Sadaf Vidha (she/her) is a therapist and researcher with five years of experience. She is interested in cross-disciplinary understanding of human behavior at the intersections of mental health, sociology, social justice and economics. In her free time, she likes to read, paint, bake and play with her cats. You can find her on Instagram: @shrinkfemale and Twitter: @randomwhiz.
Survival in the pandemic continues to favour the powerful and privileged, while those in the margins face a scarcity and failure of the health care system. Aryan Somaiya and Sadaf Vidha confront this imbalance from a queer lens.
After a lengthy lay-off, Indian academic institutions have begun to re-open and welcome students back to campus. In interviews with students from around the country, Sadaf Vidha explores how visible and invisible structures in academic spaces affect their mental health.
There are no special provisions for mental health for India’s sexual minorities, considering that they are often more likely to be economically marginalised, and may need more support. Sadaf Vidha explores the gaps and possible silver linings.
Historically, religion has had a complicated role in serving as an alternative to therapy. Sadaf Vidah explores the opportunities and challenges from both Indian and Western religious traditions in regards to mental health.
How a for-profit society creates not just joblessness, productivity cults, and work anxiety, but also other forms of inequality, leading to a mental health crisis in the country. - By Sadaf Vidah
India has to grapple with both caste and colonisation to get a holistic understanding of mental health issues, stigma, treatment and community interventions. - By Sadaf Vidah
The lockdown has worsened systematic failures in the Indian police, rooting from implicit biases and leading to more violence. Sadaf Vidha takes stock of the American movement against police brutality to frame against the glaring issues back home in India.
In India, our approach and understanding of mental health concerns are often further complicated by the historical weight of the caste-system and a yearning for cultural ‘purity’. By Sadaf Vidha