Our Team

Dr. K.V. Kishore Kumar (M.D. Community Psychiatry), Adjunct faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy.
Dr. Kishore is also the Director, The Banyan and The Banyan Academy, and holds over 30 years of experience in community psychiatry. His areas of interest include community-based models for mental health care, health promotion using life skills as an approach, initiation of community-based detox programs, stress management for lawmakers, and training all categories of mental health workers in integrating mental health care with primary care. He has been an advisor to several governments on mental health care, disaster mental health, and life skills education.

Mrs. Madhuri Menon (Masters in Social Work), Dean, The Banyan Academy.
Mrs. Menon is a management professional and trainer with over three and a half decades of experience in organizations such as Indian Oil, BP, Birla, AT&T, and IFMR Trust. She was a visiting faculty at Business Schools and a Trustee at The Banyan for over 20 years before becoming the Dean at The Banyan Academy. She has presented research and academic papers nationally and internationally and her primary interests include gender and urbanization.

Dr. Lakshmi Ravikanth (Ph.D.), Co-Dean, The Banyan Academy.
Dr. Ravikanth has been involved with The Banyan’s work since its inception and was a Trustee with becoming co-dean. Her academic interests are in adolescent mental health, existential therapy, ethics, and gender-based violence. She has facilitated various workshops at The Banyan on adolescent wellbeing, stress management, and existential psychotherapy applications. As a practicing counselor she conducts family and personal counseling sessions using positive psychology approaches at The Banyan’s Health Center for clients treated at inpatient emergency care and outpatient services. She supervises students at The Banyan and The Banyan Academy with their doctoral and masters theses.

Dr. Nalini Rao (Ph.D.), Chair, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy.
Dr. Rao has a teaching career that spans over two and a half decades, including as visiting faculty at universities across the globe. She also conducts social development, research for industries and Governments. She has carried out extensive research in adolescent health, social development and equity, and her work is published in several national and international journals. She is also a founding member of the Institute of Sustainable Development, Veerapuram.

Dr. Lakshmi Sankaran (Ph.D.), Chair, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology.
Her research interests include addiction, family therapy, cognitive analytical therapy along with alternate interventions such as art-based therapy. Her work has been featured in several national and international conferences. She is also a practicing counselor and offers services to a diverse population. She facilitates workshops in art-based therapy and certificate courses including the International Labor Organization’s S.O.L.V.E course.

Dr. Seshadri Harihar (MBBS, M.R.C. Psychiatry), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology.
Dr. Harihar was a practicing psychiatrist in the United Kingdom for a decade and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has over three decades of experience in psychiatry and mental health pedagogy and has trained at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. At The Banyan, Dr. Seshadri offers his services at rural outreach clinics, emergency care, recovery centre, and inclusive living options such as Home Again and the Working Women’s Hostel. He also mentors students in their field practicum.

Mr. K.S. Ramesh (MA in Social Work), Assistant Professor and Department Coordinator, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy.
He has over 19 years of experience in clinical research, health project management, psychosocial counseling, social skills training, entrepreneurship, and social work academics. He has represented The Banyan Academy in several international social work conferences on the role of social workers in the delivery of mental health care. He has also served on the State Steering Committee for the HIV/AIDS bill and is a Drafting Committee member of the Tamil Nadu State Youth Policy. Mr. Ramesh is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at Madras University.

Ms. Mrinalini Ravi (M.Sc. Mental Health Services Research), Lead, Sundram Fasteners Centre for Social Action and Research.
Her key interest areas include homelessness, peer-led research and advocacy, and organization building. In the future, she would like to immerse herself in developing and applying a strengths-based and peer-led support system to help people with severe mental health issues obtain and sustain employment, run businesses, pursue higher education, or work towards any dream they were unable to realize on account of their illness. She also leads the partnership’s portfolio at The Banyan and attempts to build a strong stakeholder base, engaged in addressing the concerns of people who are disadvantaged, homeless, and living with severe mental illnesses.

Mr. K. Veerapandian (M.Phil., Psychology), Therapist, Assistant Professor, and Department Coordinator, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology.
Mr. Veerapandian’s academic interests lie in qualitative research methods, Transactional Analysis, personality development, and stress management amongst others. He was instrumental in the development of Follow-Up Counseling Toolkit Training Modules (Positive Prevention Tool Kit - P.P.T.K.) for counselors working in the field of HIV/AIDS and is recognized as a consultant and facilitator for the implementation of P.P.T.K. throughout India.

Ms. Smriti Vallath (M.Sc, Clinical Psychology), Head, Research, Sundram Fasteners Limited Department of Research, Full-time Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology, Clinical Psychologist, The Banyan.
Stemming from her clinical practice, her primary research interests include the development of evidence-based service and policy guidelines for the treatment of trauma in psychosis. In her research endeavors, she explores various facets of trauma, including sociocultural perceptions of trauma, intergenerational trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological underpinnings of the interplay of trauma in severe mental illnesses. She leads academic collaborations with IFMR LEAD, Boston University (School of Medicine). She also leads studies related to homelessness and continuity of care services among persons discharged from mental hospitals at the Sundram Fasteners Center for Research.

Mr. Anandan Nagappan (M.A. in Medical & Psychiatric Social work), Senior Coordinator, Diploma in Community Mental Health Care, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy.
Mr. Anandan has been vital in networking with multiple stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and the district and state governments. He will also lead The Banyan Academy’s upcoming diploma course on working with vulnerable children.

Dr. Lakshmi Narasimhan (Ph.D.), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy, Lead, Centre for Mental Health and Inclusive Development, The Banyan.
Dr. Narasimhan leads implementation and research projects aimed at improving the quality of life using community-based approaches to mental health. She has served as a coprincipal investigator and project lead for action research projects at The Banyan. These include N.A.L.A.M with Dr. K.V. Kishore Kumar and Home Again with Dr. Vandana Gopikumar. She is currently engaged in a multi-site community re-entry program to address the issue of long-term institutionalization in psychiatric facilities in a study with diverse collaborators-The HANS Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (N.I.M.H.A.N.S.), Institute of Behavior and Allied Sciences (I.B.H.A.S.), and The Banyan. Her interests are in understanding and developing social approaches for complex issues at the intersection of poverty, homelessness, and mental health.

Dr. Archana Padmakar (MPhil., Clinical Psychology), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology, Lead, Center for Emergency Care and Recovery, The Banyan. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on Developing A Framework For Adaptive Mental Health Systems for Homeless Women With Mental Health Issues and outlined strategies for continuity of care for caregivers in India. Her clinical experience includes work in diverse clinical settings and scale-up of the emergency care and recovery center approach. Dr. Padmakar also leads large components of research and service collaborations with governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Varsha Vinod (MPhil., Clinical Psychology), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology, Deputy Head of Department, Clinical Psychology, Co-lead, Centre for Emergency Care and Recovery, The Banyan.
Ms. Vinod’s academic interests are in neuropsychology, understanding experiences of clients presenting with delusions, sociocultural influences in developing delusions, mindfulness-based practices, and their impact on coping with traumatic experiences. She is currently engaged in an inquiry on the impact of cognitive retraining on the functionality of individuals.

Ms. Preetha Krishnadas (M.S.W., Psychiatric Social Work), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School for Social Work and Social Policy, Lead, Center for Mental Health and Livelihoods, The Banyan.
Ms. Krishnadas holds a decade of experience in psychiatric social work and community development and works with diverse populations in psychosocial distress. She has led several outreaches and awareness initiatives for panchayats, civic bodies, and the general public in an effort to promote help-seeking behavior for mental health issues. Her academic interests include explorations of pathways into homelessness as a result of mental ill-health and negative life experiences, caregiver burden and continuum of care for persons with severe mental disorders.

Ms. Keerthana Rajagopalan (MPhil., Clinical Social Work), Adjunct Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Social Work and Social Policy, Co-Lead, Center for Mental Health and Livelihoods.
Ms. Rajagopalan’s clinical interests are centered around youth and gender and its differential power on the determinants and risk factors related to mental health. She is currently involved in a research study on the applicability of open dialogue in the Indian context with clients accessing continued care services at The Banyan.

Ms. Anjali Singla (M.A, Applied Counseling Psychology), Research Associate and Full-time Faculty, Sundram Fasteners School of Applied Psychology.
Ms. Singla’s academic interests lie in the understanding of trauma and its deep-rooted impact over generations as well as a feminist understanding of social structures and gender norms. She is currently involved in research projects that explore the underpinnings of suicidality and Deliberate Self-Harm (D.S.H.) in rural Tamil Nadu. She is also involved in a study tracing the evolution of mental health systems in Kerala from sociocultural, historical, and political perspectives. She is involved in advocacy, grant and donor servicing, and internship support.

Ms. Swarna Tyagi (M.Sc. Organizational and Social Psychology), Research Associate, Sundram Fasteners Limited Center for Research at The Banyan Academy.
She is a case manager at The Banyan’s Rural Home Again Program and works extensively with advocacy related to social entitlements for people with mental illness. She is currently working on research projects centered around participatory research and user-led audit across Banyan sites. She is also involved in a study that seeks to trace the historical and sociocultural aspects of mental health care systems in Kerala. Her primary research interests center around organizational change and mental health care systems and seeks to explore themes like mental health issues and burnout at the workplace, organizational dynamics, diversity, and inclusion in terms of intersectional identities. This is in conjunction with her work to bring about awareness on queer rights and mental health along with the Student Development Council at The Banyan Academy. She is also involved in grantmaking and donor reporting, along with volunteer support at The Banyan

Ms. Poorani Balendra has worked with a mainstream newspaper for the past few years before entering the field of mental health. She is passionate about mental health education and Buddhist psychology.

Ms. Vijayalakshmi has completed her Master’s in Psychology with a specialization in Organizational Behaviour from Women’s Christian College. She has 14 years of experience in Administration and HR-related activities in Corporate and Educational institutions. She is currently the administrative head of The Banyan Academy.

Mr. T. Nagarajan has more than 15 years of work experience in library management in various educational institutions. His areas of interest are Library management, collection development, digitization, and digital library.

Ms. Sri Vidya assists with the upkeep and maintenance of The Banyan Academy’s library. Her primary interests lie in teaching, She also shows competence in client care. She has completed her diploma course in community mental health at The Banyan Academy.

Ms. Jyothi is the ‘keeper of all things important', and is now exploring her interests as a budding peer researcher at The Banyan Academy. She has been with The Banyan since its inception and played a variety of roles in client care and administration.