Shama Parkhe
Co-founderI work with mental health not as an individual pathology, but as a collective, political, and ecological question. My practice sits at the intersections of community care, gender justice, and ecological regeneration, by situating distress within the systems that produce it, while still calling us into responsibility, agency, and relationship.
Grounded in Democratic Therapeutic Communities, Group Analytic Psychotherapy, Psychodrama, and Social Permaculture, I design spaces where care becomes a collective and transformative action.
In 2014, I co-founded Hank Nunn Institute to make mental health care accessible and affordable across communities historically excluded, harmed, or criminalised by institutional systems. For over a decade, I have accompanied individuals and groups in navigating the impacts of systemic violence, supporting processes of re-authoring, collective meaning-making, and resistance.
After serving as a Clinical Director at HNI for 10 years and handing over my responsibilities to the new leadership in 2024, I continue to support the team at HNI as a co-founder, while also planting seeds for new endeavours.
My work is shaped by a lifelong inquiry into intersectional patriarchy and, more recently, by grief, exhaustion, and learning from the more-than-human world. I remain attentive to my own social positioning, the power I carry, and the limits of my knowing, understanding decolonial and abolitionist work as living, unfinished processes.
My actions today are guided by the belief that healing, justice, and ecological attunement are not separate pursuits, but part of the same regenerative revolution.
Anando Chatterji
Co-founderAnando’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.
Ishani Badyal
Psychotherapist & Clinical DirectorIshani is an individual and group psychotherapist with a focus on stories of people, their different groups, communities and the histories they come from.
Her approach to mental health is characterized by her commitment to understanding complex human experiences through both personal and professional lenses, advocating for a more inclusive and community-driven approach to mental health care.
She is particularly interested in the intersections of caste, class, gender, and sexuality in her work. She advocates for agency in mental health care rather than a focus on "fixing" or "helping" people, which she sees as potentially dangerous.
Between creating food menus and cooking, you might find her dreaming of community mental health initiatives or cosying up with a book and a hot Americano. Her ambition is to open a mental health cafe that doubles as a community center, ideally located near the ocean or mountains, or both. This reflects her vision of integrating mental health support with community living and natural environments.
Ishani is training to become a group analyst and is a certified Therapeutic Communities and Environments Practitioner (TCEPT).
She studied English literature and psychology from Delhi University and did her masters in clinical psychology from TISS-MHAT. She has been working in HNI since 2016.
Krishna Hemaraj
Community Mental Health PractitionerKrishna finds herself interested in the entanglements that build up and play out between people, as we go about our day-to-day lives—the awkward, clumsy, harmful, caring and ordinary ways in which we know each other, misunderstand each other, depend on each other, and find ourselves implicated in each other's lives.
Her work is shaped by a curiosity about the different contexts in which these relational dynamics arise and the way distress is understood and plays out within systems, and in how these ways of being with one another come to shape how we understand ourselves, each other and the worlds we inhabit.
She would like to create spaces for people to explore these dynamics within themselves and with one another; drawing on conversation, art, literature and writing as different ways of thinking about and holding what feels confusing, difficult or unspoken.
Krishna has a Masters in Development Studies from Azim Premji University. Her journey as a mental health practitioner began with the six-month practitioner training course at Hank Nunn Institute, and has since then been sustained through her work, exploring the relational challenges that arise between people in groups and communities and how they can be talked about and worked through.
She also completed the South Asian Diploma in Narrative Practices in 2022, and is currently training in Group Analytic Psychotherapy.
When she isn't working, Krishna can be found either in Bangalore or in Kochi, pestering her cat, binge watching movies and TV shows, trying to read more books, learning how to cook, or simply napping.
Namrata Chavan
Community Mental Health PsychologistI am Namrata, I work as a psychologist in the Outreach Services at HNI. I completed my Masters in Applied Psychology from the University of Mumbai. On my journey of understanding myself and the other, I have become deeply curious about what meaning people makes of their lives. I have come to believe that every story has systemic and relational layers. I aim to remain curious about these layers and hold space for nuances to emerge.
Over time, I have grown increasingly interested in and intrigued by the groups, communities, and cultures we are part of, and the way it shapes our being.
Apart from this, I enjoy activities that involves movement of the body. I also enjoy immersing myself in books and films.
Pratiksha Tewari
Psychotherapist & Learning Spaces DirectorPratiksha loves nothing more than building shared spaces for conversation, learning, and explorations that foster joy, belonging, and care. She has taken on the Learning Spaces Director role at HNI since 2024, and is an individual and group psychotherapist by training. Her work is driven by her belief in mental health being socially, culturally, and community driven. She studied at Delhi University and TISS, Mumbai and is currently in training as a group analyst. She is attempting to decolonise her approach to mental health and working on integrating her own psycho-social identity and its impact on her work. She is motivated by food, sunshine, and internal rage against the world from time to time.
Hena Faqurudheen
Psychotherapist & CEOHena believes that trauma's impacts can dictate how we are, but understanding ourselves as fully as possible helps reimagine not just ourselves but also our communities, and the world. This belief has been the foundation of their community mental health practice & work since 2009. Their work at Hank Nunn Institute (HNI) focuses on the intersections of trauma, relationships, community-building, and social justice, and helps Indian youth & young adults access a more supportive and collaborative mental health experience.
Hena has worked in clinical, academic, field, and research settings in the Indian mental health field including disaster mental health, psychiatric social work, community mental health, public health, geriatric mental health (including dementia & elder care), and psychotherapy. More information about Hena’s qualifications & work history can be found on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/henaf); their contributions to articles and press coverage can be found here (https://www.henaf.com/in-the-news).
Romita Chandwani
Admin ManagerMeet 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.
Nandini Nayar
Consultant PsychologistNandini is a Consultant Psychotherapist at Hank Nunn Institute and holds a Master's degree in Applied Psychology. Her work is grounded in a relational psychodynamic approach, and she believes that therapy offers a unique space to explore one's vulnerabilities, personal stories, and relationships with curiosity and compassion. She is deeply interested in understanding how past experiences shape the way people relate to themselves and others, and in supporting them to cultivate greater self-awareness and a deeper sense of connection.
Nandini strives to create a warm, collaborative space where people feel heard and understood. She views therapy as a shared process of making sense of one's inner world, discovering new ways of connecting with oneself and those around us, and fostering meaningful change.
Outside the therapy room, Nandini finds joy in training in Odissi, a classical Indian dance form, and photographing life's quiet, fleeting moments. A lover of all things cosy, she is drawn to capturing life's small moments that often pass unnoticed, yet so often become the ones we hold closest.
Sophia Goumoi
Community Mental Health PsychologistSophia’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 PsychologistTeetash is an Assistant Professor at Sophia College for Women, Mumbai and works as a consultant psychotherapist at HNI. At HNI, she is involved in community awareness programs and offers individual psychotherapy. She believes every individual's story is unique and would like to generate more dialogue around mental health care that acknowledges and celebrates these differences.
When she isn't working, you'll find her reading, watching a football game, taking a nap, or binge-watching a crime thriller.
Simran Diwan
Clinical Manager,
ManoyatraSimran 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.
Debashree Unni
Community Mental Health PsychologistDebashree (she/her), is a relational, psychodynamic psychotherapist with an MSc. in Counselling Psychology, specialising in Group and Couples/Family Therapy. She is a Group Analyst in training, currently in the Intermediate Year of the Group Analytic Psychotherapy programme offered by Group Analysis India, affiliated to the Institute of Group Analysis, UK. She has worked across schools, rehabilitation centres, and community-based youth settings.
Her journey began while pursuing a Master’s in Political Science at the University of Delhi. Reading papers on political psychology led her to reflect on the gap between institutions and systems as they are theorised, and the complex realities of people's lives. This search led her to community mental health and group work at HNI, where she began as a volunteer.
Shaped by her own lived experiences as a queer person, Deb finds some of her greatest teachers in fiction, cinema, and—most importantly—conversation.