“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” — Carl Rogers

I’ve been sitting with that idea for most of my adult life. I’m Sujata: if there’s one thing that has driven me, personally and professionally, it’s curiosity. Curiosity about people, about what’s underneath the surface, about the gap between who we are and who we feel we’re supposed to be.

I came to this work the long way. As a daughter of Indian immigrants who grew up in Oklahoma, I learned early what it means to move between worlds: between cultures, between identities, between belonging and otherness. That experience gave me something I carry into every room: a genuine attunement to difference, and a deep respect for the quiet work of figuring out who you actually are underneath everything that’s been layered on top.

I also understand that figuring yourself out doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Life has real demands- school, work, family, expectations. For a lot of the people I work with, the question isn’t just “Who am I?” but “How do I live a life that actually feels like mine while also managing everything else?” 

That tension between the inner life and the outer one is where I like to work.

My background spans neuroscience, public health, education, and technology. I think we are living through a moment that is genuinely reshaping people’s inner lives. The speed of everything, the pressure to perform, the way technology is changing what it means to be human. I want to be a clinician who can sit with people in those things.