Meet Asian Australian Registered Psychologist: Dhiya Patel

We know that it's not always easy trying to work out which therapist we might like to work with: Because the decision isn't just about where they're located and when they're available, but there's a bit more of a human, relational element to the decision too.

So here at Shapes and Sounds, we want to help make that process just a little easier.

Every month, we'll be introducing a therapist from the Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List to help you gain a bit more insight into who you feel might be a good fit for you or someone that you know.

This month we're excited to connect you with Dhiya who is a registered psychologist offering services in WA and Telehealth Australia wide. We hope you enjoy connecting with Dhiya below!

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1. What led you to choosing mental health as a career?

I chose a career in mental health to help reduce stigma within culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities and to make support more accessible. As someone from a CALD background, I bring lived experience and cultural understanding that can help clients feel seen and understood, without needing to translate or justify their experiences through a Western lens.

My approach is client-focused, and I integrate elements of each client’s cultural practices, values, and belief systems into therapy where appropriate to support healing. I recognise that each person brings a unique background rich in culture, colour, and warmth, and I believe these aspects are essential to acknowledge and incorporate into meaningful therapeutic work.

My aim is to create a space where cultural identity is recognised, respected, and meaningfully integrated into care.

2. What is your unique cultural heritage?

My cultural identity is shaped by a rich, multigenerational migration journey. My grandfather was the first in our family to migrate from India to Kenya, laying the foundation for a legacy of movement and adaptation. My parents later immigrated from India to the UK, where I was born and raised as a first-generation British Indian. I then migrated to Australia, carrying forward this history and becoming part of a second-generation immigrant experience in a new cultural context.

Growing up across these intersecting cultural narratives; spanning India, Kenya, the UK, and Australia has shaped my understanding of identity as fluid, layered, and deeply connected to experiences of migration, belonging, and cultural continuity. My dad often shared stories about our heritage, and we would sometimes joke that, tribally, we are travellers. In many ways, that sense of movement and adaptability still lives on and continues to inform how I understand both myself and others.

3. What are your areas of specialty and what kind of frameworks do you work from?

I have a special interest in working with culturally and linguistically diverse individuals. Some presentations I work with include trauma and neurodiversity. Her therapeutic approach revolves around evidence-based interventions such as CBT, Schema Therapy, EMDR, mindfulness, and trauma-informed care.

4. What kind of clients are you best able to support?

Teenagers and adults

5. If you could be your own therapist right now, what do you think you would say to yourself?

You light up peoples worlds, take a step back and notice that.

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Connect with Dhiya via our Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List HERE.

Alternatively, if you feel like Dhiya may be a good fit for someone that you know, be sure to forward this page on to them too. Let us continue to not only support ourselves but all those around us too!

If you require urgent assistance, please do not contact Dhiya or any of the practitioners on this list. Instead, please call emergency services on 000 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Shapes and Sounds does not recommend or endorse Dhiya or any of the practitioners listed on the Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List.

Please always consult your GP before making changes to your mental health care plan.