Alumni Spotlight:
Q&A with Dr. Sheetal Siledar-Lee

California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University
PsyD in Clinical Psychology, Bay Area Campus

Professional Information

Clinical Supervisor at Portia Bell Hume Center (Community Mental Health) in Fremont, CA

Q: How did your Alliant experience contribute to your career growth?

A: My experience at Alliant helped me to understand the cultural nuances with the community in the Bay Area. I appreciate all the practicum training at Alliant as it shaped my career and helped me grow as a clinician. I find the courses, and the professors left an everlasting impact in my life and had shaped my career to be a better clinician and serve the community.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work? 

A: At the Hume Center we serve the underprivileged and also the South Asian Community. I enjoy doing outreach and being able to reach out to the community to break the stigma around mental health. I enjoy being able to provide services in native Indian languages like Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, along with English.

Q: What inspires you to make a positive difference in the world? 

A: My life is my inspiration. I have turned towards this field much later in life and I think it is mainly because I find immense satisfaction from trying to help others and make a difference in their lives.

Q: Do you have advice for current students interested in your profession?

A: I would highly recommend current students to stay structured and organized. Reach out to your professors and academic advisors, they are wonderful and are always willing to help you. Most importantly you will feel at times this is overwhelming but never give up!

Learn more about Sheetal Siledar-Lee’s work in community mental health focusing on the South Asian community in this interview on the podcast Maitri:
https://open.spotify.com/show/13mFzRXwZNJgqZJNFFrtwh
 

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