RHEA GANDHI PSYCHOTHERAPY

DURGA MENON

(she/her)

RELATIONAL PSYCHODYNAMIC PRACTITIONER

I view depth work as an opportunity to get acquainted with yourself through words rooted in insight-oriented self-reflection and the capacity for perspective-building. I view the self as an embodied, holistic living being that carries its own life when witnessed and held through an intersectional lens.

I believe distress is a part of our lives and the key to self-exploration starts with your life story. Our work will bring your patterns to life through our relationship, to help understand how they move, evolve and co-exist as parts that contribute to the self. In therapy, we can co-create a holding space for meaning-making together.

Our lived experiences of mental health are rich when insight is born from a 'self' that is relational and interconnected. I believe the bio-eco-psych-social-cultural lens is integral in experiencing therapy collaboratively.

QUALIFICATIONS

MSc. Psychology, Montfort College, Bangalore North University, Bengaluru (2016 - 2018)
B.A Psychology (Honours), Christ University, Bengaluru (2012 - 2015)

AREAS OF SUPPORT

Attachment History and Childhood Experiences
Interpersonal Dynamics (Relationships and group difficulties)
Gender and Sexuality (Queer Affirmative Support)

Self-exploration
Career Difficulties and Transitions
Navigating Life Transitions - Marital and Family Life

Anxiety (Performance anxiety, social anxiety)
Stress (Daily, Acute and Chronic)
Depression
Grief and Loss
Abuse and Trauma (Emotional, Financial & Sexual)

MY APPROACH

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Relational Practice:

Reflective thinking and insights are born from the (therapeutic) relationship co-created between us over time. Therapeutic conversations allow me to understand how your childhood patterns have shaped and aided you in coping so far. I complement my work by using the body, gestalt principles, psychoanalytic, and attachment lenses.

Democratic Therapeutic Community Methodology: The therapeutic alliance is rooted in the framework of the democratic therapeutic community Iens. I view you, the client as an equal contributor to the collaborative therapy process. Some of the values from the DTC approach that aid me in holding a therapeutic space are containment, balance, process-oriented dialogue, respect, and communication.

Non-diagnostic and Context-oriented: I rely on the client's psychosocial context and lived experiences of mental health, to facilitate the creation of vocabulary concerning a person's narrative and social location. This allows us to deepen your understanding of your distress with the endeavor to form an individualistic, nuanced grasp of one's inner world and personal history.
Trauma-informed and Queer-affirmative
BACP ethical guidelines contribute to how I hold therapeutic spaces responsibly as per the practice's guidelines.

LEARN MORE HERE

WORK EXPERIENCE

Psychotherapist, Rhea Gandhi Psychotherapy, July 2022 - present
Mosaic, Academic Therapeutic Group Facilitator, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, August 2023 - present
Mosaic, Academic Therapeutic Community Administrative Officer, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, November 2022 - May 2023
Sports Psychologist Trainee, Reliance Foundation Young Champs, Navi Mumbai, April 2019 - January 2021
Psychology Student Mentor, The Climber Pvt. Ltd (My Captain program), Bengaluru, September 2016 - March 2019
Research Assistant of Mind Matters Clinic, Bengaluru, June 2015 - March 2016

PUBLICATION

Menon, Durga.“The Possible Development of the Ideal Self through social networking site among adolescents”. In the Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing Volume 4, April, 2018 691-693.

CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

TRAINING

UNREAD Training Program (for mental health practitioners), Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru , September 2021 - February 2022 (Online)
Certificate in 'Working with Trauma', Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, April 2022 (Online)
Transactional Analysis (TA 101), International Transactional Analysis Association, Seed TLC, August 2022 (Online)
Risk Assessment and Management, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, September 2022 (Online)
Seminar on Trauma and Attachment, International Attachment Network, April 2023 (Online)
Queer Affirmative Counselling Practice, Mariwala Health Initiative, Bengaluru, May 2023 (Online)
Understanding Personality Disorders beyond Diagnosis, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, March - May 2024 (Online)
Psychoanalytic Reading Group, Reading Between the Lines with Reva Puri, Rhea Gandhi Psychotherapy, July 2023 - June 2024 (Online)
Here and Now: Gestalt as a daily practice with Shalini Rao (Queer Affirmative and Gestalt Practitioner), Bengaluru, July - August 2024 (Online)
Foundations of Outdoor and Adventure Therapy (Practitioner Training Course - hybrid), Adventure Works Australia and Qualia Outdoor Therapy India, Himachal Pradesh, September - November 2024
Attachment Theory and its Clinical Applications, International Attachment Network UK, January - November 2024 (Online)

THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY METHODOLOGY

Living Learning Experience (LLE), 3-day Transient Therapeutic Community, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, February - March 2025
Living Learning Experience (LLE), 3-day Transient Therapeutic Community, Hank Nunn Institute, Bengaluru, January 2024
TCTC core values, The Consortium for Therapeutic Communities (TCTC) UK, March 2024 (Online)
TC Practitioner Competencies: The 'Why' and the 'How', The Consortium for Therapeutic Communities (TCTC) UK, May 2024 (Online)

MEMBERSHIPS

Mosaic (Online Therapeutic Community), Member and Group Co-facilitator, Hank Nunn Institute, September 2021 - present
Association for Psychosocial Studies, Member, September 2022 - present
International Attachment Network (India Chapter), Member, IAN India, January 2025 - present