In Conversation With: Divija Bhasin
Insight into Divija the Psychologist, instead of the Creator
Hey everyone!
I am so excited for the guest we have on Psychology with Arjun today.
Divija is one of the best mental health creators in India and it is no surprise that she boasts nearly 128K followers on Instagram for her work. You can go through her illustrious work so far on this link
So without further adieu, let’s get right into the interview!
Divija has a diverse background in psychology. She got her Bachelor’s degree from Ambedkar University Delhi, which is known for following a psychoanalytic, psycho-social program, unlike the usual socio-cognitive/behavioural bent that most universities have. Later, she got her MA from the University of Bath, England and an MSc. from Amity University. I just had to ask her about her experiences from these diverse universities
Q: What was the experience of doing your graduation from Ambedkar University like? How has that shaped you as a psychologist?
Divija: Ambedkar University was probably the best university I could’ve gone to for the kind of person I am.
I was always really shy and quiet in school (it was a convent school where we weren’t really given an option to speak up) and AUD taught me to stand up for what I believe in and question everything.
The way they taught us was very interesting and they didn’t rely on just rote learning. Assignments like critical analysis of movies really helped me to shape the analytical part of me.
It helps me now as a psychologist to understand that there are different perspectives to everything and everything isn’t as simple as it may seem. They also taught us to see people as human first and not put them in the box of “someone with a disorder” and I think everyone needs to learn that.
Q: You have a double master’s degree, one from the Uni of Bath and one from Amity, how different have the two experiences been?
Divija: My degree at the University of Bath was mostly research-based. I enjoy doing research and I’m currently in the process of publishing my dissertation with them. I also got to see how advanced they are in terms of this subject compared to our country.
Now I know the areas we lack in cause I saw how organized this sector could be if we tried to focus on developing it.
The experience of studying there helped me become independent and also be more accepting of people from all walks of life. Since I had to earn my own money for my daily expenditure, I learned how to manage my finances and I don’t think this would’ve been possible if I only studied in India.
Studying at Amity wasn’t very pleasant. It was mostly rote learning and being someone who learns a lot with practice-based work, I don’t think it was very helpful. I did some internships during my degree since it was a requirement (which wasn’t there in my course at Bath) and they helped a lot in helping me understand the areas I would like to work in.
Q: What is it like to have counselling sessions while also being a prominent public figure? Do you, or your clients, struggle with boundaries in your sessions? How do you deal with it?
I always thought that psychologists have to be “private” like we have been taught in our textbooks (I would’ve probably continued thinking like this had I not become a content creator).
I send my clients a consent form where I have mentioned that I will not be communicating with them outside of sessions but they can like, comment, follow or unfollow me. Till now I have not faced any boundary issues with them and my clients respect my space on social media.
In fact, because they can see what issues I stand for, they know they might connect well with me if that’s their main concern. Some of them have told me they approached me cause they found me relatable and not intimidating like other therapists.
What approach do you usually take in your sessions? Do you bend towards a particular school of thought or do you try to keep it eclectic?
I follow an eclectic approach where I use techniques from the client-centred approach, DBT, ACT, motivational interviewing and CBT.
I don’t think you should ever stop learning as a therapist.
I wouldn’t say that I “specialize” in any school of thought cause every client is different and requires a different plan of therapeutic intervention.
Q: Have your experiences with male clients been different than the ones with female clients? In terms of openness, resistance or trust put into the process of therapy.
I mostly get female clients(probably cause of the type of content I put out). I have noticed that some male clients usually just want to come for one session to “try it out”. This isn’t true for all male clients though. Many of them were as open as the female clients and trusted the process so I guess it’s less about their gender and more about the kind of people they are/their life experiences.
Q: What do you think the future for Psychology in India holds? Are you optimistic about the future?
I am very optimistic about the future of Psychology. I can already see a lot of changes in the way people view therapy and this subject as compared to maybe 5 years ago.
Fan Questions!
As a way to help Divija and her fans connect, I opened the floor for questions from her followers and I was completely inundated. It was surprising to see so many inquisitive and insightful questions from an audience. It took me an hour to choose them and had to make a lot of tough choices.
Jiya S. asks “Does client's life stories and ideologies affect yours? In long term or in disguise? Subconsciously?”
Yes, definitely. They don’t affect me too much emotionally but I do get to hear a lot of things that I didn’t realize still existed. It helps me understand my own bias in life and how we all live in a bubble sometimes. I also think that I learn from my client’s experiences and insights (not directly but I know I’m learning subconsciously).
Vidhi asks, “What do you think about methods/ approaches which are NOT related to Psychology and are used to deal with mental health illnesses, such as manifestation, numerology or religion”
I personally don’t believe in these things as of now but I don’t think it’s a very big problem if someone does. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and sometimes it might even help them.
It becomes an issue when people try to replace therapy with these things or impose their beliefs on others. Nothing can replace professional help.
These approaches can be used alongside therapy/psychiatric medication. Another problem is that there’s no standardisation when it comes to these things.
No proper qualifications for it which means that anyone can claim to be an expert. Now that is something that can be dangerous, especially to people who may go to them for help expecting some sort of miracle.
And that is it for this week! I want to thank Divija for agreeing to be a part of this and her followers for giving me a headache in choosing the right questions for her.
I will be back next week with more mind-blowing stories from the world of Psychology and have a very special meme-master lined up for next month as well ;)
Can you guess who it is?
Let me know your best guesses by replying to this email or in the comments!
Until next time,
Arjun Gupta
Ishant Rana i guesssssssssssssss