In addition to our programs and projects, Kopila Nepal is opening its doors to offer individual and family counseling services to the wider community. Services are offered on a sliding scale based on ability to pay, both to Nepalis and to foreigners living in Nepal. We will also provide a 6 month training in psychosocial counseling starting in January 2012.

Our Counselors:

Claire Willey Sthapit received her master’s degree in Social Work and Certification in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Louisville in the United States.  A certified Prepare-Enrich facilitator, she has since provided individual, couples, premarital and family therapy in the Washington D.C. area and to foreign aid workers (and their families) in Kathmandu, Nepal. She has also facilitated debriefing sessions to study abroad student groups and co-led a therapeutic “Tree of Life” workshop for urban refugee children.

As technical consultant with Kopila Nepal for the past year, Claire has co-facilitated trainings in basic counseling skills, clinically supervised psychosocial counselors, and been involved in proposal development for psychosocial well-being projects and activities. She is looking forward to offering individual and family therapy services in Kopila Nepal’s new counseling center.

Nanda Raj Acharya has worked in the social and health services sector in remote areas of Nepal for the past 12 years. A native of Jumla District in the far west, he became involved in the field of mental health through research conducted in 2000 and 2007. Seeing firsthand the psychological effects of problems such as armed conflict, domestic violence, and problems associated with pregnancy, he developed an interest in helping individuals through psychosocial counseling. He received 6-month Psychosocial Counselor Training Certification from the most extensive paraprofessional training program available in Nepal in 2008, and has offered counseling to many people, including those affected by conflict, HIV aids, domestic violence, and contemplating suicide in Kalikot and Jumla Districts.

“The most rewarding part of counseling,” says Nanda Raj, “Is knowing that through this small support, someone who had been in very difficult circumstances, who had lost all hope, had found some peace. That gives me peace.”

Sita Neupane Poudel also received 6-month Psychosocial Counselor Training Certification from the most extensive paraprofessional training program available in Nepal in 2009. However, she has been helping others informally talk through their difficulties for much longer. A long time teacher, in her own home town she met many people who felt comfortable discussing their difficulties with her. Before coming to Kopila Nepal, Sita worked with an organization conducting trainings on psychosocial well-being and offering group and individual counseling to child domestic workers and government school children. In her own time she provided counseling to others, including conflict and sexual abuse affected children and women who had faced domestic violence.

When asked what she enjoys best about counseling, Sita said, “Sometimes in people’s lives they are carrying around worries and emotional pain that are buried deep inside, not told to anyone. To offer this counseling support and to see this burden lessen, it makes one’s self also feel content and happy.”

Supriya Bhomjan joined the Kopila Nepal team as a counselor and supervisor for our Hateymalo program for the families of missing persons. After receiving a Bachelors in education, she learned about the field of psychosocial counseling through an organization in Kathmandu that provided a 6-month Psychosocial Counselor Training Certification. Supriya had been interested in working in the social field for quite some time and decided to develop her knowledge and skills through this training, through which she also ran orientations in schools, teaching students about psychosocial issues including sexual and substance abuse.

Supriya is fascinated by the process of problem-solving issues of the mind and heart, how people can reflect on their own thoughts and emotions and cope with their own problems. What she most enjoys about counseling is supporting people to help themselves move forward and succeed.

Bina Silwal has over 20 years of experience working with marginalized women, children, and persons with disabilities in Nepal with the United Mission to Nepal, Save the Children, UK and Save the Children, Norway. She has worked in over 50 remote districts in the country, including working with children affected by armed conflict during the civil war in far west Nepal. She has also attended a 15 days model on Children in Difficult Circumstances from the University College of London in 2006. Through these experiences, and having received a bachelor’s degree in education (in which a major subject was psychology) Bina became interested in how counseling could compliment work in the social field.

In 2007 Bina received Certification in Cognitive Therapy from the Northern Ireland Center for Trauma and Transformation, and thereafter Kopila Nepal has incorporated counseling and knowledge about psychosocial well-being into its projects. She has found this set of knowledge and skills exceptionally useful, both in working with communities to prevent human rights violations, and in serving individuals facing a variety of psychological and social difficulties.