Immigration can look like forms and visa categories from the outside, but from the inside it often feels like fear, pressure, and a constant negotiation of safety. We’re Gitika and Malika, two Desi mental health professionals living in the U.S., and we get honest about how migration shapes our identities and the way we move through the world. We name what so many people carry quietly: the way your immigration pathway can define your role in the family, your choices at work, and your willingness to speak up when something feels wrong.

We unpack how different routes into the United States create different power dynamics, from employer-tied work visas to family sponsorship and marriage-based status. We also talk about the stories that stay hidden, especially asylum and undocumented experiences, where shame and fear can make even basic trust feel risky. Along the way, we explore why immigrants can live in a persistent survival mindset, how competition gets baked into the system, and what it costs our mental health when we only share the “surface level” version of our journeys.

The thread running through everything is community: what it means to find safe people, to listen without rushing to advise, and to build connection that makes life feel more livable. If you’ve ever felt alone in your immigration anxiety, grief about the past, or uncertainty about the future, we hope this conversation helps you feel less isolated. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find us.

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/

What happens when two South Asian therapists decide that therapy’s four walls aren’t big enough for the conversations our community needs? We built Desi Couch to take healing into the open. In our first recording, we share the immigration paths that shaped us, and the moment we realized that silence—not a lack of suffering—keeps many South Asian families from care.

We dig into what we saw in clinics and group practices: rosters labeled “diverse,” yet often no Indian or South Asian clients. That absence sent us into the community with talks on depression and suicide, and it pushed us toward the mic. We unpack the barriers—shame, confidentiality fears, cost, language, immigration stress—that keep people away, and we talk through a wake-up call around proposing a support group for parents of children who survived sexual abuse. The pain is present; the words are missing. So we start giving language to hard things, without blame.

Our conversation also traces the quieter currents of history. Partition memories show up as stories told in passing and rules about keeping feelings tidy. We look at family systems where one person gets labeled “the problem,” even when their symptoms point to a deeper wound. Throughout, we hold two truths at once: joy and grief, gratitude and longing. That both/and approach becomes a tool for self-compassion and a lens for cultural nuance.

Expect plain speech, cultural fluency, and a safe, non-shaming space. Most of all, we want you with us: listening, questioning, and widening the circle. If you’re South Asian or love someone who is, you’ll find language for what hurts and what heals—and you’ll hear why we believe community is part of the cure.

If this resonates, subscribe, share Desi Couch with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the conversation. Tell us: what silence should we break next?

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/

Hello!!

We are Malika and Gitika, two immigrant mental health professionals in the US, and we invite you to our podcast, Desi Couch!

We created Desi Couch as a cozy, honest space for South Asians across the world who want language for what they have carried for years.

We talk about South Asian mental health through a holistic lens, looking at how family systems, culture, identity, and the body all hold stress and survival. That means we name generational trauma and the patterns it can create, while also celebrating the beauty and resilience that lives in our communities. We sit with the complicated truth that you can love your culture and still question the parts that hurt.

If you have ever wanted a Desi mental health conversation that feels grounded, warm, and real, pull up a seat. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review telling us what topic you want us to talk about next.

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/