Summary

Format: 5-Day Residential Training + 6-Month Online Mentorship & Supervision
Offline Dates: 12–16 January 2026 (residential training)
Online Duration: February to July 2026 (dates to be released later)
Location: The Lalit Suri Hospitality School, Faridabad (Delhi NCR)
For: Mental health practitioners with a post-graduate degree in psychology/counselling
Early Bird Sliding Scale active on a first come first serve basis. 

Why is Karma Care Reimagining Care?

Mental health care in India is evolving, and so are the needs of the communities we serve. 

As therapists, our ability to hold inclusive and identity-responsive therapeutic spaces is shaped not just by the limitations of our training but also by the bubbles we inhabit, the privileges we hold, and the dominant narratives we have internalised. These forces can make it difficult to fully see, honour, or respond to lived experiences different from our own, very often our clients.

At Karma Care, we believe that inclusive mental health support must be intentional, informed, and continually cultivated. Reimagining Care was created with this vision- to nurture practitioners who are empathetic, socially aware, and equipped to work meaningfully with clients across diverse identities and lived realities.

Our programme recognises that mental health is inseparable from the lived realities of Caste, Gender, Sexuality, Disability, Neurodivergence, Class, and more. In our very first fellowship, we will begin by engaging mental health professionals in conversations and training around Queer and Trans-Affirmative Care, Disability, Neurodivergence, Caste and its ongoing impact, and Pleasure/Kink-affirmative Care- knowing there’s more to go, this is not exhaustive but a necessary starting point.

Powered by Keshav Suri Foundation, Reimagining Care by Karma Care addresses a critical gap in India’s mental health ecosystem: the shortage of professionals able to access and to provide socially rooted mental health care.

As a need for such identity-affirming care rises, many mental health professionals lack supportive structures or structured opportunities to deeply engage with these frameworks, as much as they may want to. This sometimes prevents even well-meaning therapists from showing up with the sensitivity, nuance, and competence that diverse communities and clients truly need and that they themselves wish to offer.

Through this collaboration, we aim to bring together practitioners who lead with empathy, awareness, and integrity. Together with lived-experience advocates, facilitators, and community educators, we invite you to journey with us and:

• Create reflective learning spaces where practitioners and community voices come together to learn, unlearn, question, and transform.
  
• Encourage open and courageous dialogue around caste oppression, neurodiversity, gender identity, sexuality, disability, kink, and systemic inequity.
  
• Build a supervision-led mentorship model grounded in accountability, personal reflection, and professional growth.
  
• Develop a network of equity-driven practitioners who champion accessible, authentic, trauma-sensitive, and anti-oppressive mental health care.

What Is Reimagining Care?

Reimagining Care is an intensive 5-day residential training followed by 6-month online mentorship & supervision programme crafted for mental health professionals from all ages and stages of career. 

A fully immersive learning experience shaped by mental health professionals, interdisciplinary facilitators, and powerful storytellers rooted in lived realities from across India.
Note: We encourage all participants to work with at least one client on a pro-bono basis before beginning the online supervision and mentorship sessions. The client should be someone who identifies with a marginalised identity across caste, gender, sexuality, or disability.
We have partnered with community-based groups and NGOs who may refer clients to participants on a pro-bono basis. However, client referrals cannot be guaranteed for every participant.

5-Day Residential Training Programme

Over five intensive days, participants will be introduced to five foundational areas that inform inclusive mental health practice.
Venue – The Lalit Suri Hospitality School, Faridabad
Dates – 12th to 16th January 2026
A residential programme allows participants to step outside daily routines and immerse themselves in shared learning, community building, and reflective practice. 

Focal Area 1: Understanding The Caste System: Oppression Historically & Today

“Caste is not just a division of labour; it is a division of labourers.” — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Decolonising therapy in India is impossible without naming caste because silence itself is caste-affirming. Caste is not a backdrop,  it is a living structure shaping who is heard, who is believed, who is pathologised, and who is given care. The day confronts how caste oppression intersects with other marginal identities, and how it interacts with the very ethics of therapeutic practice.  Through casework, critical reflection, and community-led narratives, participants will be encouraged to identify caste-based biases and systemic patterns without reproducing casteist harms. 

Focal Area 2: Queer and Trans-Affirmative Care

Mental health literature has historically colluded to medicalise queer-trans identities. The module will involve questioning these narrow definitions and approach individuals with sensitive and non-discriminatory care. We will explore how sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression intersect with other systemically oppressed identities. Participants will examine how these intersections of vulnerable populations limit their access to support while making space for lived realities and experiences of resilience through care frameworks

Focal Area 3: Neurodivergence-Affirming Care

Moving away from pathologising frameworks, this session explores what it truly means to support neurodivergent clients in therapeutic spaces beyond deficit-based models and neurotypical expectations. We will critically examine how our understanding of neurodivergence is shaped and how the experiences of neurodivergent individuals are impacted by access, bias, and structural inequity. We will move beyond labels, stigmas and discrimination while actively recognising neuro-normative biases while validating care rooted in autonomy and consent. 

Focal Area 4: Understanding Disability

Participants will explore disability through lived-experience narratives, disability justice frameworks, and intersectional analysis. The session will also highlight how disability intersects with caste, class, gender, and social location to shape experiences while navigating relational and systemic barriers. Through reflective and experiential learning, participants will develop awareness on the needs of people with disabilities within therapeutic systems, skills to build more accessible, autonomy-centred spaces while also having a special segment on learning the basics of sign language as per ISL (Indian sign language). 

Focal Area 5: Understanding Pleasure & Kink-Affirmative Therapy

This session introduces pleasure as a valid psychological and relational experience and kink not just as sexual but as a form of self-expression rooted in identity, agency, play, creativity, rebellion, and connection. We move beyond western portrayals like 50 Shades of Grey and instead ground our understanding in consent, cultural context, lived experience, and pleasure-affirmative frameworks relevant to Indian realities. Historically, Psychology and paraphilia-based frameworks pathologised consensual kink and preference, framing them as deviant or disordered. When therapists understand these histories and approach pleasure and kink with sensitivity and affirmation, clients feel seen rather than corrected, analysed, or misunderstood.

6-Month Mentorship & Supervision Programme 

Mode – Online
Duration – February to July 2026

Frequency – 1 per month

Guided learning that supports your transition from classroom knowledge to ethical, inclusive therapeutic practice.

The 6-month mentorship & supervision phase includes:

1. Group supervision sessions under experienced psychologists. 
2. Mentorship circles focusing on ethical counselling skills 
3. Check-in Sessions to stay connected and assist in your practising journey

The purpose of these sessions is to:

• Open ethical reflection spaces
• case-based discussions and handholding 
• guidance on applying affirmative frameworks in practice
• Tips on building robust administrative practises
  

Completion of this phase is mandatory for fulfilling the training requirement. This ensures that learning is embodied, sustained, and meaningfully implemented.

Important: Kindly refer to the Note under “What is Reimaging Care?” for client intake details. 

Key Takeaways
By the end of the programme, participants will have:

• A deep understanding of affirmative and intersectional frameworks
• Some tools to build safer, more inclusive therapeutic spaces
• Skills to navigate diverse client needs more sensitively and ethically
• Awareness of own social location, privilege, and bias and how it shapes us as therapists
• Ability to translate theory into meaningful therapeutic practice
• A dynamic network of psychologists and cultivate relationships that support both your career and personal growth

Application Process

Limited seats available. Early Bird sliding slots will close soon.The five day residential program includes both accommodation and food. Travel and transportation to the venue will need to be arranged by you.

Eligibility Criteria

• Open to all Mental Health Practitioners who have completed their Post-graduation in psychology/counselling. 
• Individuals who have completed their Masters in Psychology in 2025 can also apply. 

Program Fees

We have created multiple pricing tiers so the program can be accessible to people with different levels of capacity.

1. Standard Fee: Rs. 15,000
   If you are comfortable paying the full amount, fill the application form and enter 15,000 under Pay As You Can.

*Early Bird Sliding Scale of Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 Pay As You Can : We ask you to select a fee that reflects your financial capacity. If you are able to pay at a higher tier, your choice actively sustains access for others with limited means.

2. Partial Scholarship for participants available

Partial scholarship seats are reserved for participants from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Nomadic Tribes, and Denotified Tribes.

Upon selection, the exact fee can be discussed.

If you would like to be considered, please fill out the scholarship form below.

Steps to Apply

Step 1: Fill out the application form
Share your basic details and your preferred payment band if you are opting for Early Bird sliding.

Step 2: Attend the interview
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a brief conversation.

Step 3: Receive the final selection email
Selected participants will receive confirmation, payment instructions and onboarding details.

Step 4: Prepare for the residential programme
Pack for the five day residential experience. If you are traveling from outside Delhi, you can book your tickets after receiving the final confirmation.

Please Note: If, after review, your application does not meet our eligibility criteria or is not selected based on our discretion, the full amount you paid will be refunded.

For any queries, you can reach out at 9821477730 or write to [email protected].

Application Form
SCHOLARSHIP FORM