About Me

"Laughter connects you with people. It's almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you're just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy." - John Cleese

After more than 15 years of clinical work, I have a deep understanding and appreciation for how hard mental health professionals work and everything that is involved in doing therapy. Humor is key to doing right by your patients and taking care of yourself. I believe that laughter isn’t just inner jogging; it can be a source of insight and inspiration. Who says you can't be funny and professional at the same time?

A number of years ago when I was in graduate school, I got a fortune cookie that said "keep true to the dreams of your youth." One thing I used to dream about as a kid was acting. After getting this fortune cookie I began to regularly participate in community theatre. Using my creativity allows me to have a nice balance of work and play, something I'd like to help you attain.

My theatre experience also includes improvisational theatre and stand-up comedy. Once I started learning improv and truly realizing how funny our world is, I started noticing how improv skills are applicable in all parts of life, in all professions and all relationships (yes, including therapy). No matter the situation, these tenets of improv go a very long way: listening, acknowledging, collaborating, and not being afraid of failure.
 

There is the common misconception that to do improv, or even take an improv class, someone has to be inherently funny or have comedic talent. However, the point of the class is to learn the skills that improvisational actors have. In fact, trying to be funny is not the way to get laughs; it is being present in the moment and having genuine reactions to others that gives the audience a delightful experience. Perhaps you've always been interested in getting involved in community theatre but didn't think you could do it? Work with me to make that dream, or any dream, happen! You already work very hard - you can make time for play and expressing another facet of yourself as well.

Using humor in psychotherapy has been shown to have benefits for patients yet it is something that many therapists don’t use. Again, if you don’t know how to use humor or if you think you are not funny, I am here to help you learn the skills that will help you to bring more lightness and humor in your work with patients.

See what supervision, consultation, and training services I offer - let's work together! 

Mona Bapat, Ph.D., HSPP

Consulting Psychologist

"If someone says you're weird, say Thank You." -Ellen Degeneres

"If you don't have anxiety, the way I would describe it is like there is an edgy improv group in your brain and it just needs like a one word suggestion to spin like countless scenarios that no one's comfortable with. It's like 'when will this show be over? I just came to be supportive!'" - Aparna Nancherla