Like art itself, Neha Bhat exudes a liberating sense of self. She figured out her interest in examining human suffering quite early on; courtesy, her observant mind and her interactions with spiritual mystics. Today, she’s a practising art and sex therapist, and the lead trauma-expert at Leda Health, a start-up built for and by survivors of sexual violence.
Through her deeply purposeful work, Neha addresses deep-rooted issues relating to gender-identity and sexual violence. She guides individuals who are both survivors and perpetrators of sexual violence take the shame out of their own shadows, and uses art to reclaim the narrative around female sexuality. All the while, her therapy is queer-affirmative, trauma-informed and rooted in principles of intersectional feminism and social-justice.
Neha Bhat is a Badass Boss, performing life with a powerful healing energy this world desperately needs. We had the pleasure to discuss her journey, what inspires and challenges her and a lot more. Read on!
What were your dreams and aspirations growing up?
Politics was fascinating to me growing up, so I always aspired to meet a leader who made sense to me. As a young person, I was quite intuitive so I found it easy but also very confusing to notice how many adults lied so often — at parties, weddings and social events. So I somehow found that I was interested in there being this idea of “truth” and human beings finding a way to avoid it. Perhaps, this is what piqued my interest in the issue of human suffering.
I think coming across Jiddu Krishnamurti’s work on a train ride when I was 14 was monumental in my life journey. I can clearly remember when I opened ‘Commentaries on Living’ and found it far more relevant than a History/Civics textbook I was expected to mug up for my board exams. Meeting spiritual mystics all along my life has been moving and it helped me understand that my mind was made for in-depth trauma work.
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How did you discover a career path as a trauma-informed art therapist?
I think I’ve always liked working. It does not really matter what I’m doing; as long as I can put my creative spin on it, it feels nourishing to me. I have had a mentality of crossing off what felt untrue to me in my inner wisdom, if I may call it that. I started off as an artist, then went into performance art, followed by teaching and education and finally found trauma work as a space of the most inner nourishment. I did not discover this path — I kept working in every field I was given an opportunity to, with a sort of “research-mindset” and the next steps just happened.
I remember my first terrible breakup filling me with immense grief and pain. However, as I learnt to sit in it, I realised this was a common experience and I sort of became “fascinated” with it — so I decided to study couples therapy. It was a few years till I could gather the money to immerse myself in the field of study formally, but that did not stop me from learning through informal channels.
What gaps did you notice in the mental-health space for survivors of violence that encouraged you to co-build Leda Health?
There are so many! I’m the Lead Trauma expert at one of the only startups in the world that cares enough to work with not only people who have survived sexual harm, but those who have survived it and then have perpetrated it as well. There is a large gap, systemically, in solving sexual abuse. We live in a culture of rape — this is true across caste, race, class and ability — and too often, instances of harm are left to individuals to “heal from”, when it is the responsibility of schools, colleges, workplaces and other institutions to create policies where harm is not normalized.
Could you tell us about the role art can play in coping with sexual trauma-induced anxiety and depression?
Words are hard for many people, including myself. Especially when I’m in the depth of a feeling or a spiritual experience, and those often go hand-in-hand. The creative process has a way of touching on the issue without labelling it instantly. This is where art is profoundly powerful in a way words aren’t. This project of mine can explain this further :https://nehabhat.org/art/reclaiming-cunt/
What would you say are the biggest misconceptions about the long-term psychosocial / psychosomatic impacts of sexual abuse?
That trauma is an on/off switch and you can just “let it go” if you decide to.
What is the most challenging aspect you face as an Indian woman trying to normalise sex therapy on social media (@indiansextherapist)?
That even the most progressive “followers” see sex therapy as sex education, and miss the deep impact of culture on sexuality. As an Indian woman, I often have the experience of people knowing that I’m probably saying something educated (because of the model minority myth in global politics) but what I’m actually saying is understood only to a small number of other depth-focused readers/viewers.
Could you tell us about the importance of undergirding our criminal justice system with principles of restorative justice and the realities of achieving that?
Both systems have their place. The problem is that one system exists in surplus, in oppressive dominance while the other doesn’t exist in its strength at all. Restorative justice (RJ) is a system that provides consensual options for harm restoration and reduction to survivors: the choice is placed in their hands, so that they can regain lost control. The system does not have to be offered in every situation, but if we have to end rape culture, we need to offer diverse pathways of confronting the issue. RJ gives a name and identity to an unnamed harm in a way that criminal justice just cannot.
What has been the most rewarding part of the work you do?
The spiritual nourishment of attuning to someone who has felt misunderstood.
What does being a Badass mean to you?
A person that takes a stance, especially when it is uncomfortable.
Name three Badass women in your life..
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Your go-to formula when you’re having a rough day or experiencing self-doubt is…
Music, running and making a large piece of art — messy and raw.
The best piece of advice you received..
I’m a bit anti-advice, so this question doesn’t excite me. I have received a lot of opinions, but, the thing that helped me the most was to slow down and learn to attune myself to my inner wisdom.
A book/podcast or show you’re obsessed with …
Like art itself, Neha Bhat exudes a liberating sense of self. She figured out her interest in examining human suffering quite early on; courtesy, her observant mind and her interactions with spiritual mystics. Today, she’s a practising art and sex therapist, and the lead trauma-expert at Leda Health, a start-up built for and by survivors of sexual violence.
Through her deeply purposeful work, Neha addresses deep-rooted issues relating to gender-identity and sexual violence. She guides individuals who are both survivors and perpetrators of sexual violence take the shame out of their own shadows, and uses art to reclaim the narrative around female sexuality. All the while, her therapy is queer-affirmative, trauma-informed and rooted in principles of intersectional feminism and social-justice.
Neha Bhat is a Badass Boss, performing life with a powerful healing energy this world desperately needs. We had the pleasure to discuss her journey, what inspires and challenges her and a lot more. Read on!
What were your dreams and aspirations growing up?
Politics was fascinating to me growing up, so I always aspired to meet a leader who made sense to me. As a young person, I was quite intuitive so I found it easy but also very confusing to notice how many adults lied so often — at parties, weddings and social events. So I somehow found that I was interested in there being this idea of “truth” and human beings finding a way to avoid it. Perhaps, this is what piqued my interest in the issue of human suffering.
I think coming across Jiddu Krishnamurti’s work on a train ride when I was 14 was monumental in my life journey. I can clearly remember when I opened ‘Commentaries on Living’ and found it far more relevant than a History/Civics textbook I was expected to mug up for my board exams. Meeting spiritual mystics all along my life has been moving and it helped me understand that my mind was made for in-depth trauma work.
How did you discover a career path as a trauma-informed art therapist?
I think I’ve always liked working. It does not really matter what I’m doing; as long as I can put my creative spin on it, it feels nourishing to me. I have had a mentality of crossing off what felt untrue to me in my inner wisdom, if I may call it that. I started off as an artist, then went into performance art, followed by teaching and education and finally found trauma work as a space of the most inner nourishment. I did not discover this path — I kept working in every field I was given an opportunity to, with a sort of “research-mindset” and the next steps just happened.
I remember my first terrible breakup filling me with immense grief and pain. However, as I learnt to sit in it, I realised this was a common experience and I sort of became “fascinated” with it — so I decided to study couples therapy. It was a few years till I could gather the money to immerse myself in the field of study formally, but that did not stop me from learning through informal channels.
What gaps did you notice in the mental-health space for survivors of violence that encouraged you to co-build Leda Health?
There are so many! I’m the Lead Trauma expert at one of the only startups in the world that cares enough to work with not only people who have survived sexual harm, but those who have survived it and then have perpetrated it as well. There is a large gap, systemically, in solving sexual abuse. We live in a culture of rape — this is true across caste, race, class and ability — and too often, instances of harm are left to individuals to “heal from”, when it is the responsibility of schools, colleges, workplaces and other institutions to create policies where harm is not normalized.
Could you tell us about the role art can play in coping with sexual trauma-induced anxiety and depression?
Words are hard for many people, including myself. Especially when I’m in the depth of a feeling or a spiritual experience, and those often go hand-in-hand. The creative process has a way of touching on the issue without labelling it instantly. This is where art is profoundly powerful in a way words aren’t. This project of mine can explain this further :https://nehabhat.org/art/reclaiming-cunt/
What would you say are the biggest misconceptions about the long-term psychosocial / psychosomatic impacts of sexual abuse?
That trauma is an on/off switch and you can just “let it go” if you decide to.
What is the most challenging aspect you face as an Indian woman trying to normalise sex therapy on social media (@indiansextherapist)?
That even the most progressive “followers” see sex therapy as sex education, and miss the deep impact of culture on sexuality. As an Indian woman, I often have the experience of people knowing that I’m probably saying something educated (because of the model minority myth in global politics) but what I’m actually saying is understood only to a small number of other depth-focused readers/viewers.
Could you tell us about the importance of undergirding our criminal justice system with principles of restorative justice and the realities of achieving that?
Both systems have their place. The problem is that one system exists in surplus, in oppressive dominance while the other doesn’t exist in its strength at all. Restorative justice (RJ) is a system that provides consensual options for harm restoration and reduction to survivors: the choice is placed in their hands, so that they can regain lost control. The system does not have to be offered in every situation, but if we have to end rape culture, we need to offer diverse pathways of confronting the issue. RJ gives a name and identity to an unnamed harm in a way that criminal justice just cannot.
What has been the most rewarding part of the work you do?
The spiritual nourishment of attuning to someone who has felt misunderstood.
What does being a Badass mean to you?
A person that takes a stance, especially when it is uncomfortable.
Name three Badass women in your life..
Your go-to formula when you’re having a rough day or experiencing self-doubt is…
Music, running and making a large piece of art — messy and raw.
The best piece of advice you received..
I’m a bit anti-advice, so this question doesn’t excite me. I have received a lot of opinions, but, the thing that helped me the most was to slow down and learn to attune myself to my inner wisdom.
A book/podcast or show you’re obsessed with …
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