Affinity Counseling

Affinity Counseling - Proprietor. Independent Counselor and the Trainer since April 2024

(Affinity Counseling, Nirmiti Eminence, First floor, Above Abhishek Veg, Erandawane)

• Children, youth, premarital, marital, people with behavioral disorders, and mental illness (Successfully closed the cases near to 60 since 2016)

Project Manager - Seva Sahayog Foundation, Mhatre Bridge, Pune.

1st August 2023- 31st March 2024

My work included Supervising two projects Smart Community, Magarpatta, and Project Vikas (across Maharashtra) which are supported by two companies, Principal Global Services and Mahindra & Mahindra under their CSR

Social worker and Counselor: Served as a full-time social worker at Avasara Leadership Academy, Lavale.

August 2019- July 2023. My work included:

Counseling and empowering the parents of the students at Avasara:

• Parents and caretakers are often distressed and live in dire situations. Communicating with them, understanding their challenges, and helping them by offering the most required help. It is a mental, emotional, and rational level.
• Scheduling home visits and follow-ups
• Staying connected 24/7 in their distressing and at times threatening situations
• Actively participating in the PTSMs (Parent Teacher Student Meetings) on campus to guide through the admission process, and academics, explaining the objectives and mission of Avasara.

 Assisting students

• Helping the students apply for their documents in their future career choices. Acquiring income certificates, domicile, and Caste certificates, and guiding through the processes of passport as and when the student applies for colleges outside India.

POCSO cases:

• Assisting and supporting during sensitive cases like domestic, or child abuse falling under DVA or POCSO. Supporting the families throughout the entire process as required.
• I am intervening with family members facing addiction issues.
• Maintaining documentation is an important and required part of all the work.

 Coordinator and Trainer of various workshops in urban and rural settings by developing self-designed modules (2015 to Ongoing)

• Communications skills for (15) teenagers in Kharawade on Lavasa road, through Kshitij, an NGO based in Pune
• Self-awareness and conversational English – Structured sessions with (20) young girls from rural areas near Lavasa
• Anger management with the (60) resident addicts at Krupa De-addiction Centre, Sinhagad Road, Pune
• Mental stress to mental illness with the (40) employees at NEOVA SOLUTIONS, IT firm Magarpatta city, Pune
• Sex education and awareness of sexual harassment with the (25) pre-teen and teenage girls and boys at Investment in Man Trust, an NGO based in Phulgaon, Nagar road, Pune
• Training the visually impaired girls from The Poona Blind School for Girls, Kothrud, Pune.
• Training these girls for social skills which included using the streets during traffic hours,
• Visiting banks to open their account, using the AtM cards. Helping them to understand the financial transactions
• Visiting and completing the transactions with vegetable vendors and shop owners
• A one-day workshop with 12 teachers on “Understanding and managing it with simplicity”, at Appasaheb Patwardhan Preschool, Shirdi
• Conducted workshops at five places for 600 students, in Maval District for X std students on Time management, Stress Management, and Exam Preparations through Magic Bus Centre, Pune
• I am training teachers, parents, and prospective facilitators through CTK (ChaloThinKare). Training to facilitate adults to train children to think critically, creatively, and diversely, and most importantly enabling thinking to the philosophical level. Training across Pune, Kolhapur, Bangalore, Amabala (Chandigarh)
• Small Group session for Management team members in a CS firm, C.S.Kelkar a, nd Associates, Karve Road, Pune on Work-Life Balance.

Work History

Crompton Greaves Pvt. Ltd., Dadar, Mumbai: Trainee typist for three months (March 1989- May 1989)

Unit Trust of India, Churchgate, Mumbai: Accounts Assistant for Six months (June 1989 – Dec 1989)

• Indian Overseas Corporation, Marine Lines, Churchgate Office Manager for three years ( Jan 1989 to Dec 1992)
• Chanakya Mandal Pariwar,Administrator, (2006 – 2009)

• Administering the admission process of the students enrolling for UPSC, MPSC, and Personality Development coaching carried out in the Centre.
• Worked for more than two years on the new incoming software used for the admission process of the students
• Worked on the modules by assisting the faculties of MPSC and UPSC students
• Worked for the Yashwantrao Open University, Nasik, as Coordinator of the courses conducted at the Centre

• Friends of Children, NGO, Coordinator and Fund Raiser (2009 – 2012)

• Conducting interviews of the students seeking financial and other help from the organization
• Coordinating the activities during the camps for the students organized by the organization
• Presentations to various IT companies by briefing about the organization for seeking funds to help the students from multiple places in and around Pune for their further education-
• Coordinated and conducted fundraising activities like stalls at festivals, painting exhibitions

• Investment in Man Trust, Advisory Committee Member and a Volunteer, 2009 - Current

Balsadan - Orphanage for girls.

• I worked with the girls, care, takers, and administration work.
• Workshops on Awareness of Sexuality and Sexual harassment
• Counseling to preteen and teenage girls
• Counseling to the caretakers

Balwadi – Pragati Balak Mandir (Wagholi, Talegaon, Karde on Pune Nagar Road)

3 Preschools, 15 teachers, 10 caregivers, and 550 children up to 6 years of age.

• Worked on enhancing the curriculum for all levels from ages 3 to 6 years.
• Conducted workshops for teachers for training on the development of children, preparing educational tools for the classrooms, and soft skills training for teachers
• Counseling the teachers at the personal and professional level
• Conducting Parents-Teachers meeting at large at all schools
• Handling situations and forming the bridge between the teachers and the committee members, teachers and the parents
• Fundraising

Education

• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Post Graduate Diploma of Counseling (December 2015-2016)

Institute of Psychological Health, Thane

REBT, Certified Trainer (2016)

Karve Institute of Social Services, Pune

Masters of Social Work (Family and Child Welfare, 2013-15)

K.V.Pendharkar College, Dombivli

Bachelor of Commerce (1989)

Accomplishments

 Awarded shared first prize for the research done during the Masters of Social Work, from Karve Institute of Social Sciences, Pune