Therapy for Indians in the UK
Therapy for Indians in the UK, with someone who gets both sides.
You built a life in Britain — the job, the visa, the flat with the good radiator. And some evenings it still feels like you're holding your breath. Therapy here is with an Indian counsellor who knows what that actually costs, and never needs the context explained.
What this can look like
The parts of UK life nobody warned you about
Waiting lists, and then cultural translation
NHS talking therapies can mean months of waiting — and when the appointment finally comes, you may spend half of it explaining what a joint family is, or why saying no to your parents is not a small thing. Here, the context is already in the room.
The quiet of British life
Polite colleagues, grey afternoons, weekends that feel too still. Nobody tells you how loud the silence can be after a childhood of neighbours, noise and someone always within shouting distance.
Visa pressure and the weight of proving it was worth it
The skilled worker visa, the dependants, the career that has to keep justifying the move. Every setback carries an extra question: was all of this a mistake? That pressure sits under the anxiety, and it needs naming.
Raising children between two cultures
Your kids are growing up British in ways that delight you and quietly ache. You want them to have what you had — the languages, the festivals, the grandparents — while they are becoming someone you are still learning to understand.
Family back home, always on your mind
The weekly call in the IST window. The ageing parents you are not there for. The guilt when something happens and you are a flight away, and the strange guilt when nothing happens at all.
None of this makes you ungrateful or broken. It makes you a person carrying two homes at once — and that is exactly what this work is for.
Working with Srividya
A therapist who has lived this life too
I'm Srividya. I was raised in India and have since lived in Canada, Switzerland, the US and now the UK — so the experience of building a life in Britain is not theoretical to me. I know the drizzly Sunday loneliness and the Sunday video calls home, from the inside.
Professionally, I hold a Master's in Counselling Psychology and a Master's in Public Health, with advanced training in CBT and DBT, and ten years of experience with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, burnout and relationship difficulties.
Clients often tell me the relief is immediate: you can mention your mother-in-law, your arranged marriage, your caste or your visa without a five-minute preamble. We start where you actually are.
How sessions work
Online, worldwide, on UK time
All sessions are online by secure video, so it doesn't matter whether you're in London, Leeds, Edinburgh or a village in Wales. Sessions run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and across the weekend, UK time.
We begin with a free 15-minute intro call — a chance to ask questions and see whether this feels like the right fit, with nothing to prepare and no obligation. Ongoing individual sessions are 55 minutes, with fees in GBP listed on the services page.
Helpful reading
Writing on life between cultures
Belonging · 6 min read
The loneliness nobody sees
You have colleagues, a WhatsApp group and weekend plans. You are also lonelier than you have ever been. Both things are true.
Identity · 7 min read
Belonging to two places at once
Too foreign here, too changed there. Identity abroad is not a problem to be solved, but it does need somewhere to be thought about.
Common questions
Asked often, answered honestly
Next stepBegin
You do not have to explain yourself from the beginning.
A free 15-minute call is a gentle way to begin and see whether this feels like the right fit. No obligation, and nothing to prepare.