I grew up the youngest child of a conservative Muslim family in a crowded corner of Mumbai, India. I was able to go to university thanks to the indulgence of my family. It was a privilege that eluded most of my female cousins and friends. There, sitting in my first “Philosophy of Religion” class, I felt the rug pulled from under me when I saw my sacred beliefs challenged for the first time. As I became exposed to ideas and narratives from around the world, I found myself yearning to break free of my conditioning and my orthodox upbringing to find my authentic, unapologetic self.

It sparked off a journey that took me far away from home in the literal as well as figurative sense. I escaped to Goa to get a master’s degree in child psychology. Along the way, I was forced to confront the best and worst of myself. I had to learn to give voice to my feelings and preferences. I had to find new models of love and relationships with healthy boundaries and mutual support. I had to build a whole new value system from scratch, which required me to reexamine everything I thought I knew about the world and about myself. I was lucky to have the love and support of my partner and countless friends and mentors along the way.

I volunteered for a while at a school for special needs children run by a Swiss organization in the Indian Himalayas. There at Munsel, resources were always in short supply and yet the dedicated team of teachers and caregivers managed to transform the quality of life of more than two dozen children by teaching them valuable life skills. The bonds I shared with those kids reaffirmed that I had found my life’s work in helping people navigate the world.

In 2021, I came to Vancouver to study for a second master’s degree in counselling. Canada opened my world to a whole new set of ideas, practices and mentors. I was fortunate to complete an internship at Numinus, which provided counselling services out of their offices on Commercial Drive, as well as pushing the envelope of psychedelic-assisted therapy in North America. I later had the opportunity to work with Advance Concussion Clinic at their clinics in Vancouver and Surrey, helping people recover after life-changing injuries that affected memory, physical ability and sense of self.

I continue to provide counselling services to clients in the Greater Vancouver Area.