Monisha Akhtar obtained her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Wayne State University in 1985. She pursued analytic training at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute completing her adult training in 2005 and child/adolescent training in 2008. She was in private practice in Southfield, Michigan, for over 20 years before relocating to Ardmore, Pennsylvania, in 2007. Currently practicing adult and child/adolescent psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, she is a faculty member of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia and an adjunct faculty member at Immaculata University in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Her interests are issues of trauma and attachment. She is involved in a research project examining how trauma and attachment impact adjustment in orphans. This work is being carried out in New Delhi. Keenly interested in providing psychotherapy training to mental health professionals in India, she founded the India Institute of Psychotherapy Training in 2012 in New Delhi.
She has been writing poetry for some time and is contemplating putting together her first book of poetry.
Silent Unfolding
Mm, Ma, mama, motherSounds that follow one after the otherEffervescent, ebullient, the cascading waterfallSeeks refuge, blending in the pool belowLabyrinth of labor and loveMother and childTransforming sound and structureSweet melody of ebb and flowLife and music in perfect harmonySilent rapture unfoldsGurgles of delight, a kaleidoscopic worldBut lie quietly and you just might hearGrass growingA single droplet hung in midairQuiver of a sycamore treeBent in the autumn windSound of an earthwormBurrowing stealthily deep into the groundBanyan trees bursting in the early spring airMarigold blossoms writhing in ecstasyMyriad of rainbow colorsIn the sky belowSounds of silence are loud and clearOpen your mind and you will hearPainstakingly woven into the fabric of our livesMedley of color, sound and sightRich tapestry now unfoldsThe miracle of life does showMother and child in unspoken syncGesture, thought, a look askanceSilent meanings where love growsIn a flawless and synchronized world
Sheri Butler Hunt, M.D., is an adult training and consulting analyst and a certified analyst in the child division at the Seattle Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. A published poet and member of TAP‘s editorial board, she welcomes readers’ comments, suggestions, and poetry submissions at .