Why teens?
I bet you’re wondering why I chose to work with teens and the people who love them.
The answer is simple: it’s deeply personal.
When I was a teenager, I wished for someone who could understand what I was going through. Someone who would help me make sense of the questions I was asking and the challenges I was facing. Someone who could be a bridge between me and my parents.
I never found that person.
I became her.
About ASHIMA
Things
You’ll Hear
Me Say
There is no such thing as perfect.
I’m curious… how does that feel to hear that?
Rupture happens, repair is necessary.
There is nothing to do, there is nothing to change.
We don’t need to get it all figured out today.
Where do you notice that feeling in your body or around you?
Let’s Get Curious
Have you seen the movie Inside Out?
Remember when Joy put Sadness in a circle and told her not to touch anything or leave?
What happened next?
No matter how hard Joy tried, Sadness kept touching everything.
Emotions aren’t the problem. Trying to ignore them, control them, or push them away often creates more pain. Our emotions are trying to tell us something important if we’re willing to listen.
One of my favorite poems, The Guest House by Rumi, reminds us that every emotion is a visitor. Even the ones we’d rather not invite in have something to teach us.
Instead of asking, “How do I make this feeling go away?” I like to ask, “I wonder what sadness is trying to tell us?”
In Inside Out, Sadness was trying to help Riley recognize what she had lost: her friends, her hockey team, and the place she called home. In fact, Joy discovered that keeping Sadness trapped didn’t make Riley happier; it kept her from healing.
It's okay to be sad about leaving something you love. In fact, sadness reminds us that something mattered. We don't heal by pretending it didn't hurt. We heal by getting curious about what our emotions are trying to tell us.
How about a cup of chai?
Sometimes we humans complicate things. We misunderstand them. We make assumptions before we know the story. But when we slow down and get curious, we begin to understand ourselves and the people around us.
That's the kind of therapy I love. The chai is optional. The curiosity isn't.
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Life isn’t neat and tidy. Sometimes it’s messy, layered, and a little spicy.
Therapy doesn’t have to be serious all the time. We can laugh, be curious, ask hard questions, and still do meaningful work.
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Sometimes the smallest misunderstanding reveals the biggest assumptions. Chai already means tea, by the way
Curiosity has a funny way of turning ordinary moments into opportunities to learn something new.
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Every family brings a different recipe. Different traditions. Different expectations. Different ways of showing love.
Therapy isn’t about deciding whose recipe is right. It’s about understanding where it came from and deciding which ingredients you’d like to keep and which you’re ready to leave behind.
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There isn’t always one right answer. Sometimes the question is less about finding the perfect choice and more about discovering what fits you best.
Let’s get curious
together
What’s been keeping you up at night? What’s been following you around lately? Maybe it’s…
Am I helping or making things worse?
Who am I?
Why do I feel like this?
Is this normal?
You don’t need to have the answer before reaching out. We’ll explore it together.
Walking Beside You Toward Limitless Peace
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Walking Beside You Toward Limitless Peace ~