Aligned Self
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide identity-affirming, culturally responsive care to all people with all abilities in all bodies. We strive to honor and respect the uniqueness of each person.
Our Vision
Our vision is to be able to provide the most incisive care we can to our clients. We are an open and affirming practice celebrating acceptance, diversity, and collaboration with clients and colleagues. We strive to help clients expand their inner strengths and skills to work toward improved emotional health and well-being to become their aligned self.
About the founder
Nirmala Bijraj
LMHC, NCC, She/Her/Hers
Nirmala is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York and Florida. Nirmala’s style of therapy is eclectic drawing from different theories and modalities which centers on what works best for the client. She has a lot of experience to draw from, having worked for hospitals, non-profits and private practice in the past.
She is an immigrant who moved from Guyana, South America to Toronto, Canada, then to Queens, New York before relocating to Orlando, FL and credits these life experiences to being able to navigate, connect, communicate, and build relationships with different people which highly informs her clinical work now. She now works primarily with adults navigating how to improve communication in their daily lives specializing in working with polyamory, open and non-monogamous relationships.
about
Belief
Nirmala believes in tailoring the therapeutic orientation to the needs of the clients, and that all individuals are multifaceted, thus, needing different approaches for different struggles. She will help you to feel at one with your body and no longer feel as though you are functioning on auto-pilot. She will equip you with the tools to regain control over where your mind takes you, reminding you that it is you that is writing your story.
She believes in forming an authentic human relationship wherein you feel safe, seen, soothed, and secure; to create a relationship built on trust, understanding, and mutual respect navigating the therapeutic relationship through a relational-cultural, anti-oppressive lens.
Nirmala’s therapeutic aim is to help you tap into your inner-resilience, practice radical acceptance, and mobilize change to create the life you envision.
Nirmala received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Queens College, and a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University.
Nirmala is trained in the following:
EFIT: Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy
CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Various modalities of Grief and Loss Treatment
Land Acknowledgement
As a virtual practice we are located on various stolen Lands that are sacred to a number of Indigenous Peoples, within the states we operate including but not limited to Tribes, Nations, and Peoples such as:
Florida:
Acuera, Aguacaleyquen, Ais, Alabama, Amacono, Amacapiras, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Calusa, Caparaz, Chatot, Chiaha, Chilucan, Chine, Creek,Fresh Water Indians, Guacata, Guale, Hitchiti, Icafui, Jeaga, Koasati, Macapiras or Amacapiras, Miccosukee or Mikasuki, Mococo or Mucoco, Muklasa, Muskogee, Ocale or Etocale, Ocita, Oconee, Onatheaqua, Osochi, Pawokti, Pensacola, Pohoy, Pooy or Posoy, Potano, Saturiwa, Sawokli, Seminole, Surruque, Tacatacuru, Tawasa, Tekesta or Tequesta, Tocoboga, Ucita, Utica or Timucua, Yamasee, Yuchi, Yufera, Yui, and Yustaga.
New York:
Delaware or Lenni Lenape, Erie, Iroquois, Mahican, Mohegan, Montauk, Neutral, Oneida, Onondaga, Saponi, Seneca, Tuscarora, Tutelo, Wappinger, and Wenrohronon.
We thank the Indigenous Peoples for stewarding these Lands for generations. We pay respect to the Elders, past, present, and future. We’re grateful for the opportunity to work here and we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land – for thousands of years. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. As an organization, we advocate for Land Back and Indigenous Sovereignty. (Give the Land back).
As a community we consider our roles in the liberation, and restoration of Land, language, and culture for Indigenous Peoples globally. We also invite thoughts and comments regarding this statement, especially if there’s any supplemental information that should be included.
