At Brilliant Read Media, we constantly endeavour to bring inspiring and meaningful stories to our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Aditi Pachchigar, Clinical Psychologist, Founder & Lead Therapist at Purushaarth Counselling and Therapy Clinic, for an exclusive interview.
With an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology from MIT ADT University, Aditi brings experience across clinical, hospital, rehabilitation, educational, and tele-mental health settings. Through Purushaarth, she strives to create a safe, accessible, and non-judgemental space where individuals can feel heard, understood, and supported.
In this conversation, Aditi shares her journey, perspectives on mental health and therapy, and insights on self-awareness, emotional well-being, and seeking support. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, experiences, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Aditi:
What inspired you to pursue Clinical Psychology, and what ultimately led you to establish Purushaarth Counselling and Therapy Clinic?
I’ve always been curious about the human mind and behaviour what shapes it, what influences it, and why people respond to situations in different ways.
Growing up in a big, joint Indian family, I was constantly surrounded by people. What stood out to me wasn’t just the closeness, but the differences in personalities, coping styles, and the patterns that repeated across generations. That curiosity eventually led me to pursue my MSc in Clinical Psychology.
My degree gave me a strong foundation of knowledge and insight, but it also taught me something more personal: empathy, while it came naturally to me, needed to be tempered. Learning to hold space for someone’s pain without allowing it to consume me was one of the more challenging lessons of my training.
Through it all, my passion for helping people never wavered. That passion ultimately led me to establish Purushaarth Counselling and Therapy Clinic, a space where I could translate that passion into meaningful and sustained work with children, adolescents, adults, and families.
You describe your practice as a “non-judgemental safe space.” What does creating a genuinely safe space for a client look like in practice?
Through my experience, I’ve come to believe that no action or choice is inherently good or bad. Often, it is simply the best a person could do at that particular moment. We may not always be aware of the individual’s complete perspective or the context behind their choices.
Creating a non-judgmental space, for me, means approaching every conversation with genuine curiosity about an individual’s unique experience rather than filtering it through preconceived notions or biases.
That’s when real change becomes possible.
When a client is given the space to look at themselves through clear glass, rather than through a lens clouded by their own or others’ beliefs and judgements, genuine self-acceptance and eventually self-love can begin to take root.
What are some common misconceptions about therapy that you wish more people understood before beginning their mental health journey?
There are many misconceptions, but the one I’d particularly like to address is one of the most damaging: “Therapy is for crazy people.”
This belief is especially harmful in a country like India, where many people struggle with mental-health concerns. Such a belief can prevent countless individuals from seeking the support they genuinely need, forcing them to suffer in silence.
Ironically, mental-health support has never been more accessible than it is today, yet people still hesitate to seek it. Instead, many turn towards so-called “therapeutic experiences” as quick fixes or temporary solutions essentially a band-aid for short-term relief that may not address the underlying concern.
So, if you’re wondering who therapy is for, my answer is simple: everyone.
Think of it like a gym, but for your mind and emotions. Sometimes therapy can function like a supplement, supporting and strengthening what is already there. At other times, it can be more like surgery necessary and precise work for deeper healing.
At its core, therapy isn’t a luxury. It can be an important part of maintaining and improving one’s quality of life.
Many people struggle silently because they feel their problems are “not serious enough” to seek professional help. What would you say to someone who is hesitant to reach out?
First, I want you to know that this isn’t necessarily a “you” problem. Often, it is a reflection of the environment you grew up in, one where suffering may have been normalised, where your pain was dismissed with statements like, “It’s nothing,” or “You’re overreacting,” or where vulnerability felt frightening because it was associated with weakness.
Perhaps you never had a safe space that told you it was okay to slow down and take care of yourself.
At the root of this hesitation can often be a lack of self-love or a quiet belief that you aren’t worthy of care and attention.
So let me remind you: you don’t have to carry your pain and suffering alone.
Support is available, and sometimes it is quite literally at your fingertips. All it takes is that first step of reaching out.
From your experience, what are some emotional or behavioural patterns that people often overlook but may indicate that it is time to seek professional support?
There are several patterns people tend to dismiss as “just stress” or “just a phase,” but they can sometimes indicate that something deeper needs attention.
Some of these include:
> Sudden changes in appetite or weight
> Poor sleep quality, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up feeling rested
> Unexplained chronic fatigue that persists despite adequate rest
> Overthinking without resolution, getting stuck in repetitive thought loops without being able to take action
> Avoiding simple, manageable tasks that once felt easy
> Difficulty resting or feeling guilty for not being productive
> Losing interest in things you previously enjoyed
> Constant negative self-talk
> Feeling disconnected from your sense of self or identity
> Increased emotional reactivity and difficulty regulating emotions
Individually, these experiences can seem minor or easy to brush aside. However, when they persist or begin appearing together, they may be signs that your mind is asking for attention.
Seeking support isn’t a sign of weakness. It can be a sign of awareness.
Every individual comes to therapy with a different story. How do you approach understanding a client’s unique needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach?
For me, it begins with not jumping to conclusions.
I don’t rush to fit a client into a particular theory or diagnostic category because the moment we do that, we risk seeing the label instead of the person.
Instead, I focus on understanding the individual symptoms and experiences each client presents and work with them accordingly. This allows me to tailor the therapeutic process to what that particular person is actually experiencing rather than applying a standard template.
Two people may come in with the same diagnosis and still require completely different forms of support.
Approaching each person’s story on its own terms is what makes individualised therapy possible.
In today’s world of social media, comparison, and constant pressure to “have it all together,” what impact do you observe on people’s emotional well-being?
The biggest impact I see is the unrealistic expectations people place on themselves.
Earlier, people tended to be more subjective. They saw things primarily through their own experiences and often lacked the ability to step back and look at situations objectively.
Today, I’m seeing almost the opposite wave. People often focus heavily on the objective side: the achievements, milestones, lifestyles, and polished highlight reels they see online. What gets lost is the subjective experience behind those outcomes, including the struggles and challenges that others go through, as well as their own lived experiences.
When you measure your life against the outcomes you see online, without leaving room for your own individual journey, the expectations can become impossible to meet.
That’s when feelings of not being good enough, being behind, or being unfulfilled can begin to take hold.
What role do self-awareness and emotional regulation play in long-term psychological well-being, and how can individuals begin developing these skills in everyday life?
Self-awareness and emotional regulation are two of the most crucial skills for living a healthy and fulfilling life.
They influence almost every area of our lives: our relationships, work, individual experiences, stress management, problem-solving, and critical thinking. When these skills are stronger, many other aspects of life become more manageable.
How these skills are developed can depend on when you begin working on them.
If you’re starting later in life, working with a therapist can be an effective way to develop greater self-awareness and emotional regulation. If you’re starting young, a caregiver, parent, teacher, or mentor can help a child develop these skills from the ground up.
Either way, these skills require practice. They can also involve difficult realisations along the way.
That’s where a therapist can be invaluable, helping you move through the discomfort rather than around it, until these skills gradually become more natural and integrated into everyday life.
What has working closely with clients taught you about human resilience, healing, and the importance of being heard?
Above all, working with clients has been a continuous learning experience.
No matter how strong your academic background or professional knowledge may be, every new client brings something that can surprise and challenge you.
Often, I find myself inspired and strengthened by the people I meet. It humbles me that a stranger would place so much trust in me, sharing their most vulnerable parts and their most painful experiences. It constantly reminds me of the responsibility I carry.
And yet, at times, I feel that I’m not actually doing as much as it may appear.
The client already has insight and the capacity to heal. Sometimes, they simply need a safe space where they can process everything with greater ease, trust, and support.
There are moments when I think about how much pain exists in the world, and then I meet someone who has suffered deeply and yet remains willing to forgive, heal, and continue living with compassion.
That never fails to move me.
I’m constantly amazed by how remarkable the human mind is. No matter how much we learn about it, I believe it will always remain, in some ways, a mystery.
Looking ahead, what is your vision for Purushaarth Counselling and Therapy Clinic, and what kind of impact do you hope to create in the mental-health space?
My vision for Purushaarth Counselling and Therapy Clinic is, first and foremost, to make it a space that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances.
To me, that means keeping support affordable and charging minimal to no fees for people below the poverty line, wherever possible, so that no one is turned away simply because of what they can afford.
Beyond accessibility, I want the clinic to be a space where people feel safe in every sense emotionally and psychologically and where they can exist without fear of judgement.
Most importantly, I don’t want it to be a place where we are trying to “fix” you.
We are here to help you become the best version of yourself.
I want Purushaarth to be a place where you can show up as your real self and still feel accepted, supported, and understood without judgement.
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