Med-Teacher - Megha Rajesh Tiwari

Name: Megha Rajesh Tiwari

Educational Qualifications: Masters of Science in Psychology (Clinical)

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)

Master's diploma in computers and IT

UGC NET Qualified

College: SIES College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Sion (West), Mumbai - BA in Psychology (2018)
CMR University, Bangalore, Karnataka - MSc Clinical Psychology (2020)

Current Position: Assistant Professor (Psychology)

1. Where are you working currently?

   CMR University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

2. What are your areas of interest within your profession? 

   I am particularly interested in exploring the healthcare intersections at which psychology can be applied. In my work experience, I have seen psychology being an important pillar of health management and support for patients with neurological conditions. I am interested in translational research which can not only study the psycho-social and cognitive contexts of individuals but also offer policy solutions to challenges faced.

3. Things that you are passionate about concerning the clinical/research/current aspects of your profession: 

   I am particularly interested in understanding the individual from a systems perspective. I strongly believe the individual is the central system and is affected continuously by the several contextual subsystems to which he is connected such as cognitive capacity, health social life, culture, financial resources available, and larger systems of care. I am interested in understanding the interactions between these several subsystems that ultimately give rise to what we call self. I am also passionate about understanding how individuals process the world around them and the contribution of cognitive abilities to identity formation.

4. What made you choose teaching or mentoring as a profession?  

   Psychology as a field is still governed by traditional models of illness. I strongly believed that the idea of diagnosis is at the center of the course of treatment and needs to change. I believe identity formation is dynamic and the disease identity is separate from personal identity. What better place to change the diagnosis-driven ideology of therapy than training the young minds in the field to think from a more contextual person-centered perspective?

5. According to your experience, what is more important: getting good scores or acquiring knowledge? 

   Acquisition of knowledge is more dynamic and has long-term benefits. Getting a good score is just a performance measure that can be affected by a multitude of factors. When you learn, if you are concentrated on scores then you will only learn that which has value from an exam perspective. Acquisition of knowledge is not just content-oriented but also process oriented. When focused on the knowledge we learn how to think, not what to think.

6. 3 topics/subjects that you like the most: 

   . Cognition

   . Identity formation

   . Policy frameworks for psycho-social support

7. Any 3 topics/subjects that you detest the most: 

   . Diagnosis-driven therapy models

   . Ageing from a disability perspective

   . Pop culture psychology

8. What are your fields of interest in Research?  

   . Cognitive therapy in neurological disorders

   . Care pathway models for mental illnesses

   . Trauma-informed therapy

   . Individual and his contextual realities

   . Cognitive phenotyping for various disorders

9. What are your career goals or expectations? 

   I wish to work on the ground level eventually; destigmatizing mental health illnesses. I wish to someday start a center for cognition focused on building intervention models for healthy aging and cognition. I wish to do research that can have tangible policy outcomes in the area of mental health illnesses and psycho-social support.

10. What would you be doing if not for the current profession?

    I would have definitely been a dancer. Dancing makes me feel in union with my humanness. The delicate movements help me integrate my thoughts piece by piece.

11. What do you like to do in your leisure time?

    Reading books and photography. I am always easily distracted by good philosophical books and photo diaries.

12. What change would you like to bring about in the Education sector?

    I would like the education sector to become more student-centric and keep up with the fast-changing world. Teaching age-old ideas with absolutely no connection to how it is modified to suit the needs of the changing world is more of a burden than knowledge.

13. What is your Mantra for success?

    "If you don't feel like it, you must try a bit of it"

    I genuinely believe our minds constantly form irrational beliefs centered around inability. Something I tell my students all the time is the fact that if they feel like doing something, they must break down the task into smaller pieces and try doing at least the first three pieces. Motivation comes from action; the rest will follow.

14. Who do you idolize and why?

    I idolize my father. He is a man of great values and has always valued education. He is the sole reason for my learning-oriented outlook and has always taught me to be passionate about creating a difference. One thing I have learned from my father is that pain is temporary and pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

15. Kindly mention your achievements or awards:

    . Gold medalist in MSc in Clinical Psychology

    . UGC NET Qualified Assistant Professor

16. And finally, what message would you like to give to today's youth?

    Youth today is very well surrounded and it would be nice if they will be well connected. Psycho-social support starts with peers and having a safe environment to experience life as it hits us. A little bit of empathy and tolerance can go a long way!

(MedTeacher/HN)