Our guest today is Kareena Mehta, a mental health professional with a B.A. in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College and further education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she earned an Ed.M. in Mental Health Counseling and an M.A. in Psychological Counseling.Kareena brings with her a plethora of cross-cultural experiences, both from her own personal life growing up in Belgium, moving to India and then the USA; as well as professionally, wherein her clients are spread throughout the globe from Africa to India, USA, Cannada and beyond.We talk to her about:Her forray into the mental health spaceThe basic differences between a psychologist, psychotherapist and psychiatristThe differences she experiences being a mental health professional in India vs here in the USAThe most common mental health challenges in India and the USAThe gaps in the mental health space5 things everyone can do to work on their mental well-being on a daily basisCheck out the full episode and Subscribe to our monthly Substack newsletter atchaiversations.org

We discuss the barriers we faced whilst trying to access mental health services in the US, and South Asian organizations that are doing the groundwork in creating databases of a network of therapists and services, Plus, Rema shares a few ground-breaking mental health books that were a huge part of her journey.We hope you enjoy this episode! You can check out our website chaiversations.org and Subscribe to our monthly Substack Newsletter chaibreakpodcast.substack.com

We, Shwetha & Rema, address the elephant in the room - mental health and well-being by sharing our own personal journey of how/why/what got us to seek professional help. It's raw, it's real and it's just the beginning of a power-packed season of personal stories, chaiversations with expert guests, and continuing the chaiversation online via Instagram and the launch of our Substack Newsletter.Sign up for our newsletter via our website chaiversations.org or at chaibreakpodcast.substack.com for your monthly fix of exclusive behind-the-scenes of the world of podcasting, exclusive guest interviews, the latest episode drops and so much more.

Jashima Wadehra is the co-founder and CEO of Ode, a brand strategy, talent management and business development firm catering predominantly to children of immigrant brands, businesses and artists.While companies rely on third-party metrics, Jashima specializes in taking a “lived experience meets data” approach to representing talent and brands. Specifically from communities whose consumption patterns and preferences are often not aggregated by general marketing data firms or cultural nuances that talent agencies are not well versed in.Ode’s talent roster has worked with Audiomack, Netflix, Tunecore, Amazon, VEVO, Lincoln Center, Meta, Applaus, Kulture Khazana, Brown Girl Mag, 5XFest, DesiFest and many more on both the talent representation and brand strategy side.With a background in music journalism, consumer psychology and events, Jashima is the link between brands and companies to create intentional and impactful campaigns.chaiversations.org

With a background in behavioral psychology, Chandani wears many hats. From co-founding a marketing tech agency to more recently becoming an angel investor and venture capitalist, she is here to talk to us about the world of finance and importance of financial wellness in the South Asian space.In our chaiversation, we talk to her about the journey to entering a largely man's world AKA the world of finance. She gives listeners handy tips on investing, and how to navigate a world that is somewhat overwhelming for newbies.chaiversations.org

Amrita Doshi, is the co-founder and Executive Director of South Asian SOAR, a national organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence in the US, within the South Asian diaspora. She is deeply committed to advancing healing and justice for South Asian survivors and communities. Amrita comes to this work with her own experiences of survivorship as well as several years of work across public health, technology, and art.chaiversations.org

Today’s episode is all about how one woman’s mission to share the truth turned into a 40 thousand strong following. From gender inclusivity, fighting the patriarchy, breaking stigma, supporting marginalized voices and curating South Asian content beyond the ordinary, Divya Soneji, Founder of South Asian Nation, has made it her life mantra to use her platform and voice for the greater good.

Mental health in the South Asian community has always been taboo. Although we've made great strides, we still have ways to go in normalizing conversations around going to therapy/seeking professional help, not just when you experience a life changing event, but on a regular basis, it's like taking your vitamins!Our chaiversation this week is with Ragini Jha, a trained counselor, based in the UK, she specializes in the area of cultural-relations and cognitive behavioral therapy, focused in the South Asian diaspora space.https://www.cardamomcounselling.com/

Niha Elety is a sustainable fashion advocate and designer/founder of Tega Collective. She uses fashion, art and heritage to bring awareness about sustainability and its importance.When joining the sustainability space full of advocates and leaders, Niha noticed that there weren't many discussions about culture and ancestral knowledge. Since then her goal has been to bring inclusivity and a variety of perspectives from BIPOC creators (the original sustainability leaders) to the environmental movement.

In this episode, we chat with Indian-American actress Anjali Bhimani, so much talent packed in one person, its astounding! Her "why not me" attitude helped her pave a unique path in a world where she did not see representation, so she decided to lead the way and not be bogged down by rejections!From the world of TV, theatre, film, virtual gaming world, voice over — you name and she has delved deep into each of these mediums and excelled in it, no less!And today, she adds yet another feather to her cap, "BESTSELLING AUTHOR", with the release of her very first book, "I'm Fun Size & So Are You" - a raw, real, engaging book, that actually feels like a conversation with your BFF!PS: We have a very special GIVEAWAY with Anjali. Be sure to check out our Instagram page - @chai_break_podcastchaiversations.org