect’ and believes in activating the core power and strength present within every individual to heal, grow and actualize.

Other than her work she is an ardent fan of music and cooking. She loves to listen to light music and experiment and introduce new recipes and cook for one and all with love.

Afrin Kachrajiwala

A masters’ in Clinical Psychology from Gujarat university and a Post Graduate in Counseling & Psychotherapy from Maanas Institute of Counseling Education and Research (MICER). Afrin is an experienced Psychotherapist associated with Maanas The Inside Story since almost a decade. The essence of her existence is to help and extend empathy, warmth, support and space to her clients in their journey towards change, healing and actualisation. With a desire to pass on her knowledge, she also is a faculty member in the programs run by the organization. She is well trained in the Person Centered Approach and as a step towards continuous professional development (CPD) she is under training as a psychodramatist with Psychodrama in India (PiI).

She believes that an individual's life experiences play a major role in understanding and building deep connections with self and others. In our life journey, feedback and criticism are inevitable, but their misinterpretation is the cause of disharmony in an individual's personality. She strives to co-travel with her clients in their journey to bring an equilibrium in her own capacity.

Other than being a compassionate therapist, Afrin excels and enjoys creating designer and intricate masterpieces out of plain fabric. She comes across as a very safe, warm and humane individual.

Roma Tayyibji

Roma has a bachelor's degree in Architecture from CEPT and has been practicing architecture professionally for the past 15 years. She has also done her Post Graduate Program in Counseling & Psychotherapy from MICER.

She deeply believes that, ‘an individual may be a product of his/her own experiences, but is at the same time, innately resourceful to be able to design one’s own experience/s and thereby create a life he/she truly wishes for. All it requires is to muster up the courage to take a journey-within’. She feels humbled to accompany individuals, for that significant stretch in their inner journeys, which enable them to heal, transform and grow.

With her philosophy that at the core of each individual resides immense beauty and strength, worthy of reverence, she has made it her mission to facilitate the nurturance of this very core.

“If ‘human-dignity’ is to be preserved, its restoration must start with the individual.”

Mansi Rami

A Master in Clinical psychology, Mansi Rami has completed Diploma in Counselling Psychology and Mental Health, from Gujarat University. She has also completed Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy from Maanas Institute of Counselling Education and Research (MICER).

She is currently working as a Psychotherapist at Maanas The Inside Story. Her focus areas include working with adolescents, young adults, adults, and people in their senior years. Previously, she has worked with Anand Niketan - Bhadaj (2015-16). She has also been a faculty member for Person Centered Therapy Courses.

Been trained into Person Centered Therapy (an approach by Carl Rogers), she has developed a deep resonance for it. Her wish is to get as empathetic as possible to understand how her client’s inner world functions. Thus, helping her to facilitate them in the best way possible for their growth.

She believes that in life, we all will keep facing challenges and it is human resilience that despite uncertainties and challenges, we all keep bouncing back in our own ways. She also feels that Healing and Happiness is a matter of choice.

Keep learning and growing!

Pooja Mehta

Pooja Mehta is a Double Graduate in Physics and Psychology and Post Graduate in Clinical Psychology (Gujarat University). Further she has completed her Diploma in counselling from St.Xavier's College. She also holds a Level I certification in Psychodrama from )yschodrama In India (PiI).

Currently, she is a counsellor at Maanas the Inside Story and she has experience in working with Young adults and adults. She was working as a College Counselor at DAIICT, Gandhinagar. She has been also involved in teaching counselling at Maanas.

Pooja is a Learner of life and a Believer of Divine Love. She lives by the saying, “DUSRO KI JAY SE PEHLE KHUD KO JAY KARE! She believes that our journey starts from within; when you LOVE and RESPECT your own existence and when you feel beautiful in your own eyes you start seeing people from the lens of Love, Respect and Humility".

Madhavi Vora

Madhavi has completed my Masters in Clinical Psychology and completed a Diploma in Counseling Psychology and Mental Health from Gujarat University and also Post Graduate Diploma in Counseling and Psychotherapy from Maanas Institute of Counseling Education and Research (MICER).

Previously, she had worked with Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust – Mumbai (Oct 2018 to June 2021) in the De-addiction center as Family Counselor.

From the years 2013-2015, she has been a faculty member for a counseling course in Smt. Laxmiben and Chimanlal Mehta Arts College (L and C Mehta) managed by Gujarat Law Society (GLS). Currently, she works as a Psychotherapist at Maanas the Inside Story.

She believes that every individual is unique in their own way and has a different personality, thoughts, emotions and perspective for life. And, we should respect their uniqueness and humanity. It is when we develop the skill of being non-judgmental towards all species, we accept ourselves and others as they are - remaining free from any judgements towards ourselves or others.

Shilpa Mridul

Shilpa Mridul is a therapist with a Master's degree in Counseling and Therapy, Specialised certifications in Auxiliary Ego in Psychodrama, Couples Counseling, and a Diploma in Art Therapy, Shilpa adeptly combines various therapeutic modalities to assist individuals in understanding themselves on a deeper level. As an artist herself, Shilpa recognises the therapeutic potential of creative expression and utilises powerful tools for self-discovery and healing. She views each individual's life journey as a complex interplay of patterns and triggers, and her approach is grounded in helping clients recognise and navigate these intricacies

Through a combination of Person Centred Therapy and innovative methods like Psychodrama, Art Therapy etc. Shilpa encourages her clients in developing insight into their thought patterns, behaviours, and emotional responses. She believes in empowering individuals to embrace change and live authentically, by fostering resilience and adaptive coping strategies. Shilpa's therapeutic philosophy is deeply rooted in the belief that everyone possesses the capacity for growth and self-realisation. By facilitating a safe and supportive environment for exploration and reflection, she encourages her clients to embark on a journey of self-discovery, resilience, and personal transformation.

Somya Bansal

A post graduate in Business Administration, Somya with her life experiences changed the course of her career. After realizing that she, as a person, wanted to be available for people, she pursued her Diploma in Student Counseling from Symbiosis Institute and then a certification course in Person Centered Therapy from Maanas-The Inside Story. She is right now getting trained as a Psychodramatist from Psychodrama Institute of India(Pii).

Somya highly believes in the philosophy of “seeing good in people”. She trusts that everyone has something good to offer, one only needs to tap that inner spirit. With empathy and active listening as her core values, she wants to create a space where each and every individual is valued and supported .

“Be the person who breaks the cycle. If you were judged, choose understanding. If you were rejected, choose acceptance. If you were shamed, choose compassion. Be the person you needed when you were hurt, not the person who hurt you. Vow to be better than what broke you—to heal instead of becoming bitter so you can act from your heart, not your pain”- Lori Deschene