Rishika Kannan, MA

Training: Rishika is a mental health counseling student at The University of Rochester. She is going into her second year of her masters degree, working towards graduating in the Summer of 2026. She has a BSC in Psychology and Biology from The University of St Andrews.

Clinical expertise: Rishika has a wide variety of work and internship experiences. She has worked with both kids and adults before, in both community and inpatient settings. She has experience working with anxiety, depression, addiction, and schizophrenia. She is interested in widening her horizons and working with different populations. Rishika is also a trained yoga instructor and is interested in mindfulness-based approaches to mental health. At GVP, she specializes in OCD, which requires 25 hours of initial training on the gold standard, evidence based treatment for OCD (Exposure and Response Prevention, ERP), and 3 hours each week of ongoing training and supervision, throughout her tenure at GVP.

Diversity and inclusion: Rishika prioritizes creating a space where her clients can explore their multidimensional identities. She believes that it is important to embrace the complexities of our identities and understand them holistically. She has multi-cultural identity herself and has first-hand experience with trying to hold conflicting beliefs and ideas simultaneously. She is committed to expanding her knowledge, keeping up to date with new information and developing professionally.

Approach: Rishika strives to create a comfortable and welcoming environment. She takes a person-centered, evidence-based approach. She hopes to work with her clients holistically, helping them in their meaning-making process. She strives to continue her learning and to be able to reflect and work on her shortcomings so that she can offer the best care to her clients. She stays open-minded, curious, and energized in her work. 

Ages: Rishika treats both children and adults.