Ashwin Thind

Ashwin believes in meeting the people he works with where they are and embarking on a mutual journey with them.

He is experienced in working with anxiety, depression, psychosis, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, compulsive sexual behaviours and addictions. Ashwin has worked closely with individuals who struggle with substance, alcohol and behavioural addictions, trauma, co-occurring mental illnesses, co-dependency, family issues, and interpersonal conflicts. He has experience working on the clinical team at a local NGO that provides residential addiction treatment. Ashwin has also
trained at a refugee clinic, where he continues to provide therapy and serve the community. Ashwin is sex-positive and LGBTQ+ affirmative with a keen interest in working with
individuals who struggle managing the fusion between substances and sex and moving past trauma.
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He holds a trauma-focused approach towards therapy and practices Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). Ashwin is a trained EMDR practitioner (Level I and II) registered with the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA). Formally trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), he adopts an integrative approach and works from a Motivational Interviewing and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) perspective. Ashwin has received intensive training on addiction from the Drug Advisory Program under the Colombo Plan, where he obtained both the International Certified Addiction Professional (ICAP, Level II) and Recovery Coach credentials. He is currently working towards completing his accreditation in EMDR. He advocates for Evidence-Based Drug Policies that include decarceration, decriminalisation and regulation of substances. He is also both an experienced and passionate substance-use disorder trainer. Ashwin’s research interest includes treatment of sexualized drug use, harm reduction and moderation in recovery, and the intersection of trauma and addiction.

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