A Grip on Grief

From suppressing grief to dealing with loss: How Sangeeta Sidhu’s journey shaped her approach to mental healthcare

- Tania Jayatilaka

“You are more than ready.” This was the best advice Sangeeta Sidhu had ever heard, given by her mentor and ex-lecturer Johana Johari, at a pivotal point in Sidhu’s journey of opening up her mental health practice.

Taking a career break to raise four boys, Sidhu longed to re-enter the workforce after feeling for some time that she was losing a part of herself in the same routine daily. Working hard to complete her Masters in Counselling, the mother of four always dreamt of having a space of her own where clients could feel safe to express themselves and talk freely about their inner struggles. The only hurdle was mustering up the courage to get it done. “Nobody was holding me back. I was my own biggest challenge,” laughs Sidhu, who previously had stints working at the United Nations, Singapore’s Media Corp, and the New Straits Times as a stringer reporter. “I had my license and I had all the basics. All I did was talk about opening my practice, but I kept procrastinating. “One day I went to see my mentor, Johana Johari, a counsellor with 30 years of experience. I told her that I really wanted to open my own practice, but I was scared. I felt I wasn’t ready. What if it didn’t work out? What if I didn’t get any clients?”