Dr. Ashwini Govinda

Dr. Ashwini Govinda is a trauma-informed psychologist with nine years of experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She holds an MSc in Clinical Psychology from Manipal University and a PhD in Psychology from CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, where her doctoral research on childhood trauma, reparenting, and parenting was granted two copyrights by the Government of India. She has completed Level 1 training in Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) through the Emotion-Focused Therapy Institute India (accredited by the International Society for Emotion-Focused Therapy) and earlier trained in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at the Beck Institute (USA) and Swati Institute (Pune). Alongside her clinical practice, she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students at CHRIST University and continues to combine research, practice, and advocacy in clinical psychology.

Her passion lies in bringing trauma-informed awareness to therapy, parenting, and education, and in creating mental-health awareness through illustrations and visual storytelling. She has contributed to Indian media platforms, conducted Radio Mirchi 98.3
FM segments and delivered her first TEDx talk, which highlighted how trauma-informed and compassionate approaches can transform parenting and intergenerational healing.

What to expect in therapy with Ashwini?

Ashwini uses empathic, active, and non-judgmental listening to build a collaborative therapeutic path with her clients. She helps clients explore childhood experiences, relational patterns, and emotional wounds that may be shaping their present challenges. Her sessions often include emotion-focused processes, inner-child dialogues, grounding and regulation practices, and guided visualisations, always paced to the client’s sense of agency and safety. This approach supports clients in accessing unprocessed emotions and developing self-trust and compassion in their healing journey. Ashwini believes in preventive care over symptom labels, focusing instead on underlying emotional needs and long-term well-being. Sessions are experiential, reflective, and tailored to each person’s narrative and lived experiences. 

What is Ashwini's approach in therapy?

Ashwini’s practice is rooted in a trauma-informed lens, drawing deeply from Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), including emotion awareness, two-chair processes, and attachment repair. Her work is also guided by Rogerian principles of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity, ensuring a safe and collaborative therapeutic relationship. She integrates existential perspectives, helping clients find meaning in suffering and freedom in choice, while remaining sensitive to cultural contexts that shape identity, relationships, and healing. Her approach is trauma-informed first, anchored in empathy, nervous-system attunement, and respect for lived experience.

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