Sandy Dias Andrade is the Founder–Director at the Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence. She has been a practicing psychotherapist for over twenty-five years and works with a Mindfulness and Presence-Oriented Psychotherapeutic approach, integrating somatic, attachment-based, and trauma-resolution perspectives. Her specialization is in developmental trauma in adults. She is also an internationally certified Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) teacher.

She is deeply interested in merging mainstream psychological processes with wisdom-based approaches, an integration that has shaped the vision and work of the Just Being Center and the professional trainings she has developed for mental health practitioners.

Harini is an Associate Therapist at Just Being and Head (Adjunct) of the Delhi chapter. Harini co-teaches and provides supervision within the Mindfulness-Based Counseling and Presence-Oriented Psychotherapy programs.

Over the past eight years, she has accompanied individuals and groups through grief, trauma, and parenting journeys to name a few. Apart from this, she also works in the field of strengthening educational leadership.

Her work is guided by a lived commitment to returning, again and again, to a sense of inner home—both for herself and in how she meets others.

Dr Mary Kuttikadan is a mindfulness based practitioner and Embodied Listening Facilitator with a background in developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Her work involves assessment of neurodivergent children and supporting families in their journey. As a mindfulness based practitioner she also holds one on one and group spaces for Adults and adolescents.

While practicing as a developmental pediatrician since the last 7 years, she also noticed the need for a more holistic approach for supporting parents and children in her own practice. This led to exploring mindfulness based approaches leading to the presence oriented psychotherapy and RDI, which support her philosophy of supporting emotional health and embracing neurodiversity.

As a mindfulness practitioner, Mary holds one on one as well as group listening spaces for adolescents and adults. Holding spaces for Grief Apart from that, Mary also conducts assessments and supports the diagnosis and management of neurodivergent individuals in her role as a developmental pediatrician

Trained as a developmental and behavioural pediatrician. Trained as an RDI consultant for autism. Trained as a storyteller (Kathalaya Institute for Storytelling), Yoga instructor(The Yoga Institute), EQ facilitator (Equipoise Pvt Ltd). Mary completed her PG diploma in Mindfulness based Listening: Listening with Embodied Presence and is currently completing the Advanced Training in Presence Oriented Psychotherapy.

Jaya is the The Principal In-charge at St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune and has served at St. Mira’s as Head of the Department of Psychology. She teaches many theory-based modules on the course and brings the theory alive for students. She has an ability to teach in a way that makes theoretical concepts lucid and places them in a concise yet comprehensive framework.

She has actively designed courses to advance students’ understanding of psychology as a profession, designed curriculums for undergraduate programs with psychology as a specialization, taught varied psychology courses for undergraduate levels, including psychopathology, research methodology and counselling psychology. She is also responsible for developing several volunteering programs that were very popular with the community and students. She is also a coordinator of the Internal Quality assurance cell and is instrumental in launching a very successful mental wellbeing program for students.

Romana Shaikh’s journey has and continues to be in pursuit of A Thriving Life for Every Child.

In seeking to make meaning of her own lived experiences of adversity, trauma and marginalisation, Romana has engaged with formal public education systems, comprehensive sexuality education and a training in Presence Oriented Psychotherapy.

​She is the co-founder of Kizazi, a global not-for-profit with the mission to develop, implement and codify breakthrough school models that promise this generation of children a thriving life. Her experience over the past two decades spans across fields of mental health, education, peacebuilding, social entrepreneurship, and leadership. A Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, A Teach For India alum and a teaching assistant for the Presence-Oriented Psychotherapy Diploma, Romana has developed her expertise as a facilitator of personal and collective transformation that weaves an understanding of the human mind, sexuality and the impact of trauma and systemic oppression. Her experiences, reflections and insights form the basis of her first book, Weaving Wholeness.

Romana facilitates a session on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on the program.

Dr. Milan Balakrishnan is a licensed psychiatrist with over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health. He completed his medical degree from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences followed by residency training in psychiatry at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital. Dr. Milan is trained in both general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Throughout his career, Dr. Milan has provided compassionate care to patients across the lifespan, from children to older adults. He has worked in a variety of settings, including community mental health clinics, inpatient hospitals, and private practice and Digital Psychiatry clinics. Dr. Milan has extensive experience treating a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders.

Dr. Milan uses a variety of treatment modalities, including medication management, psychotherapy, and lifestyle interventions. He is also trained in neurostimulation and ketamine use. He is trained in Mindfulness based therapies. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Balakrishnan is a respected researcher and educator in the field of psychiatry. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented his research at national and international conferences. He has also been quoted in many newspaper and magazine articles. He is also a clinical professor at Masina Hospital, where he teaches medical students and psychiatry residents.