The practitioner

Integrative Clinical Expertise

I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with an M.Phil in Clinical Psychology & PhD in Psychology and over 20 years of practice spanning individual therapy, couples work, corporate training programs, and psychological assessment. My work is integrative by training and by conviction. I draw on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Schema Therapy, and Arts-Based methods, and I use whichever framework is most therapeutically suited to the person in front of me.

Before establishing my private practice in Goa, I worked as a Psychologist at Foundation Hope, New Delhi — one of India’s early structured residential treatment centres and served as Under Secretary to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. From 2014 to 2019, I was a Lecturer at Goa Institute of Management, teaching Organisational Behaviour, Counselling Skills, and Emotional Intelligence, and delivering management development programmes for organisations including the Naval War College, Johnson and Johnson, and Konkan Railway.

I have additional certifications including DBT Levels 1 and 2 from the Australian DBT Institute and the Asia Pacific DBT Institute, EQ-i 2.0 and E.Qi 360 from Par Excellence Leadership Solutions, Mumbai & Multi Health Systems, UK, and Arts-Based Therapy from the World Centre for Creative Learning Foundation, Pune. I am currently completing trainer-level certification in Good Enough Parenting — a structured, evidence-based parenting programme developed by Dr. John Philip Louis of LCTS Singapore as India’s exclusive program and launch partner.

I am an International Affiliate of the American Psychological Association and a Life Member of the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists, as well as a Professional Member of National Academy of Psychology. I am registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India (CRR No. A18071) and am currently serving a second term as an Appointed Member of the Goa State Mental Health Authority.

Clinical Scope

What I Can Help With

I focus on providing specialized psychological interventions for individuals and couples navigating a wide range of clinical concerns and life complexities. My practice offers a secure and professional environment for therapeutic growth and diagnostic inquiry.

Emotional & Clinical Symptoms

Relationships & Life Transitions

Complex Concerns in Adolescence & Young Adulthood

Intense, difficult to control emotions
High levels of worry and anxiety
Panic attacks
Intrusive thoughts and worries
Changes in appetite or difficulty sleeping
Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
Uncontrolled anger
Overly strict rituals interfering with daily life
Physical symptoms not linked to diagnosed illness

Family relationships & marital conflicts
Chronic disorganization and chaos
Career and role transitions
Overwhelming reactions to changes
Low self-worth and feeling “stuck”
Drug and alcohol use interfering with life
Avoidance of social situations

Adolescent anxiety, depression & irritability
Coping difficulties with peer relationships
Substance abuse issues in youth
Hearing or seeing things others don’t
Suicidal thoughts or plans
Self- harm
Low self worth

Therapeutic Approaches

How I can Help

The question I find most useful in clinical work is not which therapeutic technique is best — it is which approach works, for this person, at this point in their life.

Before any therapy begins, I carry out a thorough assessment of the presenting concerns, the person’s history, their strengths, and the cultural and relational context that has shaped them. From there, we discuss the available approaches, the evidence behind them, and what is likely to be most useful. Then we collaboratively decide which approach would be a good fit given this data.

Therapy is one of the more demanding things a person can choose to do. It requires returning, week after week, to material that is often uncomfortable and sometimes painful. I take that seriously. My role is not to lead the process but to work alongside it — providing the clinical rigour, the structure, and the relational consistency that allow genuine change to take hold.

I am particularly experienced with complex presentations: chronic emotional dysregulation, longstanding relational patterns, trauma with significant functional impact, and clients who have tried other approaches without sustained benefit. For these presentations, the integrative depth I bring across CBT, DBT, Schema Therapy, and Arts-Based methods, makes a practical difference.

I also believe that insight without strategy has limited reach. Understanding why a pattern exists is necessary but rarely sufficient. My work consistently bridges formulation and action — helping clients translate what they come to understand about themselves into the specific changes they are trying to make.

Schema Therapy

ST is an evidence- based major treatment orientation for chronic mental health problems and self- defeating personality patterns. It addresses life-long patterns, most of which originated at an earlier time and focuses on modifying them to reduce their influence on one’s present. You can look at a brief introduction to this type of therapy at https://schematherapysociety.org/Schema-Therapy

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

Or CBT as it is popularly known, is a very structured, goal- oriented approach that focuses on clients’ current problems. It is based on the premise that one’s perception or interpretation of a situation determines one’s thoughts and emotions in response to it. Thus, working through long-standing ways of perceiving the world and our beliefs about ourselves is the key to problem-solving and personal growth. More detailed information about CBT can be found here https://beckinstitute.org/get-informed/what-is-cognitive-therapy/

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a relatively new but powerful approach of learning specific skills to regulate emotions, reduce self-harm and cultivate enriching relationships. Throughout the process, “dialectic” strategies are interwoven to facilitate a synthesis or integration of opposites so that clients can get unstuck from more extreme positions that are usually the source of distress and invalidation. Reliable information on the approach can be accessed here

https://behavioraltech.org/resources/faqs/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt/

Emotional Intelligence Coaching

Strictly speaking, this is not an independent psychotherapy approach but a set of specialized skills and interventions designed to specifically focus on Emotional Intelligence- a critical personal, team and leadership skill that encompasses everything from regulating one's own stress, energy and emotions to managing social interactions with others. While there are many such E.I focused trainers and programs available, my extensive professional experience in psychology and psychotherapy allows me to bring in-depth and authenticity to this kind of coaching. I employ the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0), which is the most researched measure of emotional intelligence and the world’s leading assessment for emotional intelligence used by such companies as Google, Amazon, Nike, and Microsoft.

Arts-based Therapy

Instead of relying on "talk therapy", ABT uses the language of metaphors and media such as drama, painting, music etc. to facilitate expression and healing without the need for "expert interpretation"

Good Enough Parenting (GEP)

GEP is a Schema Therapy based preventative and repair model of intervention in family systems that are struggling to resolve conflicts and meet each others’ core emotional needs. Dr. Borah is the first India- based, certified GEP Facilitator and an exclusive partner with LCTS, Singapore for its India launch .