Hena Faqurudheen
CEOHena Faqurudheen is a trauma-focused psychotherapist with a passion for designing better communities. She is inspired by her experiences as a mental health professional, including working in post-trauma and disaster settings over the last 10 years.
Her qualifications include a Masters in Social Work-Mental Health & a postgraduate Diploma in Psychosocial Care & Support in Disaster Settings from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (2014 and 2009). She was a recipient of the 2005-07 Fulbright PLUS Scholarship, graduating in Experimental Psychology & Psychology from the University of South Carolina and University of Madras, respectively. Hena has worked previously at Samvedna Senior Care, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Tara Clinic-Tara Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health Action Trust (MHAT), and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
She’s done a little bit of everything, and can safely tell you that we’ve all got issues. Her interest in lifelong learning makes her curious about people. Intersectional feminist, socialist, atheist, and minimalist who enjoys cooking up a storm to relax.
Ishani Badyal
Clinical DirectorIshani is a mental health professional with a passion for food and dogs. She completed her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mental Health Action Trust) in 2016 and has been working at Hank Nunn Institute since. She shares a deep love for the mountains and the sea and isn’t a fan of city life. Between cooking and wolfing down meals, you might find her developing community mental health initiatives or cosying up with a book and a hot cuppa. She is an introvert with a recent found passion for running groups. She is also training to be a group analyst. She enjoys being in LLE’s and is a member of International Network of Living Learning Experience. She loves to travel to places and between extremities – Finding a middle ground and staying in the grey is just not her jam. Ishani’s long-term goal is to open a mental health cafe that serves as a community center probably near the ocean or at the base of a mountain or both.
Krishna Hemraj
Manager - Outreach ServicesKrishna is a Community Mental Health Practitioner. It is a title she chose for herself and she intends to spend her time at HNI discovering the different possibilities that that title holds. She has a Masters in Development Studies from Azim Premji University and has also completed the South Asian Diploma in Narrative Practices in 2022. She is currently training to qualify as a Group Analyst. She previously worked with Kudumbashree NRO where she worked with women run self help groups in Uttar Pradesh. Since joining Hank Nunn Institute, she has been involved in various projects that look into creating mental health friendly spaces in collaboration with various organisations and community settings. She aspires to bring mental health based interventions to those who are systemically denied access to it. She also hopes to bring safe and empowering spaces to people who have been deprived of them.
Mridula Baurai
Psychologist, Outreach ServicesMridula is a master’s graduate in clinical psychology and is passionate about reforming the mental health system in India through community engagement. She believes that learning is a continuous process and loves to explore literature to experience the human psyche in its various forms. Mridula also has never-ending questions about the meaning and purpose of her life and wonders what makes her who she is. In her free time, she loves to worry about how much there’s left to do and copes with it by sleeping or flailing her arms and running around frantically. In the future, she hopes to make some contributions to mental health policy and education.
Namrata Chavan
Psychologist, Outreach ServicesNamrata is a psychologist with HNI’s Outreach Services. She has completed her Masters in Applied Psychology from Mumbai University. On her journey of exploring the idea of mental health and what it means to be a mental health practitioner, Namrata has understood that taking care of oneself does not exist in isolation. She believes that every story has systemic layers to it which need to be taken into account to understand the person. She wishes to work with families and hopes to open a kindergarten where the medium of learning is experiential and the subjects are gardening, music, cooking, storytelling and many more.
In the parallel universe, Namrata believes that she is working in a film crew and admiring over the art of cinematography.
Nandini Nayar
Consultant Psychotherapist, Manoyatra (Bangalore)Nandini is a psychologist working with research uptake, strategy, and individuals in psychotherapy at Hank Nunn Institute.
She has spent the early years of her career on a quest to discover work that truly speaks to her soul. After a journey through consumer research, the independent arts, and content development, she realised she needed to go back to where she started — her roots in psychology.
Nandini feels lucky that exploring who we are as individuals, who we are in groups, and what makes us feel the way we do is part of her job. The therapeutic power of vulnerability, self-awareness, and empathy continues to amaze her on a daily basis.
She finds joy and energy in dance – specifically Odissi, which she is currently training in. She is also passionate about documenting the precious little moments of her life and loved ones on camera (90% of which include her cats!)
Pratiksha Tewari
Learning Spaces DirectorAfter completing her Masters in Applied Psychology from TISS Mumbai, with a focus on family and relationship counselling, she has worked with child rights and mental health organisations. She is also a certified Queer Affirmative Counsellor. Her interest lies in bringing mental health to the forefront in daily conversations and facilitating spaces that encourage free expression of people’s stories. When not learning more about her work or herself, she can be found passionately arguing about the correct lyrics to Bollywood songs, figuring out how to incorporate more colours into her wardrobe, or planning her next food walk.
Romita Chandwani
AdministratorMeet our Administrator, a multitasker! With 22 years of experience in operations under her belt, from managing teams to streamlining processes, she’s seen it all and done it all. She strives for efficiency and productivity. But that’s not all – she’s also a candlemaker and a crafter.
With a quick wit and a no-nonsense attitude, our Administrator is a mix of fun and professionalism. She’s always ready to lend a helping hand or offer advice, but also knows when it’s time to buckle down and get the job done. When she’s not busy answering emails, scheduling meetings or optimizing our workflows, and keeping the office running like a well-oiled machine, you can find her in her kitchen concocting new scents and perfecting her craft.
She’s always ready with a joke or a hilarious story to brighten up your day. But don’t let her fun-loving nature fool you – she’s a true professional and takes her administrative duties seriously.
So, if you’re ever in need of some administrative help or just want to snag one of her candles, our Administrator is your go-to gal! She’ll keep you laughing and get the job done with ease, all while making your space smell heavenly.
Shama Parkhe
Co-founderShama completed her MSc in Clinical Psychology in 2014 and co-founded Hank Nunn Institute together with Anando Chatterji a few months later. Shama has a keen interest in developing alternatives to conventional mental health practices by involving the larger community. She believes that one’s cultural and social systems are highly influential in the development of an individual’s personality. It is therefore necessary to address the larger community and not just the individual in isolation. Shama also believes in collaborating with the service user community in designing supportive spaces which enable their journey of self discovery.
For the past 10 years, she has been working with individuals experiencing personality difficulties in an individual and group setting using both psychodrama and group analysis. In addition, she also offers training & clinical supervision to students and young professionals. She believes in the efficacy of group processes and aims at creating safe, reflective, and therapeutic spaces for groups of people experiencing interpersonal difficulties. She is a certified Psychodrama Therapist. She is also a staff member of the International Living Learning Experience (INLLE) residential workshops. At present, she is training to qualify as a Group Analyst.
She is inspired by the concept of therapeutic communities and dreams of setting up one (if not many) in our country in the future. Outside of travelling and lazing on the beach, she gets her thrill out of trying to bring order to our nutty work family. When not in a therapy session, you will find her being creative and designing her way through life.
Sophia Moi
Psychologist, Outreach ServicesSophia’s therapeutic work is grounded in the belief that our experience of the world and ourselves is a relational one. She has a Master’s in Psychosocial Clinical Studies from Ambedkar University and has trained with HNI. In her work with individuals and groups, she seeks to decentralize individual distress by placing it within the wider context of relational, structural, and communal experiences. Her interest lies in how patterns of care, loss, and belonging live within us, shaping how we connect, and make meaning in our everyday lives. She believes that what we carry from our experiences in groups can be confronted, and tended to in groups.
Outside of work, she finds excitement in adding to her ‘TBR’ list and creative pursuits like crocheting, beading and making art.
Teetash Singhal
Consultant Psychotherapist, Manoyatra (Bangalore)Teetash is a community mental health professional with an MSc. in Clinical Psychology from Christ University, Bangalore. At HNI, she is involved in community awareness programs and offers individual psychotherapy. She strongly believes each individual’s story is unique and would like to generate more dialogue around mental health care that acknowledges and celebrates these differences. She has previously worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Sophia College (Autonomous), Mumbai and enjoys creating and being a part of learning spaces.
When she is isn’t working, you’ll find her reading, watching a football game, taking a nap, or binge-watching a crime thriller.
Anando Chatterji
Co-founder & Social ArchitectAnando’s interest in the complexities of human existence peaked with his study of philosophy. He worked at Athma Shakti Vidyalaya, a residential community for people with severe psychological distress, as a staff member for 14 years and was the community lead for the Community of Communities, UK, peer review for 5 cycles. His desire to build therapeutic communities, led to him co-founding Hank Nunn Institute along with Shama Parkhe. His interest lies in co-creating therapeutic practices together with service users. He believes there is no therapy without change and no change without social change. Anando has been an individual and group psychotherapist for over 20 years now. Working with adults with personality difficulties/disorders is of particular interest to him. He is fascinated with the complexity and diversity of thought and experience that a group brings. He is the coordinator for IGA, UK accredited Group Analysis Training in India. He is also a staff member of the International Living Learning Experience workshops, and a supervisor for the Therapeutic Environments Practitioners Training, UK.
Simran Diwan
Psychotherapist & Clinical Manager,
Manoyatra (Bangalore)Simran is a group and individual psychotherapist in our Manoyatra Unit. She has pursued Masters in Psychology from University of Delhi. She came to our 6-months-practitioner programme in
search for a more human approach to understanding people’s distress. Something clicked and she has been here ever since.
She first began working with organisations and communities in the Outreach Team. She learned what it means to take mental health care beyond the therapy room – combining ideas of relational therapy, therapeutic communities, and group analysis. She is curious about how our distress is tied to the roles we are put into or the roles we take up within our groups.