About Us

Vision and Mission

Thunai's vision is to create awareness of the impact of trauma and perinatal distress and provide tools and resources to help in rebuilding mental resilience of trauma survivors and mothers during perinatal period.

We believe every human deserves to be free from mental suffering and after-effects of trauma. Everyone is capable of healing if their suffering is acknowledged and they are provided with appropriate therapeutic and community support.

To this end, we will aim to provide trauma survivors with bi-lingual therapeutic content and resources to aid their healing. We will also work towards societal and systemic changes that fight the stigma of trauma and aid recovery.

Thunai is currently working to provide elective courses and workshops to college students in Chennai, (from psychology and social work streams in particular) that introduce social emotional learning, mind-body therapies and maternal mental health to them.

Perinatal mental health is an important factor in the transmission of intergeneration trauma to the new generation and is a good predictor of emotional well-being of the child in adulthood. Thus, it is an important component of Thunai's work.

Areas of focus and Long Term Goals:

• Child Abuse and Sexual Violence Trauma and Recovery, Depression and co-occuring disorders, Maternal Mental Health. Helping survivors achieve a state of mental wellness and resilience.

• Evidence based treatments for Trauma and Perinatal Distress: Culturally appropriate mind-body interventions along with cognitive approaches.  

• Help Create awareness and sensitivity about trauma and perinatal mental health in the therapeutic community and the society at large. 

• Making relevant information readily available to therapists, social workers, law enforcement organisations.

Our Team:

“Trauma is real and recovery is possible.”A simple thought galvanized the inception of team Thunai. A group of self-aware individuals, propelled by personal and professional experiences around our societal realities behind Trauma and Depression, amalgamated in Thunai - A companion in your healing journey. 

Smita Rajan

A Dance and Movement Therapist, Counsellor, and a Dance educator, Smita believes that Body based experiences opens doorways towards enhanced living. She uses experiential methods for creative learning and therapeutic healing. As a certified Trauma specialist, she has worked with survivors of Trauma, Depression and Anxiety. Smita leads Thunai's programs in designing course modules and workshops for students and mothers.

Subasri 

Subasri is a soft-skill and wellness trainer from Chennai. A keen social activist and an avid  traveller, she owns a content development company. Subasri is an expert Tamizh translator and voice over artist. Many podcasts in this website carry her voice. She is also a trustee of Thunai.

Maria Fatima Victor

Maria is a Mental Health Educator and Certified Trauma Specialist. She is an enthusiastic learner who keeps up with the updating Mental Health community. She believes providing talk therapy combined with body-based therapy would help the client in their healing process. Maria has a passion for the well-being of Perinatal mothers and is committed to bringing awareness to Maternal and Infant Mental Health.

Dr. S. Srividhya

Dr. S. Sri Vidhya holds a doctorate in Psychology & specialized in Mindfulness Integrated Therapies for therapeutic interventions. With over a decade & half experience in psychological testing & counseling, she is also involved in creating awareness & empowering individuals through psychoeducation.

Venkatakrishnan D.

A former senior manager in a large firm, Venkat is a soft skill trainer and deeply interested in art, media especially in local vernacular. He helps produce videos and podcasts for Thunai.

Girish Kumar

A financial markets analyst, investor and animal lover from Chennai. Girish is a keen follower of Neuroscience as a tool for general mental health and self-growth. Spurred by personal experiences, Girish is committed to bringing trauma awareness and trauma recovery skills available for everyone; survivors, care-givers, social-workers and students. He is also an aspiring climate change activist.

Advisors:

Dr. V. D. Swaminathan

A retired professor of Psychology from Madras University, Chennai, Dr VD Swaminathan is a well known teacher, author and guide in the field of psychology. He had also worked as a psychologist in Chennai General Hospital. He has published two books "Psychology of Effective Living" and "Principles of Psychology in Women studies, Obstetrics and Gynaecology". He is passionate about maternal well being and rigorously testing new interventions in the field.

Contributors:

Videos & Editing:

• Chandrasekar

• Srinivasan

Intern Contributors:

Content Translation:

• Kalyani Gopalakrishnan

• Akila Krishnan

Voice Contributors:

• Hindhuja Ravichandran

• Ananth Ramachandran

• Venkat Viswanathan

• Subha Sanjayan

• Sanjayan Kulasekaran