Therapy, at the pace it actually takes.

I am Nikhita Raman, a psychotherapist in Bengaluru. I see adults, weekly, usually for somewhere between six months and three years. There is no programme, no app, no eight-session package, and no promise that this will be quick.

Most people arrive after trying to think their way out of something for a long time. The work is slower and stranger than that, and it tends to be worth it.

Arrange a first conversation

Who I tend to work with

People come with all sorts of presenting problems, but the ones I sit with best are broadly these.

Adults who are functioning well by every visible measure and privately not
People carrying something from a family they have not been able to put down
Long-standing anxiety that has outlived whatever originally caused it
Grief that has been asked to be tidier than it is
Those who have had good CBT, found it helpful, and want to go further down

What the work looks like

Fifty minutes, the same time each week, in person in Cooke Town or online. Weekly matters more than people expect — fortnightly sessions tend to become a series of updates rather than a piece of work.

I work relationally and psychodynamically, which in practice means we will pay attention to what happens between us as much as to what happened elsewhere. I ask questions more than I give advice. If you want homework and a worksheet, I will say so early and point you towards someone excellent who does that.

There is no fixed ending. We review together at three months and then roughly every six, and stopping is a conversation, not an announcement.

“She never once told me what I was feeling. It took me about four months to stop finding that infuriating and start finding it useful.”

A client

Written for this page, with permission, after ending

Practical things

What does it cost?+

₹2,800 a session. I hold four lower-fee places at ₹1,400 for people who could not otherwise come; one or two are usually free, and you do not need to prove anything to ask.

What is the first call?+

Twenty minutes, free, on the phone. It is genuinely a two-way assessment — I am working out whether I am the right person, and so are you. Roughly one in four of those calls ends with me recommending someone else.

Do you prescribe?+

No, I am not a psychiatrist. I work alongside several and will suggest a psychiatric opinion when medication seems worth considering, which is more often than people expect and less often than they fear.

Is it confidential?+

Yes, with the standard limits: risk of serious harm to you or someone else, and a court order. I discuss my work in supervision, anonymised — every ethical therapist does, and you should be wary of one who says otherwise.

What about cancellations?+

The hour is yours, so it is charged unless we can move it within the same week. This sounds harsh and is standard; the reliability of the slot is part of what makes the work possible.