Sowmya Kshtriya
Dr. Sowmya Kshtriya (she/her/hers) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia Health. She conducts intakes, individual psychotherapy, co-leads group therapy, and partakes in drop-in hours for undergraduate and graduate students across campus.
Sowmya earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics and Psychology from the University of Toronto, her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College Columbia University, and her Ph.D. degree in Clinical Psychology from Montclair State University.
Prior to joining CPS, Sowmya was trained in a variety of clinical settings and worked with diverse populations including children, adolescents, and young to older adults with trauma, depression, anxiety, and chronic and persistent mental illness. Sowmya completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center working with acutely traumatized adults with severe mental illness. In addition, she completed three clinical externships working with incarcerated individuals with PTSD and other mental disorders at Rikers Island Correctional Facility, provided treatment for young adults with attachment and relationship issues at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, and worked with adolescents with acute and chronic mental health issues at the SCO Family of Services.
Sowmya identifies as a Global Citizen and her research interests include investigating psychological trauma in the context of natural/human-made disasters, trauma resilience, recovery, meaning-making, post-traumatic growth, spirituality, and global mental health. Her clinical interests include working with PTSD/trauma survivors, young adult mental health, attachment, relationship, adjustment, and existential issues. Her treatment approach is primarily integrative, and she utilizes a modality that best suits her clients including psychodynamic, gestalt, cognitive behavior therapy/CBT, recovery-oriented cognitive therapy/CTR, and dialectical behavior therapy/DBT-based interventions.