Dipti Balwani

I’m a New York–licensed mental health counselor, EMDR-trained therapist, and registered yoga teacher. I received my master’s degree in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from NYU, where I also completed specialized training in LGBTQIA+ affirming care. Before becoming a therapist, I spent more than a decade working as an educator, which shaped my ability to listen closely, understand people within their larger cultural and relational contexts, and recognize the strengths beneath the ways they have learned to cope.

I work with adults and couples navigating trauma, childhood emotional neglect, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, perfectionism, identity, sexuality, life transitions, and feeling disconnected from themselves. As a South Asian therapist with an international background, I am especially attentive to the ways culture, family expectations, immigration, race, gender, and belonging can shape a person’s inner life.

1. My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and grounded in the belief that lasting change involves more than simply understanding why you feel the way you do. Together, we pay attention to how past experiences continue to show up in your emotions, your body, your relationships, and the beliefs you hold about yourself. I integrate psychodynamic therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems–informed work, somatic practices, mindfulness, and creative self-inquiry. This means we may explore early experiences and recurring relationship patterns, while also slowing down enough to notice what is happening in your nervous system in the present moment. My style is warm, engaged, and gently direct. I will listen closely, ask meaningful questions, and help you make connections that may be difficult to see on your own. I also respect that coping strategies usually developed for a reason. Rather than judging or forcing them away, we work to understand what they have protected you from and build new ways of responding that feel safer and more aligned with who you are now.

Our first session is a chance for us to begin getting to know one another without pressure to tell your entire story at once. I’ll ask about what has been bringing you to therapy, what feels most difficult right now, and what you hope might become different through our work together. We may also discuss important relationships, cultural or family influences, previous experiences with therapy, and anything that helps you feel safer and better understood.

You do not need to arrive with perfectly organized thoughts or a clear treatment goal. We can begin with what feels most present and make sense of it together. I’ll help us identify some initial areas of focus, while leaving room for those goals to evolve as our work deepens.

My priority is to create an environment that feels warm, nonjudgmental, collaborative, and paced with care. By the end of the session, I hope you have a clearer sense of how I work, what our therapy could focus on, and whether you feel comfortable continuing together.