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 Ragini Rao for an exclusive interview with us. Ragini is a Life Coach, Corporate Trainer, Psychotherapist and Co-Founder at InfinumGrowth. Let’s learn more about her background, journey and her advice for our community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ragini:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
I spent the first 23 years of my life in New Delhi, where I completed my schooling, graduation, and Master’s degree in Psychology from Delhi University. I began my professional journey working as a counsellor with an NGO, which grounded me deeply in human behaviour and emotional wellbeing.
Marriage followed soon after, along with multiple city relocations due to my husband’s job. This phase required me to pause my professional work for a few years — a period that, while challenging, added to my personal growth and understanding of transitions.
In 1994, we relocated to Bangalore, where I consciously restarted my career in counselling with an NGO. Around this time, I felt a strong urge to deepen my therapeutic work and embarked on a nine-year journey in Transactional Analysis (TA). This culminated in my certification as a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst, enabling me to teach and supervise TA practitioners.
I was among the first counsellors in India to work extensively with corporates. My early corporate engagements included ICICI OneSource (later Firstsource) and Huawei Technologies. Working closely with these organisations gave me firsthand insight into workplace stress, organisational dynamics, and the emotional challenges faced by employees in high-pressure environments.
In 2012, I began conducting the four-year advanced training programme in Transactional Analysis, preparing individuals to become psychotherapists. To date, I have successfully conducted around 20 batches, contributing to the development of competent, reflective, and ethically grounded mental health professionals.
What is Transactional Analysis?
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychological theory developed by Dr. Eric Berne in the 1950s. He also founded the International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA), the parent body headquartered in the United States.
Over the decades, TA has grown into a globally practised and respected framework, represented by regional associations across the world. In South Asia, this work is anchored by the South Asian Association of Transactional Analysis (SAATA), which includes India and its neighbouring countries.
I am an active member of both ITAA and SAATA. I have been part of the Board of Trustees of SAATA since its inception and have served the association in multiple leadership roles, including as President from 2020 to 2023. In recognition of my long-standing contribution and service, I received the SAATA Service Award in 2024.
In 2020, we launched our online platform, InfinumGrowth, to extend the reach of our work by offering online services grounded in Transactional Analysis and decades of professional experience. Today, InfinumGrowth offers a comprehensive range of services, including online training programmes, counselling, psychotherapy, coaching, self-learning video courses, and an extensive collection of articles.
The platform is designed as a holistic space for mental health, emotional intelligence, and personal development — integrating depth, accessibility, and professional rigour.
‘InfinumGrowth’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
The word Infinum is derived from Infinite, and InfinumGrowth reflects our belief that an individual’s capacity for growth is limitless. Personal growth is not a destination but an ongoing process of evolving as a human being. Each new day brings fresh experiences, challenges, and learnings, making growth a truly lifelong journey.
InfinumGrowth offers multiple pathways to support this journey. We believe that real and sustainable growth begins with the development of Emotional Intelligence. For this reason, counselling and psychotherapy form the core of our work, alongside structured training programmes — together enabling genuine, meaningful progress for individuals.
Mental health is a growing concern in our country, with a worrying rise in depression and suicides among young adults. This reality makes access to competent, compassionate, and ethical mental health support more critical than ever.
Our therapists are not only professionally trained but are also mature practitioners in the age group of 35–60 years. They bring rich lived life experiences along with clinical expertise into their work. This depth allows them to meet each client with sensitivity, perspective, and an understanding that every individual’s story is unique.
The framework of Transactional Analysis is simple, yet profoundly effective in its application. It enables individuals to make clear and often rapid shifts in their thinking and behaviour. Through therapy, clients begin to look inward, understand their unconscious patterns, and create lasting internal change. This increased awareness naturally extends into their relationships and environments, creating positive ripple effects.
Today, clients from 17 countries reach out to InfinumGrowth for support. The fact that many return for continued work is a strong reflection of the trust they place in us and the tangible benefits they experience.
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
I deeply enjoy connecting with people at a meaningful, human level. Individuals come to us because they are facing difficulties, and our commitment to support them through these challenges is at the heart of our work.
Whether through therapy or training, my intention is always to go beyond words — to truly understand the human being at the core.
It is profoundly rewarding to witness clients begin to make small yet significant shifts in their thinking and behaviour, and to see how these changes positively influence their lives. Each step forward, however subtle, reflects genuine internal movement.
This work is also deeply relational. Every interaction is co-created, and each engagement becomes a shared space for insight and transformation. In that process, growth is mutual — not only for those I work with, but for me as well.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
1) Going with the flow, working organically and not trying to force-fit things is something I have learnt over the years, both personally and professionally.
2) Balancing relationships and tasks are crucial, both at home and at work. Being sensitive to which one of these needs attention in a given situation is the key to living a fulfilling life.
3) Respect and dignity of the other person cannot be compromised for anything. Even when the person is behaving difficult or the situation is challenging, practising humility and graciousness has been rewarding for me.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
a) Being fully present
b) Integrity & compassion
c) Action with conviction
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Our qualifications, degrees and all the knowledge we gather through our education are important; however, more crucial are:
> Start with building Self-awareness- understanding ourselves and how we impact others and the situations we face, is very important.
> Learning to listen actively and being open in communicating with others helps us to avoid conflicts.
> Being optimistic and curious about people and situations helps one build cooperation and work well with people both personally and professionally.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
We live in a world increasingly marked by conflict, war, hatred, and relentless competition. In such a climate, the work we do creates spaces for real, human relationships — spaces that gently counter the impact of these pervasive negative emotions.
While our reach may be no more than a drop in the ocean when viewed against the scale of the global population, it remains deeply encouraging. Each genuine connection, each moment of understanding and healing, reaffirms our commitment to continue this work with care and conviction.
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.
