Pradhan Thandra

Pradhan Thandra is a counselor-in-training pursuing his M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Wheaton College. Before entering the counseling field, he worked extensively as a designer and researcher in public health, with a focus on adolescent, maternal, and mental health. Across these roles, empathy shaped his work and strengthened his ability to listen closely, think systemically, and approach people’s stories with care. Pradhan brings a cross-cultural perspective shaped by his life in cities including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, New York, Berlin, and now Chicago. As a Dalit, a member of a lowest-caste community in India, he also brings personal awareness of how culture, identity, injustice, belonging, and systemic harm can shape mental health. He is especially interested in how early experiences, relational patterns, family systems, and cultural contexts shape a person’s inner world. Pradhan approaches counseling through a trauma-informed and culturally responsive lens, and he is eager to support individuals navigating grief, anxiety, trauma, identity formation, and intergenerational or systemic wounds. His counseling approach is integrative, drawing from psychodynamic, person-centered, and family systems perspectives. He is also passionate about expressive and developmentally appropriate modalities, including sandtray and Child-Centered Play Therapy. When working with children, Pradhan values approaches that allow them to communicate through play, creativity, symbolism, and relationship. In the counseling room, Pradhan hopes to offer a grounded, compassionate, and nonjudgmental space where clients can slow down, explore what they are carrying, and reconnect with themselves. He considers it a privilege to walk alongside clients as they seek healing, meaning, resilience, and a deeper sense of agency in their lives. Outside of counseling, Pradhan is a mixed-media artist, photographer, and musician. A longtime bass player in grunge, alternative, and punk rock, he is not active in the music circuit but vowed to attend as many concerts in Chicago and across the U.S.