The Hyderabad Academy of Psychology (HAP)
has been founded by Dr Diana Monteiro as a
training academy and counseling center to
bridge the gap between formal
psychological education and practical
application of psychology in everyday
life. We are currently involved in
Counselor training, Corporate training,
Counseling and Outreach services and
Continuing Education of professionals in
the field.
The HAP is the first of its kind in
the twin cities to offer Counselor
training to individuals to ensure
that adequate preparation in practical
skills, theoretical knowledge and
supervision is provided to those who are
engaged in the process of helping others.
The HAP also offers a wide array of
seminars and workshops, throughout the
year. We at HAP believe in Continuing
Education of specialists and we
train students in basic and advanced
skills in counseling psychology. We also
provide short term workshops and trainings
for the professional development of
psychologists and counselors.
We believe in action oriented change, and
therefore are constantly widening our
network of friends and support in the
local and national psychology community.
In addition, our plans include seeking collaboration
with international universities and
national organizations, so that students
can benefit and grow within the field. Our
students can claim the benefits of these
networks through better opportunities for
higher education and career placements. It
is our hope that together we can take the
field of psychology to new heights.
We also offer Counseling in
various formats (individual, group,
couples, child and career) to those in
need. We ensure that the highest quality
of care is provided to our clients and we
follow the current standards of practice
maintained the professional practice of
psychology. Our Outreach services
include educating the public about mental
health by offering short seminars and
workshops of positive mental health and
well-being. We also offer suicide
prevention trainings to the community and
spread awareness about the warning signs
and symptoms of suicide.
Our Corporate training services
include trainings to help increase
productivity, enhance organizational
health, boost morale, attract & retain
employees, promote workforce cooperation
and help employees effectively manage
their work and personal life. We offer
consultation and assessment services to
each corporate client to provide them with
a distinctive training package that meets
their unique needs.
Counseling and Training
Team
Dr Diana Monteiro,
Director
Dr. Diana Monteiro obtained her Ph.D. in
Counseling Psychology from the University
of Southern Mississippi, USA and worked as
a licensed psychologist (in Tennessee,
USA) before returning to India in 2008.
Her ardour for providing psychological
services made her initiate The Hyderabad
Academy of Psychology in Vikrampuri,
Secunderabad in 2009. At HAP, Dr. Monteiro
and her team of hand-picked counselors
practice counseling, conduct courses and
workshops, and supervise other
counselors-in-training. Dr. Monteiro was
also the counseling psychologist at
NALSAR University of Law from September
2013 till December 2017.
Dr. Monteiro comes across as someone who’s
intelligent, accomplished and warm, a
top-notch trainer and counselor, and fun
to be around. She inspires her trainees
with her undying passion for Counseling
Psychology.
Dr. Monteiro is often invited both
locally and internationally to conduct
out-reach programs. Her seminars and
workshops have covered a variety of
topics, which when presented in her
gregarious style (so well known in the
twin-cities) are often said to be
inspiring. Her specialty areas include
working with adolescents and adults,
suicide prevention, relationship concerns,
communication and multicultural issues.
She is adept at treating mental health
issues from a positive psychology
framework and uses strength-based
approaches in counseling. Her philosophy
of training is based on integrity, ethics
and working hard and playing hard to
ensure good all round development.
Dr. Monteiro is a member of the
prestigious American Psychological
Association and is a licensed psychologist
and health service provider in Tennessee,
USA. She continues to keep her US license
active to ensure she stays up-to-date with
current psychological science and
practice.
Dr. Monteiro's Team includes:
Insiya Abdurraheem |
Insiya Abdurraheem is a counselor and trainer. Having completed her masters
from Osmania University and practical training from Hyderabad Academy
of Psychology, she has worked in UAE and India. Through her
nearly a decade long career, she has had clinical experience and
has been training counselors in training. She has also worked in
corporate settings to provide psychological services. In the later
years of her career she has headed the department of counseling and
Special Education needs in various schools and had worked across
different curriculum including CBSE, ICSE, IB and curriculum of
England. She has worked closely with education authorities and boards
of school to design policies for the schools and been on the panel for
school inspections for quality and assurance.At the moment she enjoys
spending time with her daughter who's her miniature carbon copy,
conversations which are intellectually and emotionally stimulating,
baking and cooking healthy and delicious delicacies in addition to
multiple roles of a wife and family person.
|
Aarti Saxena
|
Aarti is a counselor and supervisor at HAP and is a prosthodontist by
training with over 18 years of experience in patient care. As a
result of life changes she retrained as a counselor and completed the
Basic and Advanced courses in Counseling at HAP. She was her batch topper in the
Basic Course and had excellent skills and knowledge in the field of
Psychology. Her innate helping nature, mixed with her easy and
comfortable demeanor make her an asset to have at HAP. She completed her Masters degree in Psychology and manages our
Hitech city location as the onsite counselor there. She enjoys reading,
painting and spending time with her daughter and husband managing her
home in addition to multiple other responsbilities.
|
Bona Marie Colaco |
Bona
Colaco is a Clinical Psychologist licensed in India with ten years of
clinical experience in counseling. She completed her Masters in General
Psychology from Osmania University, and M.Phil Clinical Psychology from
Sweekaar Academy for Rehabilitation Sciences. She also pursued basic
and advanced courses in counseling skills from The Hyderabad Academy of
Psychology. In India, she has worked with academic institutions
conducting trainings in suicide prevention, stress management, study
skills, and has provided individual counseling and psychotherapy. She
has also worked at the Hyderabad Academy of Psychology as faculty,
supervisor, and counselor . She moved to the U.S. in 2015 and has done
her Masters in Counseling at Palo Alto University (PAU), California.
She also worked on a Stanford Medicine project at Stanford University,
Palo Alto. The project researched internet-based interventions to make
mental health services accessible and affordable to college students
and to help them deal with anxiety and stress. During, and post
Masters, she worked at the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), a
community mental health agency. It included working at an Elementary
school as a school counselor and providing psychotherapy at the
in-house clinic, working with families, couples, adolescents, and
individual adult clients. Post Masters, she is now a Registered
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) in California. She has
recently moved to London, and looks forward to gaining experience
working in the mental health profession in the U.K as well.
|
Smita Balakrishnan |
Smita is a counselor at HAP who completed the Basic and Advanced Course in
Counseling. She brings a diversity of life experience and career into
HAP, having been in the finance sector since the past two decades. She
completed her MBA in Finance from the Vellore Institute of Technology
and embarked on a long career with the Stockholding Corporation of
India. She decided to take a break from finance and retrained as a
counselor. Smita is a remarkably helpful person by nature, and never
hesitates to help anyone in need. Her empathy mixed with her grounding
in reality makes an excellent mix for her work as a counselor, as she
is able to connect with people and help them navigate through their
difficulties in a realistic and workable manner. |
Varun Rupela |
Varun
Rupela is a counselor at HAP,
assists in HAP’s course offerings & is working on creating more
group-based counseling opportunities at HAP. He compleed the Advanced
Course at HAP and is obtaining his Masters in Psychology. He is
cheerful,
affectionate and free-spirited & enjoys noticing the here and now
and bringing it to the attention of people around. He strives to meet
you where you are with respect,
authenticity and walk along a few steps. He enjoys gardening,
composting, nature walks and playing outdoor sports. Varun is trained
as an Arts Based Therapy Practitioner and has studied Buddhist
Psychology with Snehadhara Foundation. He has assisted in personal
growth based group work from 2015. He is a member and a resource person
at Aastha Foundation for Human Learning and Growth. Varun is a Software
Engineer by training (MS in Computer Science from Auburn University,
USA), worked in Sun Microsystems and Oracle for a total of 10 years. He
moved on to working on water and waste management projects with Smarter
Dharma and also assisted with the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
program at Navadarshanam Trust. He has finally found himself to be
naturally interested in psychology and wishes to continue to work in
the field.
|
|
|
|
|
Other
Consultants
|
HAP uses a variety
of other consultants as needed
based on the speciality area
required. We have a large network
of Psychiatrists and allied mental
health specialists in the city and
rest of India.
|
Our Student
Testimonials
I noticed that you tried your best to
maintain a high level of quality through
out the course and I just loved that!
Almost every class was filled with
insights in some area or the other.
Sometimes it was insights about
counseling, and some times it was insight
about psychology and many times insight
about self. I noticed one special thing
about your classes that nobody wanted your
classes to end! We loved to still sit
around and listen from you, no one felt
like you had to stop that we had to rush
home.
One of the precious thing that I learnt
from this training is that, counseling
needs to be deep, and with applying the
right skills on the right time, we can
actually go deeper and deeper in helping
some one. Before this training I used to
stuck with the shallow kind of counseling
and did not realize the power of going
deeper in counseling and helping the
client, but now I realize that I can in
fact help the clients much better if I
carefully use the skills that learnt and
go deeper in understanding and help the
client to lead a whole life.
Another highlight is about the
supervision. It was tough thing to
identify and accept the area that I needed
to improve, however I am so grateful to
you for the supervision, that really
opened my eyes to see and realize that I
need to go a long way and need to work
really hard.. very hard if I need to stay
in this field of counseling.
Saji K
Mathai, Batch 8, 2014
I enjoyed the interactive classes, and
particularly enjoyed the interesting and
thought provoking anecdotes that Diana
shared with the class. I will admit
that initially I was somewhat
apprehensive as I did not have a
background in Psychology; however, Diana
was brilliant, her enthusiasm and positive
attitude really rubs off on you. I also
enjoyed interacting with the classmates of
different age groups and we became good
friends over the course of the semester. I
especially enjoyed the delicious
samosas and bajjis which were served for
Tea and also our classmates bringing
cupcakes and brownies. I look forward to
being associated with HAP and also doing
the Advanced Course in Counselling from
HAP
Kumudini V,
Batch 7, 2013
Wonderful course and a must for anybody
who wishes to see a change in
himself/herself and help others through
counselling. The course is structured very
well with equal balance to theory and
supervision. Learned a lot and Dr. Diana's
in depth subject knowledge and energy is
highly infectious. Keep up the good
work... All the Best!!
Praful Sahgal,
Batch 7, 2013
The Basic Course that I attended at the
HAP ( Batch IV) from June to Dec 2011 was
a truly rewarding experience. Dr Diana
Monteiro's approach cast a spell on me, as
on all other students, and we found
ourselves fully “involved” in what we were
discussing in the class. The course
content was carefully thought-out and
well-integrated. There were tests from
time to time that kept me on my toes and
were helpful as feedback. The
supervision sessions helped me translate
classroom learning to its application;
good intent to effectiveness.
“Diana” has a unique style of teaching
that makes her session sometimes feel like
a revelation. Even students who had
completed their Masters in Psychology
found their understanding becoming very
clear in these classes. The special
quality of her classes convinced me that
for anyone in this big city of Hyderabad
intent on a career in psychological
counselling, this course is simply not to
be missed. Equally strongly, I recommend
the course to all graduates with even a
layman's curiosity and interest in
psychology. I wonder who cannot benefit
from such a wonderful course at some point
or the other in their career. The
“examined life” a person can lead after
such an exposure is bound to make it an
enhanced one.
Ramesh
Krishnamurthy, Batch 4, 2011
New learnings, vibrant atmosphere,
passionate work , great camaraderie but
above all superb teaching by Diana - felt
like a college girl once again at 50+ at
HAP !! Looking forward to the next
advanced course ! "
Sheela
Ramakrishnan, Batch 6, 2013
I have completed the basic course in
counseling from HAP and am currently
pursuing the advanced course.What
differentiates this course from others
being offered in the same field is Dr
Dianas brilliant teaching,stimulating
classroom discussions and hands on
experience of counseling clients
under Dianas able supervision .
Jaishree
Narayan, Batch 6, 2013
The HAP is one of
the blissful experiences of my life. It
brought about a lot of awareness in me
with regard to myself, my behavior in
relation to others and Psychology.
Diana's classes have been experiences to
cherish. It also helped me see and
experience so many lovely relationships
with my teacher, batchmates and seniors.
It has also been remedial to me in many
ways. It has initiated
sensitization in me to many things
about thoughts, feelings and behavior.
And I hope I make productive use of the
inputs gathered by me so that I develop
more as a human being. It is
also my deep desire to pursue
Psychology further in a full-fledged
manner and practice counselling.
Sandhya
Ramchandani Kaura, Batch 3, 2010
Students comments on
Basic and Advanced Course Evaluations
"The Helping skills that were taught to
help us to deal with clients was very
good. so enjoyed this course. The
counseling and training was just awesome"
"Attending classes was very important and
most valuable to understand and gain more
knowledge. However, the amount of
knowledge that I have gained from this
course is incredible."
"The practical experience provided was
most valuable. I learned a lot in the
course and I liked it a lot. Before
joining this course I did not have much
language in psychology but now I can
proudly say I know something. Thank you so
much."
"The role plays taught me a lot and the
skills, theory and most important of all
the supervision was very valuable. The
suicide assessment was very interesting
and an eye opener. I have learnt a lot
during my practical training, but I am not
confident about learning the theory part.
However, after this course I have become
more confident and feel I am able to
understand and help people better."
"Supervision was extremely helpful and
valuable."
|
|
|
|
Batch 4 &
5 Graduation
|
Batch 6 (2012)
|
Counseling
Role-play (2012)
|
|