SHEILA BHARAT

Associate Clinical Social Worker

Supervisor: TBD

I believe in the transformational power of psychotherapy, and am eager to work alongside you whether you’ve done this before, or are trying therapy for the very first time. I come to this work as an immigrant, bilingual (English/Russian) therapist, and am guided by the values of abolition. My therapeutic approach is trauma-informed, relational, and psychodynamic - this means we will spend time forming our relationship in order to better understand your relational patterns and reflect together on what purpose they serve. I also pull from DBT, and somatic approaches. My style is warm and playful (yes, we’ll laugh), and my practice is informed by a non-judgemental and strengths-based approach.

A large portion of my work has been supporting BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and immigrant adolescents, adults, and elders. I offer support with treating depression, anxiety and PTSD and have experience working with clients struggling with ambiguous loss, migration and cultural adjustment, queer identities, ongoing impacts of racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia/classism/xenophobia, relationship issues, sexual trauma and psychedelic experience integration. I approach each client with deep curiosity about what makes you you, and honor the ways you have had to adapt to get you this far. Together, we will be able to take a closer look at the things that serve you, and work on letting go of the ways of being that you have outgrown.

I welcome open communication and feedback, and encourage you to tell me when something doesn’t sit right with you or isn’t working. If after starting our work together you feel we aren’t a good match, I will work with you to get you connected to a therapist who will be. I also recognize that therapy has its limits. I don’t believe in placing the responsibility to heal upon the individual in a society permeated with inequality and oppression, and I want us to be able to openly talk about these limitations. My job is to be here with you until we press up against those limits, and send you off with more self-awareness, self-compassion, and tools for managing your well-being.

education:

M.S. Social Work, Columbia University in the City of New York
B.A. Sociology, Psychology, Mount Holyoke College