Dr. Aakanksha Bhatia

Dr Aakanksha is a counselling and educational psychologist with over eight years of experience across educational institutions, social sector and CSR. She also founded Together We Can (TWC) in 2015, an organization that worked in the spaces of mental health and education in India. TWC created high quality, low-cost and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system with a focus on mental health. The initiatives of TWC were inclusive & designed to mainstream psycho-social & emotional learning in the educational spaces.

Aakanksha has also worked as a consultant for large scale social impact programs. In the past, some of the programs for which she consulted were for organizations like iDreamCareer, SEEDS India, Khushii, Parliamentarians with Innovators for India (PII) supported by agencies like UNDP, UNICEF, Honeywell Safe Schools Program, GIZ etc.. Formerly, she was an Assistant Professor/Founding Faculty Member (Psychology) at Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi. She has also taught at Daulat Ram College, Ramanujan College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi. Her expertise lies in the areas of inclusion, adolescent mental health, gender, life skills, SEL, menstrual health management, and mindful parenting.

In the past, she has pursued B.A. Honors in Psychology from IP College for Women (North Campus Topper) and Masters in Psychology from University of Delhi (third position in the university). Further, she did B.Ed. from Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi. She holds a PhD in Psychology (with UGC-Senior Research Fellowship) from the Department of Psychology, University of Delhi. She qualified UGC NET-JRF in 2014 and was upgraded to UGC-Senior Research Fellow (SRF) in February 2017. Her PhD research is grounded in the everyday exchanges of social inclusion and social exclusion in an educational context with a focus on lifespan development and gender. She has presented her research work at several national and international forums including the prestigious National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) and International Congress of Psychology (ICP). She has research publications in the area of social inclusion and exclusion, religion and adolescent relationships.