Aishwarya Kulkarni

Hi, I’m Aishwarya — a psychotherapist certified in the UK, with roots in Mumbai and a deep belief in the power of honest, human connection.

I’ll admit: writing about myself like this feels a little strange. I’d much rather meet you in conversation, where pauses, eye contact, and silences can do their quiet work. But I also know how important it is to get a sense of who you’re choosing to share your inner world with. Therapy is intimate work. It’s brave work. And it helps to know that the person sitting across from you is human too.

So, here’s some of my story.

I grew up in Mumbai — a city that pulses with life and noise and movement. I was the quiet one. The kid who listened more than she spoke. I often felt things deeply but wasn’t always sure how or where to place those feelings. I was drawn to slower conversations, meaningful questions, and the hidden layers under people’s words. At the time, I didn’t know that this was the beginning of what would become my life’s work.

My academic path began with a Master’s in Applied Psychology in India. But it was my second Master’s — in Counselling — that changed me the most. I moved to the UK in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic to complete that training. It was a leap into uncertainty — new systems, new culture, total isolation, and a sea of questions. It challenged every part of me: emotionally, relationally, even physically. And yet, it also cracked me open in ways I hadn't expected. That season reshaped not only how I saw myself, but how I show up as a therapist.

In that in-between space — neither fully settled nor entirely lost — I learned how to build community from scratch, how to ask for help, and how to sit with discomfort without needing to fix it right away. I began to understand what it means to feel like a stranger in a new land, even to oneself. I also learned that survival isn’t the end goal. Living fully — with presence, clarity, and connection — is.

That experience now lives in the room with me. Many of my clients are navigating cross-cultural shifts, identity confusion, belonging wounds, or transitions that don’t come with tidy instructions. I don’t offer quick answers. But I do know how to sit with those questions, and how to help you listen to the parts of yourself that may not have had much of a voice before.

Professionally, my work draws from Person-Centered and Psychodynamic approaches. That means I meet you where you are — with respect, curiosity, and warmth — and we explore not just your present experience, but how past relationships and beliefs might still be shaping your emotional world. I also integrate tools from Emotion-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Systems Theory, and Transactional Analysis — especially in my work with couples, or when working with family dynamics and roles that feel hard to shake.

But beyond any method or theory, I believe the most powerful part of therapy is the relationship itself — one built on safety, honesty, and genuine care. I aim to create a space where you don’t have to perform or get it all “right.” Where your contradictions are welcome. Where you can bring your anger, your numbness, your joy, your confusion, and your grief — and trust that none of it is too much.

I also want to be transparent: I’ve been in therapy myself for several years. It’s one of the most transformative and grounding relationships in my life. It has helped me meet my own blind spots, soften toward the parts of me I used to avoid, and move through both personal and professional challenges with more integrity. That ongoing work continues to shape me — and it’s one reason I deeply respect the courage it takes to show up, week after week, to your own process.

Outside of the therapy room, I recharge through painting — mostly pastels and acrylics — and through dancing Kathak, a classical Indian dance form that brings together rhythm, expression, and storytelling. These creative practices help me stay grounded, embodied, and connected to a different kind of language — one that doesn’t rely on words but still tells the truth.

As a therapist, I don’t promise certainty. But I do offer steadiness. I will meet you with curiosity, honesty, and care — and walk alongside you as you begin (or continue) the work of untangling, remembering, healing, and reconnecting with yourself.

If something in this story resonates with yours — even just a little — I’d be honored to work with you.