Hello & Welcome to my Sex & Trauma Psychotherapy Practice!
Healing is a powerful practice, and this is a
unique place of healing I’m creating – for you, and with you.
If you found me on social media and are looking to get in touch, please go
to the Get in Touch section. Sign up for trainings & workshops here.
Every day, from my therapy desk, I see that sexuality has been repressed in the larger Indian context.
Part of my life’s work is to help people normalize their sexual and creative expression in relationship to their personal power, to heal from sexual shame and expand their understanding of sexual trauma.
Is my practice taking new clients?
Please note that I’m no longer accepting new clients for trauma therapy within India for a few years. Our waitlist continues to be full due to the high crisis needs of the pandemic and post. I’m currently focused on psychoeducation for more people to be able to access inner work tools. Please continue reading to learn more about my work.
Now that that is out of the way, let’s keep reading…
The material published on this website in the form of pieces of writing, videos, questions, talks, worksheets and toolkits, is all a part of my life’s work, that I’ve been slowly putting together for you.
By “you”, I mean you, dear reader, whoever you might be, reading this right now. For some reason or another, you may have ended up at this specific place of the internet.
You may have found a piece of my writing resonant, something I said in a public talk insightful, or perhaps, you harbored a gentle curiosity about this unique practice of healing and wellness that’s being discussed here… which lead you to this practice.
Perhaps you want to update your trauma learnings, or unravel the history of what happened to you, maybe there’s grief in your heart that hasn’t been tended to — for whichever reason you find yourself reading till here, I whole-heartedly welcome you.
I encourage you to go deeper into my offerings that I’ve curated in this space.
My Upcoming Trauma Training Workshops:
The practice hosts events, hosted several times each year, offering clinicians and non-clinicians based across the world opportunities to network, dialogue and learn together.
a) We encourage Indian therapists, counselors, social workers, organizational heads, doctors, nurses, alternative healers and students to join our events since opportunities for clinical training tend to be sparse within the Indian Mental Health Professional Network.
b) You do not have to be a practicing psychotherapist to join in. However please do not misuse this information learnt within the healing arena. These workshops are not equivalent to a rigorous psychotherapy Master’s degree, and do not give license to practice psychotherapy.
c) Our online communities are brave space offerings where disrespect towards others in terms of bullying/disruption won’t be tolerated and we reserve the right to withdraw your seat at any time.
Events in October–November 2023
- There are no events scheduled during these dates.
My Psychotherapy Book on Sex, Sexuality and Shame:
Timely Truths and Guidance from the Desk of an Indian Sex Therapist
“An expert-backed, empowering book on how to navigate issues of sex and sexuality in a rapidly changing India”
“By tackling the deeply ingrained notion of sexual shame through the powerful concept of ‘self-permission’, and by examining real-life case studies and the psychological underpinnings of sex and desire, Bhat goes beyond the social media-based siren calls to sex-positivity to offer a well-honed and carefully crafted guide for readers to reflect upon and confront their own unaddressed traumas and psychological wounds that have consciously or unconsciously defined their perspective on sex and sexuality, especially with respect to their own bodies.In the process, Bhat looks at equipping readers with the tools to recalibrate and, perhaps, undo years of misconceptions surrounding sexuality and other long-held belief systems.” More here
My deeper, depth-psychology writing on everyday life matters here
I believe writing is a truth-telling practice. Coupled with intention and awareness, it can bring light to our subconscious needs and even channel steps ahead when we are stuck in specific areas of our lives.
some of the free psychotherapy tools I write about on social media:
Any of these tools and spaces might uniquely support you in your healing process, helping you understand “taboo” parts of yourself that were hitherto unclear. However, please know that my practices in inner work might also challenge you to think deeper than society generally makes time and space for, they might make you question your assumptions that we take for granted and might shake up the habits of the ego-identity a little bit, making uncomfortable feelings surface for awareness and resolution.
If this excites you or even tickles a small part of your heart, please keep reading, you’re likely in the right place.
As a sex and trauma therapist, I practice in the intersections of healing, art, mental health, spirituality, writing, law and systemic thinking. I hope this website serves as an ocean of many interconnected streams of life coming together for you, as my work does for me and the multitudes of people from different life backgrounds whose lives I get to witness and learn from everyday.
I thank you for stopping by.
About me:
I’m Neha Bhat (ABT, ATR), she/her, a sex-positive, depth psychology oriented, arts-based mental and sexual health professional and writer. As a queer Indian person working across the world, I care deeply about issues related to power, abuse, somatics and spirituality in connection to collective health. As a sex therapist interested in building therapy bridges across disciplines, especially for the benefit of urban Indian consciousness, I write publicly and consult on various films, documentaries and reality TV shows written around sex and intimacy across various OTT platforms including Amazon Prime, Netflix US and Lionsgate Play.
My specialties are: Trauma Therapy; Sexual violence focused trauma therapy; Interpersonal Violence in Couples; Sex focused psychotherapy; Neurodivergence in teenagers and adults; LGBTQ+ identity development; Decolonial and indigenous approaches to wellness practices; Art Therapy; Theatre of the Oppressed and Somatic work; Depression and Anxiety resilience; Monogamous and Polyamorous Relationships; Parenting LGBTQ+ children; Complex grief, personal empowerment practices and working with intergenerational trauma patterns in the Indian psyche.
“As every therapist will tell you, healing involves discomfort, but so does refusing to heal. And over time, refusing to heal is always more painful.”
– Resmaa Menakem, Trauma Therapist and Author
I currently run an arts-based, depth-oriented digital therapy practice oriented towards teaching and innovation in therapy education so that there is more open access to inner work for the larger public.
People’s unique spiritualities are invited within my therapy room and larger therapy practice, since trauma, nature, spirituality and wellness are all interconnected in my worldview.
I work with:
- Individuals
- Couples
- Indian Family systems (Mother-Daughter units, Father – Son units and such)
- Small organizational groups and work teams
- Legal systems for trauma survivors and perpetrators – courts and jails
I teach part-time at various global institutions including:
NYU, Abu Dhabhi, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India, UC Berkley and the University of Michigan
About my teaching style:
My teaching orientation is access-based, depth-oriented and often known to be energizing and innovative. I offer unique perspectives around sexual trauma care, gender-based violence prevention and art-based healing modalities at various institutions across the world including St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, the University of Michigan, the University of Idaho, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and more.
You might enjoy these interview about these intersections in my practice here:
And here:
I believe that both inner and outer work are essential for wellbeing. As an artist, psychotherapist and writer who is interested in learning from art, sexuality, nature and inner medicine, I am continuously attempting to build innovative pathways of social change in mental and sexual health. I have a tenderness for animal life of all kinds, and believe in the mysticism of existence. As someone trained in art therapy, I use creativity to facilitate meaningful, personal change in individuals, couples, families and communities impacted by various kinds of individual and systemic trauma. Here’s a bit more about this work in the media.
I’m also known as Indian Sex Therapist (@indiansextherapist) on social media, and you might find helpful video and visual content about these topics there as well.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PRACTICE:
1. WHAT EXACTLY IS THERAPY?
HOW IS THerapy DIFFERENT FROM TRAUMA WORK, ESPECIALLY FOR THE URBAN INDIAN CONTEXT? WHY IS UNDERSTANDING one’s TRAUMA history iMPORTANT FOR WELLNESS?
Trauma work is a form of self-knowledge. You do not have to have something “wrong” with you to access deeper ways of self-knowledge. Everyone, at some point needs to look beneath life’s surface to understand themselves better, which then often leads to a more easeful understanding of life, and its various joys and challenges.
People often choose to work with me, or with a depth-focused therapist, to find pathways of empowerment and clarity for themselves, at difficult or traumatic crossroads of their lives, especially in connection with their sexuality to make choices that feel meaningful to them in their specific cultural and social circumstances. I see sexual health as part of mental, emotional and spiritual health.
There may be times in our lives when the advice we get from our friends/families doesn’t help our specific situation. There may be unresolved aspects of our past that are too deep for our friends to understand, and this may impact the types of friends, employees, wives, husbands, daughters or employers we become. Trauma lives everywhere until it is allowed to be named. Trauma therapy is a wonderful option that can help bring clarity, insight and discernment into your specific ways of navigating the world.
If you’re struggling with issues around sexuality, relationships or interpersonal violence, and you’re ready for insight-oriented inner work, this practice might prove beneficial to you.
Note from the team:
Please note that Neha Bhat’s practice, this telehealth practice is full, and she is not taking further appointments for individual therapy. Our waitlists are also full. For the near future, Neha is focusing on public education, clinical training and writing so that sex therapy tools can be accessible to a larger audience worldwide.
Neha’s Therapy Practice is currently full and isn’t accepting new clients
2. I can’t access therapy due to my circumstances. I really want to learn ABOUT MYSELF THROUGH INNER WORK – HOW TO PROCEED?
Please explore this website and the instagram account (@indiansextherapist) which is an offering of this practice to provide free psycho-education about mental health and trauma work online. Please don’t let the lack of therapy access stop you from going deeper within yourself for healing, and as a professional who practices across multiple cultures, I encourage accessing healing tools that are local and contextually appropriate to you!
For Hindi speakers:
थेरेपी या काउन्सलिंग क्यों?
जीवन में कुछ ऐसी चीज़ें होती हैं जिनका हल हमारे दोस्त या परिवार वाले नहीं निकल पाते हैं । ऐसे समय में हम अपने आप को अकेला महसूस करते हैं, और अपनी मानसिक स्तिथि को हानि पहुंचाते हैं । थेरेपी इस स्तिथि के लिए हैं । काउन्सलिंग एक सुरक्षित जगह हैं, जहाँ आप अपनी मन की बातें बताकर, अपनी स्थिति को समझ सकते हैं ।
मैं इंटरनेट के द्वारा काउन्सलिंग सर्विस व्यतीत करती हूँ । नीचे लगे फॉर्म को पढ़े और अपनी डिटेल्स भरके भेजे । मैं २४ घंटो में आपको वापिस ईमेल करुँगी । आपकी डिटेल्स किसी और को नहीं दिखाई जाएंगी ।
To get in touch with me:
Please see the contact page to get in touch for trainings/seminars/workshops on sex therapy/intimacy curation work and more.You can find a detailed bio here.
If you have benefitted from this work and are not a current client at the practice, please consider buying our practice a book that strengthens our ability to run a sustainable practice: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nehabhat
Thank you!
If you are in a crisis or if you or any other person may be in danger – please don’t use this site. Please contact your nearest support person/emergency room immediately.