At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Dr. Sritama Ghosh for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Psychologist, Coach, Teacher, Consultant, Mentor, Change Enabler and Influencer. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Dr. Sritama:
We are aware of your contributions to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
My professional journey began in 2011 as I started counselling inmates in a Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center, right after completing my master’s in Psychology.
Since then I have worked with several organizations, educational institutions and Universities as a counsellor, teaching faculty and resource person for mental health training and psycho-education.”
I have done Bachelor’s as well as Masters in Psychology from the University of Calcutta. I have attained another Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Diploma in Special Educator (specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorder), a certification in Psychiatric Counseling under the Indian Psychoanalytic Society and finally a PhD in Psychology from the University of Calcutta.
I have always been very interested in research work and have quite a few research publications in nationally acclaimed journals in the areas of substance abuse, personality dynamics and incarceration, teaching strategies of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Currently, I am working as the Health Wellness Counselor and Psychology Teacher in one of the leading CBSE schools in Kolkata.
How did you discover your passion?
My father specialized in marketing and for the same, he used to conduct workshops on body language along with other allied topics. You can say that was the beginning of this discovery. By grade IX I decided that I want to pursue a career in Psychology, even without knowing what scopes I had.
In due course of time, this subject has never failed me. I have become more passionate about it with each passing day. My teachers, especially Dr. Nilanjana Sanyal and Dr. Manisha Dasgupta have given me reason enough to fall in love with the subject.
Most importantly, being able to strengthen me and others and being able to train others to do the same helps me wake up happy every morning.”
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Well, I work best when there are challenges. It gives me a thrill. And life has given me enough to improve my skills in this area. I truly believe that there will always be reasons that will pull us back.
Trusting that ‘we will sail through only when we believe we can’ gives me the confidence that I will be able to overcome the challenges.”
My current job has taught me that there is always someone waiting to help you to overcome challenges, only when we have the courage and confidence to ask for help. I practice mindfulness that helps me deal with the piling anxiety that accompanies challenges.
As I mentioned earlier, being able to strengthen myself and others and being able to train others to do the same helps me wake up happy every morning. I want life to offer more challenges as overcoming those makes me a wiser person every time.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
I lost my mother just after I completed college. She was 47 when she died, leaving behind a happy family and all the aspirations she had. She wanted to live more and watch her dreams come true. Strangely, this homemaker is still remembered by so many people in our neighbourhood for her socialization skills, spirit, enthusiasm and power of loving others.
This has taught me that life is extremely uncertain. I am grateful to life that I am healthy today and have a lot of good things around me. I have an exceptionally understanding father, a group of friends I trust blindly and very supportive colleagues. I have a home to live in and a job that provides. I really don’t know how long these will last, hence I want to make the best use of this moment by working to my fullest potential and leaving a mark that stays even after I am gone.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
(1) Learning from all experiences, be it positive or negative.
(2) Recognizing and learning from the good traits of others. I try to do this every time I interact with someone.
(3) Focusing on life as phases and being open towards changes.
(4) Being goal-oriented. I always have a short-term and long-term goal.
(5) Accepting oneself with all strengths and weaknesses.
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
My clients seek help to overcome their psychological distress. All of us have aspirations to grow personally. Identifying the area one wants to aspire to helps them stay motivated in life. My work is to help clients be aware of this and make them more self-reliant.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
It’s easy for me to stay motivated. My clients make me unknowingly realize that if they can survive with all the problems they have, I certainly have no reason not to feel active and charged up.
My father and two of my closest friends have been a big source of motivation. They know how to keep me going and pull me up whenever the boost is needed.
I try to spend a little time with myself regularly when I think and analyze how my life is going. I read good books, take care of my mind and body and pray for strength and wisdom.”
Lastly, my urge to work more and leave behind a legacy also gives me reasons to stay motivated and focused in life in recent times.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
I will say it straight that there are many factors but if you really have to have the key elements then to me these are the ones:
> Positive self image
> Being able to bear the consequences of one’s own actions
> Having a smart goal
> Consistency and stability
> Achievement orientation
> Most importantly, the courage to accept failure.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Well, that makes me feel a little old. I believe I too am new in this profession and am learning every day. This flexibility is needed to grow successfully.
Another very important point is that we need to widen our outlook and keep our options open. It might not always be the way we plan out. It is extremely useful if we have the flexibility and openness to grab the opportunities that knock on our door.
These days career options and opportunities are unlimited. We need to unlock them by being aware and updated.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
Being able to meet new people regularly excites me immensely while being able to help others manage and overcome their distress is very satisfying.
When I see people coming back to inform me that they have successfully been able to get rid of their distress, I find meaning and add value to the work I do.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
