Hello! My name is Shay. I’m a person-centered therapist, which means I believe your story should come first, before any assessment, any label, or any assumption about who you are. My role is to listen, to understand how you see the world, and to work with you toward the goals that matter to you.

To me, therapy is a conversation. Not just a verbal one, but an exchange of body language, gestures, culture, and meaning. I approach every session with the understanding that cultural differences shape how we experience and communicate about our lives, and that effective therapy has to honor that. Whether we’re working through personal goals or interpersonal conflicts, I adapt my approach to fit your perspective, not the other way around.

Much of this comes from my own background. I’m South Asian (Bangladeshi, to be specific) and the first person in my family, a child of immigrants, to attend college in the United States. I grew up bilingual and navigating two very different cultures at once. Growing up in New York, I was surrounded by people whose backgrounds were just as diverse, or even more so, than my own. As a teenager, I faced the difficulties of understanding my own gender and sexuality in a society that wasn’t always accepting of it. That experience gives me a deep, personal understanding of what it means to figure out who you are when the world around you isn’t making it easy.