Let's bring your smile back.
Hello, and welcome. You have just done one of the best things you will do all week: you went looking for someone to talk to. Dr. Riya Lokesh is a PhD Clinical Psychologist with ten happy years of helping children, couples, grown-ups and grandparents turn their hardest chapters into their favourite ones. She would love to hear from you.
The Words and Smiles team replies and will help you set up an appointment with Dr. Riya. One line is plenty to start.
RCI Registered, CRR No. A55153
- PhD, Clinical Psychology, SGT University
- MPhil, Clinical Psychology, Gold Medalist, SRM IST Chennai
- MA and BA, Psychology, Banaras Hindu University
- RCI Registered Clinical Psychologist, CRR No. A55153
- Former Assistant Professor
- Published Researcher and Conference Speaker
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions Specialist
- Over Ten Years of Clinical Practice
Whoever you are, you are so welcome here.
Some of the happiest endings Dr. Riya has seen began with a nervous first message. The six-year-old who now races into school. The couple who came in to end things and left planning a holiday. The grandfather who took up the harmonium again at seventy-four. Every one of them started exactly where you are now, wondering whether this was for people like them. It was. It is.
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Little ones and teenagers
Exam nerves, school-morning tears, big feelings in small bodies, and the teenager who has gone quiet behind a screen. Sessions with children are short, playful and full of drawing and games, and parents are cheered on as the real heroes of the story. Children bounce back faster than anyone, and watching it happen is one of the best parts of her week.
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Couples
Newlyweds finding their rhythm, long marriages that have lost the music, and two people who still love each other but cannot seem to say it right. Dr. Riya works with both of you in the room, and the question at the heart of it is a hopeful one: what would make this wonderful again, and how do we get you both there.
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Adoption and growing families
Getting ready to adopt, the first tender months at home, telling a child their beautiful origin story, and the questions that arrive with adolescence. Blended families, new siblings, and grandparents raising grandchildren all belong here too. Families that choose each other are her favourite kind of story.
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Older adults
Retirement that needs a new purpose, grief that needs company, worries about memory, and the low mood that families sometimes mistake for just age. It is never just age, and it is never too late. The pace is gentle, an adult child is welcome to join, and a voice call works perfectly if video feels like a fuss.
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Suicidal thoughts, and the people who love you
If you have been thinking about ending your life, please hear this first: people come back from exactly where you are, all the time, and go on to have lives they truly love. Dr. Riya spent years in hospital wards walking people out of that dark room, and she knows the way. Every session includes a safety plan in plain, kind words that work at two in the morning. If tonight is hard, please start here.
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Work and career
Burnout, a job that ended, a big decision that will not settle, imposter feelings in people with every reason to feel brilliant, and the Sunday evening dread. Most people who come with this are excellent problem-solvers who simply needed a thinking partner. They usually leave with a plan and their spark back.
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Anxiety, low mood and old wounds
Panic that shows up uninvited, worry that will not switch off, sadness that has overstayed, and the echoes of things that should never have happened. These are the most treatable troubles in all of psychology, and Dr. Riya uses the methods with the strongest evidence, including cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based work and trauma-focused therapy. People are often surprised by how quickly the light comes back.
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Sleep, habits, and everything else
Alcohol and other habits that have taken the wheel, rituals you would love to stop, insomnia, anger, phobias, and a confidence that could use a boost. If your trouble does not have a name yet, that is completely fine. Naming it together is the first happy step. Psychological assessment is also available whenever a school, a doctor or a court has asked for one.
Every single person who has finished the work with her has come out smiling.
Ten years, every age, every walk of life, and a hundred percent of the people who stayed the course are back to living the life they wanted. Children who skip into school. Couples who hold hands in the waiting room of life again. Parents who like their teenager. Elders who get dressed in the morning because there is somewhere fun to be. And the ones who once thought there was no way out, who are here, and thriving, and occasionally send her a photo of the wedding, the graduation, the baby.
Recovery here is not a vague feeling. On day one, you and Dr. Riya agree on what better looks like for you: the sleep you want, the mornings you want, the things you cannot wait to do again. Then you go and get them, and you measure the wins along the way.
These outcomes describe clients who completed the care plan agreed with them at assessment. Therapy is a team sport, and how far it goes depends on lots of things, including what happens between sessions.
Here is how the good part starts.
Good therapy has a shape, and it is a cheerful one. You can see where it begins, where it is going, and how you will know when you have arrived. This is how the work unfolds with Dr. Riya.
She listens to all of it
The first session is relaxed and unhurried. She wants the whole story, including the funny bits, before she says a word about what she thinks.
She tells you the good news
In plain, friendly language: what is going on, why it makes complete sense, and what is going to help. No jargon, no labels you did not ask for.
You make a plan together
A number of sessions, goals written down, and an honest estimate of how long it will take. You will know the shape of the journey before you set off.
You start winning
Methods chosen for your particular trouble, with quick check-ins along the way so you can watch the numbers move in the right direction.
You graduate
Sessions space out as you get better. You leave with a plan for the wobbly days and an open door for a catch-up whenever you like.
Meet Dr. Riya, the smile behind the name.
She built Words and Smiles on a simple, sunny idea: that the very best clinical care should feel like talking to the wisest, warmest person you know, from your own sofa.
Riya Lokesh fell in love with psychology at Banaras Hindu University, where she took her BA and then her MA, and followed it south to SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai for the MPhil in Clinical Psychology that turns a student into a clinician. She finished top of her class with the gold medal. A PhD in Clinical Psychology from SGT University came next, along with registration with the Rehabilitation Council of India, CRR No. A55153, the licence that makes her a Clinical Psychologist in the fullest sense.
Then came the years that made her the clinician she is. Hospital wards, where she learnt that people recover from far more than anyone expects. Rehabilitation centres, where she watched addiction and serious illness loosen their grip on people who had been written off. A university department, where she taught as an assistant professor, published her research, and discovered she loves explaining how minds work almost as much as helping them heal.
What people remember most is that she is honest and warm in the same breath. She will tell you what she really thinks, and she will make you laugh while she does it. Nobody leaves a session with her feeling like a case file. They leave feeling like themselves again, only lighter.
Education
- PhD, Clinical PsychologySGT University
- MPhil, Clinical PsychologySRM IST Chennai, Gold Medalist
- MA and BA, PsychologyBanaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Registered Clinical PsychologistRehabilitation Council of India, CRR No. A55153
Experience
- HospitalsClinical assessment, crisis and treatment
- Rehabilitation centresAddiction and severe mental illness
- University teachingFormer Assistant Professor, published researcher
- Online practiceFounder, Words and Smiles, since 2019
Smiles, in their own words.
Shared with permission, and with a lot of joy. Names and details appear exactly as the clients chose to give them.
One month with Ms. Riya and I can honestly say she has helped me more than years with my previous therapist. She truly listens and understands.
My son had severe exam anxiety. The therapist was incredibly patient, understanding, and effective. He now takes exams without any stress.
After losing my job, I was in a dark place. The therapy sessions helped me not just cope, but come back stronger. Found a better job within months.
Words and Smiles truly lives up to their name. They helped me recover from severe stress during COVID. I feel like a different person now.
Curious? Wonderful. Here is what people ask.
If your question is not here, send it over on WhatsApp. Questions are always welcome, and asking one is the easiest first step there is.
Ask a questionIs online therapy as good as sitting in the same room?
Happily, yes. Twenty years of research now shows comparable outcomes for online and in-person psychotherapy for anxiety, depression, stress, trauma and relationship difficulties. Plus you get to skip the traffic, the waiting room, and the parking, and talk from wherever you feel most yourself.
How do sessions with children work?
The first chat is usually with the parents, to hear the story so far. Sessions with the child are short, playful, and built around drawing, games and stories rather than sitting still and talking. Parents leave with clear, encouraging guidance for the days in between, because that is where most of a child's progress happens, and children make progress fast.
Do you see couples together or separately?
Together, almost always. Individual sessions can be added when they help, and anything shared in them is handled with clear, agreed boundaries so that nobody is left holding a secret. The goal is always the same: two people who enjoy each other again.
What if I am having a really hard time right now?
If you are in immediate danger, call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department. For free, round-the-clock support in India, call Tele-MANAS on 14416. Then message Words and Smiles, and a session will be found for you as soon as possible. The helplines are listed below.
Is everything I share confidential?
Yes. Sessions are confidential and governed by the professional ethics that bind a registered clinical psychologist. The only exceptions are the ones the law and professional ethics require, such as an immediate risk to your life or someone else's, and those are always discussed with you openly.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on what you are bringing, and it is agreed with you after the first session. You will know the expected number before you commit, and the plan is reviewed as you go. Many people are pleasantly surprised by how few it takes.
What are Dr. Riya's qualifications?
PhD in Clinical Psychology from SGT University. MPhil in Clinical Psychology from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, where she was the gold medalist. MA and BA in Psychology from Banaras Hindu University. She is registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India as a Clinical Psychologist, CRR No. A55153, and has over ten years of clinical experience.
I live outside India. Can I book?
Sessions are online, so where you live is rarely a problem. Reach out with your city and the hours that suit you, and Dr. Riya will tell you directly whether it will work and what the session would cost.
How do I book a session?
Send a WhatsApp message to +91 89710 88848 or email hello@wordsandsmiles.com. You will hear back with times to choose from.
If tonight is a hard one, help is one call away.
Therapy is a wonderful next step, but it is not an emergency service. If you, or someone with you, could come to harm right now, please use one of these numbers first. They are free, they are answered around the clock, and the kind people who pick up have helped thousands through nights just like this one. Then message Words and Smiles, and a session will be found for you as soon as one can be. Better days are coming, and they start with this call.
- Emergency services, IndiaPolice, ambulance, fire112
- Tele-MANASGovernment of India mental health helpline, 24 hours, free14416
- Vandrevala Foundation24 hours, free, in several languages+91 99996 66555
- iCall, TISSMonday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm+91 91529 87821
Say hello. That is all it takes.
You do not need the perfect words. "Hi, I would like to book a session" has been the opening line of a great many happy endings. The Words and Smiles team reads every message and replies to help you set up an appointment with Dr. Riya and to offer a warm welcome.
- WhatsApp+91 89710 88848
- Emailhello@wordsandsmiles.com
- HoursMonday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm IST
Other times by arrangement - SessionsOnline, by video or voice
Wherever you happen to be. Reach out and ask. - Based inBengaluru, Karnataka, India