{"id":491,"date":"2025-04-09T14:15:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T18:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=491"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:34:40","slug":"praveena-kandasami","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/profile\/praveena-kandasami\/","title":{"rendered":"Praveena Kandasami"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>As a staff therapist, I am honored to walk alongside Boston University students, even if momentarily, as they navigate a time of growth, questioning, and transformation. I grew up in Malaysia, hold South Asian ancestry, and am proud to have graduated from BU\u2019s School of Social Work. Before joining BU, I had the privilege of working with immigrant and refugee communities, survivors of torture, individuals navigating perinatal mental health challenges, and those impacted by substance misuse. I am especially passionate about the connections between trauma and the body, the layered and multi-faceted nature of identity, and the influence of sociocultural factors on mental health and well-being. I strive to honor the ways that culture, history, strengths, and challenges shape each person\u2019s life story. I view therapy as a non-judgmental space that provides opportunities for building trust, fostering compassion, and gaining clinical insight that supports the realities of one&#8217;s life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Personal Hobbies<\/strong><br \/>\nOutside of my work, I find grounding through art, music, spirituality, humor, food, and time with loved ones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Education and Training<\/strong><br \/>\nMSW, Trauma &amp; Violence Specialization, Boston University<br \/>\nPhD in Counseling &amp; Psychology, Lesley University<br \/>\nLicensed Independent Clinical Social Worker<br \/>\nFocusing-Oriented Therapy Practitioner (FOT)<br \/>\nSomatic-Based Therapies Training<br \/>\nPerinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C)<br \/>\nPhD Research: South Asian Therapists\u2019 Experiences with Transnational South Asian Women Survivors of Violence<\/p>\n<p><strong>Special Interests<\/strong><br \/>\nTrauma, Focusing-Oriented Therapy, Decolonial-Feminist, Culturally Responsive Frameworks, Perinatal Mental Health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16413,"template":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16413"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3762,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/491\/revisions\/3762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}