Fergusson College Autonomous, Pune

Department of English
Semester V (2022-23)

CE-2

Name- Shreyasi Shambharkar Roll Number- 216082

Division- A (Grant)

Mrs. Neha Thakur, a counsellor psychologist and therapist at "Mindificient," in Pune, was the subject of
my interview that day. She has been in this sector for about 8 years, during which time she has mentored
many other aspiring psychologists. I chose her for the interview because Neha is a fantastic therapist, and
she is someone I look up to for my future professional path.

It was a cloudy afternoon, and I had arrived to interview her a few hours before her internship began. We
sat in a conference room at the workplace after she greeted me. After we established a rapport, I inquired
about her day and how she felt about being here today. She conveyed her joy and enthusiasm by
expressing how amazing she felt about everything. Neha was also asked if she would agree to this
interview being recorded, and she said yes.

Interviewer: How did you become interested in psychology? What sparked your interest, and when did
you discover it?

Interviewee: Okay so my interest in psychology I think is way back to when I was in 10th grade. And I
was struggling with a lot of things in school and my class teacher sort of referred me to the school
counsellor and the kind of work that I did sort of totally improved the way I was functioning and I was
able to relate better and adjust well at school, and you know, so many other things. I was very inspired by
the school counsellor then, Miss Rina. I then started exploring on how to become a psychologist.
Furthermore, I was in touch with her for the longest time and I would say that Miss Rina has always been
my inspiration to become interested in psychology.

Interviewer: and did you have any peers who were psychologists or therapists whom you could look up to
for career advice when you were younger?
Interviewee: Apart from my school counsellor my best friends’ sister who was also pursuing psychology
totally helped because I understood from her what were the best colleges in Pune to apply for, and then I
slowly got into Fergusson I started talking to different professors and my peer group, we researched about
the best possible places to learn psychology.

Interviewer: And how did it impact you?

Interviewee: It definitely impacted me because of the research we could find proper places and I went to
Christ University which helped me learn so much, so you know what I am today I would definitely give
credit to the educational institutes I earned my degrees from.

Interviewer: Oh, that is incredible! What about your favourite thing about being a therapist, would you
like to tell me more about it?

Interviewee: I have a younger sister, we have an age gap of 8 years and I grew up listening to her
problems quite often and also in our peer group, I was always someone who you could go and talk to. I
had even discussed this with my peers and school counsellors, and they told me I could become a great
counsellor. The certain qualities that I had totally intrigued. What is the best thing about being a therapist
is that inborn, I have this innate need to be there and help people as much as possible. So being a therapist
I'm able to fulfil that, and I am able to help a large population with not only listening but also help them
improve their quality of their lives.

Interviewer: Wow, after hearing this i am sure there must be, in your opinion, some crucial quality of a
psychologist/Therapist that you have in mind. Could you tell me?

Interviewee: The most crucial quality that I feel of a therapist must be is that of a non-judgemental
attitude, and the second I would say is immense positive regard and empathy. I study person-centred
therapy approach but whatever school of thought you come from, it is very important to be
non-judgemental because that is a place where the client is going to feel safe and comfortable talking to
you and if one cannot build that trust and caring environment, the client will never be able to experience
that flourishing environment and be able to improve because they will never be able to share their actual
problems.

Interviewer: How much has the scene and scope of psychology changed since you began studying in this
field?

Interviewee: Since I began studying I would say there was very little scope because there were only two
major fields that I knew of back in the year 2011, I started studying psychology from my junior college
itself. I knew very little people who opted for psychology and who were interested in it, but now there are
so many people I know who are-number one, interested in pursuing the field and number two, after covid,
scenes have really changed for therapists as people got to know more and really understood the
importance of mental health as there was a need at that time, so a lot of instances that have happened after
that which has improved the field scope. The scope is only improving and getting wider. It has grown
tremendously.

Interviewer: How do you stay motivated in this role?

Interviewee: My motivation comes from the feedback that I get from the clients, I totally work for
improving more of their lives. They motivate and keep me glued to ensuring I'm working better.

Interviewer: and what is the most challenging thing about being a therapist?

Interviewee: For me, trying and creating a boundary and ensure you offer only as a therapist and not
more than that because I am an over empathetic person, so it is highly possible that I offer more care and
support which can make the client very dependent, but I feel creating a boundary is very important and
very challenging for me at times, otherwise being a therapist is an amazing feeling to have.

Interviewer: What advice would you provide to aspiring psychology students who wish to become
therapists?

Interviewee: I think I would suggest that all the budding psychologists should learn more and more dirty
hands at various levels and ensure that you have enough experience before you freeze on to something
that you want to do with psychology because if you have not dirtied your hands enough, you will never
understand what it is to have to use psychology at different places. It is very important to keep doing a lot
of internships, ensuring that you have enough knowledge and be open to experience when you are
freezing your career path.

Interviewer: Wow now that is some great advice that i wish i got to hear earlier but even now it is so
helpful. Thank you so much Neha for those helpful words and also for this interview, it was lovely having
you here today!

Interviewee: No, thank YOU for having me here, it was so fun answering these questions, I am always
here to help my fellow budding psychologists any time! It was lovely being here.

Interviewing Neha was extremely fun as i got to learn so much from her. It is always good to hear about
people and their experiences, as one can learn so much from them, especially when they are from the
same field that we would pursue. She was very friendly and calm and did not hesitate at all. Her body
language was also very welcoming as she kept smiling throughout the interview. Her replies were very
well thought and thorough. One thing I learned, the most important in my opinion, is the crucial qualities
of a therapist and how being non-judgemental and having unconditional positive regard is so important
for a therapist and the client. Also, her mentioning getting as much experience one could get was
something i noted down for my future.