Raj Mariwala |  Director of Mariwala Health Initiative

Raj Mariwala is the Director of Mariwala Health Initiative, an advocacy, capacity building, and grant making organisation that focuses on accessible mental health for marginalised communities.  Currently, Raj is on the advisory council of Misfyt, a trans-youth led organisation and Being, an international youth mental health initiative.  Apart from this, they are a practising canine and feline behaviourist.

Dr. Aruna Jha |  Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin

Dr Aruna Jha is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater in the Social Work department. Prior to this position, she worked for 6 years at the Veterans Administration of which three were as suicide prevention coordinator. Dr. Jha has been active in suicide prevention for 30 years and is a Master Trainer for QPR. She is fluent in several languages and has lived and worked in India, Germany and Sweden prior to migrating to the US in 1984. This rich international experience informs Jha’s approach to suicide prevention training highlighting the impact of cultural values, social factors and mental illness on suicidal ideation and behavior. Her research focuses on acculturation and life transitions as risk factors for suicide in communities of color, with a particular focus on suicide in youth. Dr. Jha has a Ph.D. in Social Work and graduate degrees in Child Development, Mental Health Counseling and Social Work. She is a practicing clinician and regularly presents workshops on suicide prevention and surviving suicide loss and bereavement in clinicians.

Dr. Soumitra Pathare   |  Psychiatrist and Director at the Center for Mental Health Law and Policy

Psychiatrist and Director at the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy. Dr. Pathare works at the intersection of mental health systems, rights-based legislation and community-led suicide prevention. He played a key role in shaping India’s Mental Health Care Act and leads large-scale programs advancing care access and policy reform.

Irina Ungureanu  |  Somatic therapist and Educator

Somatic therapist and educator specializing in complex trauma, suicidal distress and mood disorders. Co-creator of the Suicide Attention Training, grounded in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry. Irina brings a trauma-informed, body-based approach to suicide care, supporting both individuals in crisis and professionals working at the frontlines of mental health.

Alok Sarin | Clinical Psychiatrist

Alok Sarin, a practicing Clinical Psychiatrist in New Delhi, is interested in medicine, psychiatry, ethics, society, history and literature. He has been in active clinical practice since 1985 and is currently an Honorary Consultant to the Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi. He is today, one of the most senior and highly regarded clinicians in the country.

He is also someone who has effectively been bridging the gaps between practice, academia and mental health activism and has been at the forefront of debates on ethics and equity in practice.

He has been actively engaged with various Non-Governmental Organisations across the country.

Dr. Shekhar Seshadri   |  Child Psychiatrist and Former Senior Professor at NIMHANS

Child psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience and Former Senior Professor at NIMHANS. Dr. Seshadri focuses on trauma, gender and life skills, bringing creative approaches—like theatre and play—to mental health care. He has advised national programs supporting children in vulnerable circumstances across India and South Asia.

Hvovi Bhagwagar |  Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist

Hvovi Bhagwagar is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience in trauma recovery and mental health care. She is the founder of Manashni, a trauma-informed practice in Mumbai, and holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Her work focuses on complex trauma, dissociative disorders, and personality and mood conditions, using EMDR, parts work, and attachment-based approaches. She also trains and supervises mental health professionals across India, and serves on the faculty of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). She is a Founding Board Member of the Mental Health Support Foundation, which promotes inclusive, community-based mental health care.

Her academic contributions include research on secondary traumatic stress among Indian psychotherapists, and her work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals, national conferences, and mainstream media.

Dr. Adithy  | Counseling Psychologist

​Adithy, PhD, is a Counseling Psychologist in Pune, India, involved in education, prevention, intervention, and postvention work in the field of mental health. She has contributed particularly to empowering mental health workers in suicide prevention and survivor support, psychosocial support after disasters, addressing pandemic crisis and trauma healing. She is a fellow, faculty and board member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).

Sandy Dias Andrade | Mindfulness & Presence Oriented Psychotherapist

Sandy is an internationally certified MBCT teacher and specializes in Mindfulness and Presence Oriented processes and its applications in the field of therapy, education, organizations, suicide prevention and intervention. She also specializes in somatic-based work especially with attachment or developmental trauma in adults.

She has been closely associated with Connecting Trust in various roles as volunteer, mentor, trainer and co-managing trustee over 20 years. She initiated its helpline in 2008 and designed and co-developed it’s extensive Mindfulness-Based Active Listening training for volunteers. She has also supported other suicide prevention organizations in the country and provides trainings in holding listening and grief circles. She also supports educational institutions and organizations in postvention (when there has been a loss due to suicide).

She is a guest and visiting faculty at various institutions including TISS and FLAME University, St. Mira's College, SP College and Pune University. She runs two long-term programs in Presence Oriented Psychotherapy for mental health professionals and Mindfulness Based Counseling (Listening with Embodied Presence) at the Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence where she is the founder-director.

Dr. Harini Rawal |  Mindfulness & Presence Oriented Counselor

Harini is an associate counselor at the Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence. With extensive experience in individual and group therapy, she also supervises and teaches in the Mindfulness-Based Counseling Program and Presence Oriented Psychotherapy Program. She regularly facilitates Grief Circles and was instrumental in a long-term grief support program during COVID and also supports individuals and institutions dealing with suicide loss.

Harini holds a Master's degree in Social Work and a Doctoral Degree in Education from ‘University of Twente, Netherlands’. Harini also works in the area of strengthening leadership in education and child development.

Bindumadhav Khire | Founder- Director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation

Bindumadhav Khire is the Founder- Director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation. He is a LGBTIQ rights activist, legal consultant, and counsellor working closely with the police, Child Welfare Committee, and other departments. He is the director of the Annual Mooknayak Marathi LGBTIQ Literary Festival, Pune. He worked in the capacity of project director on important projects like HIV/AIDS Targeted Intervention Project, Pehchan Project. As former president of Samapathik Trust, he set up and ran a helpline on sexuality and HIV/AIDS for the organisation. He has authored many LGBTIQ booklets, English Manuals, English books, and Marathi books based on the LGBTIQ community, their issues, legal rights, inclusion, and related topics.

Sachin Chitambaran |  President - Befrienders Initiative

​Sachin Chitambaran is the President of Befrienders Initiative, a leading organization for 14 emotional support and suicide prevention helplines in India, and Co-founder of Ankahee Suicide Prevention Helpline. He also founded and serves as Director of Training at The Connect Hut, and previously served as the Assistant Director of Training and Development at The Samaritans Mumbai (India, 1968). With over 15 years of experience, Sachin is an expert in active listening, emotional support, and suicide prevention. He is also a certified Suicide Prevention Gatekeeping Instructor by the QPR Institute, Washington, USA.

Dr. Teena Augustine Joseph   |  Mental Health Professional

Dr. Teena Augustine Joseph is a mental health professional with over 15 years of experience in therapy, training and supervision. A certified QPR trainer and EMDR practitioner, she has led large-scale training initiatives, helpline operations and program design in suicide prevention and psychological first aid. She is the founder of Being Balanced Consultancy Ventures and consults widely across academic, corporate and clinical settings.

Nairuti Trivedi | Clinical Psychologist

Nairuti Trivedi is a trained Clinical Psychologist with a post graduation in Clinical Psychology. She has fourteen years of experience in the field of Mental Health. She has worked with young adults and adults from diverse backgrounds across different contexts, including the University, Cancer Centre, Transplant Units, Miniversity for children, and Multispecialty Hospital. She has also worked with Non-Governmental Organisations as a Volunteer-Teacher. Her work area is focused on bringing new approaches and fresh perspectives to the idea of emotional health and wellness such as mindfulness and body work. Her work is grounded in psychodynamic-relational therapy, attachment theory and Internal Family Systems, using the presence of a therapist as a significant tool.
A core part of her work involves building resources with clients to support their physiology, alongside working together with them on better ways of coping with difficult situations. She strongly believes that 'anyone who reaches out is simply another human being and not a cluster of signs and symptoms; what sits on the table between the two is care and human connection.