GMS Spotlight: Kanishka Mehra (MHCBM ’25)
Kanishka Mehra is a May 2025 graduate of the Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine at Graduate Medical Sciences. In her work as a therapist, Kanishka aims to work with adolescents, young adults, and midlife adults through transitional periods that can hold the potential for transformation. Throughout the last two years, Kanishka has also worked as the Marketing & Communications student intern for GMS, where she created content for social media, designed the biweekly newsletter and managed the online calendar. Learn more about Kanishka’s journey below!
Tell me a bit about your journey to Boston. What brought you to Boston University?
I was born in New Delhi and lived in Kansas for most of my childhood, until I headed out west to earn my bachelor’s degree in psychology, with minors in anthropology and labor studies. I frequently felt homesick as a first-year student at UCLA, hundreds of miles away from my family. I started facing academic challenges and quickly realized that coding classes were not my strong suit. Although it was difficult to sit with all of these feelings, a kindhearted TA encouraged me to seek mental health support around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking out professional support for mundane worries was not something I would have thought of myself at the time. As I explored my values in and out of therapy, I became more aware of the expectations I was holding on to that no longer served me and weren’t mine to begin with. This helped me clarify what expectations I did have for myself.
After graduating undergrad, I returned to my hometown to work in behavioral health communications. I kept seeing news about the nationwide shortage of mental health counselors. When I had time, I would volunteer with a crisis helpline and organize mental health seminars for members of the local South Asian community. When application season rolled around, I felt confident that I wanted to be a mental health counselor – even if I didn’t have all of the answers yet. My previous therapist encouraged me to apply to BU, since Boston is a hub for healthcare and education. Looking back, I am beyond grateful for every opportunity, conversation, and coincidence that led me closer to my values and to being a part of this empathetic cohort of early-career counselors.
What drew you to the Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine program?
I was initially drawn to the MHCBM program as it was the only CACREP-accredited mental health counseling program housed in a medical school. The added behavioral medicine component aligned with my goals to understand clients in the full context of wellbeing and provide well-rounded, culturally responsive care. I appreciated the application’s focus on reflection. What sealed the deal for me was speaking with program faculty, staff, applicants, and current students on the group interview day. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in who we were as people and hearing our ‘why’ for becoming mental health counselors. Granted, my reasoning became more evident with time and training… but in that moment, I felt a sense of belonging, recognizing that the program wanted us to show up as we are, rather than try to fit ourselves into a box of what a therapist should look like.
Did you always know you wanted to work in the mental health field?
The signs have always been there. I’m a storyteller by nature, interested in how people live, learn, work, and relate to one another. So much of counseling work is piecing together the story, looking at it through different lenses, and identifying potential next steps. I’ve always enjoyed creating meaningful connections in everyday experiences. While at UCLA, I joined a South Asian mental health advocacy group called MannMukti (“liberation of the mind”), which sparked my interest in how immigrants, their identities, and the pressures they face impact how they see Westernized notions of mental health. After dabbling in communications, human resources, journalism, organizational development, and research, I homed in on mental health counseling. My own mental health journey had unfolded unexpectedly, and I wanted to support other people who are in the same boat, by helping them feel a little less alone, knowing that another human being understands their pain. In hindsight, I’m glad I gave everything a chance because the skills were transferable and have helped me with nearly every aspect of the training experience.
What are some of your larger goals in the field?
Once I’m independently licensed, I would love to work with adolescents, young adults, and midlife adults through transitional periods that can hold the potential for transformation. I’d also like to advocate for clients, particularly within immigrant communities and those underserved by standard mental health frameworks. I plan on seeking out training in expressive and play therapies, trauma-informed skill building, relational work, and narrative processing. At some point, I would love to pursue a doctorate in counselor education to support educating the next generation of counselors! I have always appreciated the academic setting, and I don’t doubt that I’ll find my way back somehow.
How else have you been involved at GMS?
Outside of class and clinical training, I’ve stayed engaged with the GMS community in my role as a marketing and communications intern. Designing social media posts, managing the calendar, and sending out the GMS Press newsletter gave me a solid creative outlet that complemented the intensity of clinical training. Thank you to Sarah Rowan for being a supportive supervisor and showing me the ropes! I also got involved as a student representative and program ambassador, acting as a liaison between students and faculty, and answering questions from prospective applicants.
Are there any mentors who have helped you with getting to this point?
I could not have made it here alone! I am grateful to Kathleen Reid, LMHC and Samar Wahid, LMHC – my clinical supervisors and MHCBM alumnae – who helped me stay grounded through periods of uncertainty across my practicum and internship training. I appreciate my site supervisor, Sara Black, LICSW, for showing up with a nonjudgmental presence and helping me reflect and build my confidence with counseling children. I’m also thankful to all of my professors – especially Dr. Berger-Greenstein, Dr. Brown, Dr. Craigen, Dr. Griffith, Dr. Navalta, and Dr. Oh – for educating us on difficult topics with humility and humor and pushing each of us to develop our clinical judgment. Lastly, I appreciate the BMC TEAM UP organizers for hosting helpful trainings and consultation opportunities throughout the year!
What advice would you give to a GMS student following a similar path?
Foster self-compassion! Growth always comes with some discomfort. Try not to numb yourself or close yourself off to the feelings that come up in class, in sessions, in supervision, etc. Remember your ‘why,’ and carve out time to reconnect with yourself and your people! Keep learning and be honest about your limits. Touching grass actually works. Listen to the birds singing. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to grieve what you had. It’s also okay to make space for something new. The MHCBM program provides techniques, theories, and training – and in exchange, it invites you to stay present with yourself through both the learning and the unlearning.