The Short Version
TherapaJi is a South Asian mental health advocacy platform — built to create the space our communities never had. Honest conversations, culturally-fluent tools, a growing practitioner network, and a podcast that actually goes there.
This isn’t a therapy practice. It’s infrastructure for a movement.
Who’s Behind It
Amar Banga — TherapaJi Founder. MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (in progress). First-gen Punjabi Sikh, ADHD-diagnosed, former dollar-store kid who became the guy people came to with the real stuff long before he had any credentials.
Sukhi Sandhu, LCPC — Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with 8+ years of experience, founder of POM Therapy Collective, and co-host of 167 Hours. She brings the clinical depth; Amar brings the lived experience. Together, they’re building what they both needed.
The Longer Story
I grew up navigating two worlds. Sikh family at home, American school outside. Working the register at my family’s dollar store on weekends, code-switching between Punjabi and English depending on who walked through the door.
I went into sales after that. Then credit repair. Then real estate. Different industries, same pattern — I was always the person people came to. Not for business advice. For the real stuff. The stuff they couldn’t say out loud to their families. Career confusion, relationship pressure, that feeling of being stuck between two cultures and not fully belonging to either one.
My wife Sukhi is a therapist. She’s the one who finally said, “You should try this yourself.” So I did. And in that process, I got an ADHD diagnosis as an adult. Everything clicked. The restlessness, the career jumps, the way my brain worked — it all made sense for the first time.
That experience changed me. Not in some dramatic overnight way, but in the way that a door opening changes a room. Suddenly there was light where there hadn’t been.
My purpose is to conquer my mind. My passion is listening to people. TherapaJi is where those two things meet.
Why This Platform Exists
TherapaJi started with South Asian men in mind — because that’s where the silence is loudest. But the work has always been bigger than that.
We’re raised to provide, to protect, to keep it together. Asking for help feels like failure. Talking about feelings feels like weakness. And when the weight gets heavy, most of us just push harder.
That’s not weakness. That’s a community that was never given the right language.
TherapaJi is building that language — for men, for women, for first-gen kids, for bicultural couples, for parents who want to break the cycle. When one person starts talking, entire families heal.
TherapaJi focuses on where the door needs to open. Then we walk through it together.
Why TherapaJi Exists
TherapaJi isn’t a therapy practice. It’s not a wellness brand selling candles and affirmations.
TherapaJi is a movement to build South Asian mental health infrastructure — and the trust layer that makes that infrastructure actually work.
Too many people in our communities suffer in silence. Not because they’re weak — because the systems weren’t built for them. The therapy options don’t reflect their reality. The resources assume a Western default. The stigma runs deep and nobody’s building the bridge.
We’re building the bridge.
Through community networks, podcast conversations, culture-first toolkits, and a curated directory of therapists who speak our language — TherapaJi connects our people to the support they actually need. Without the extra explaining.
The Ecosystem
TherapaJi doesn’t try to do everything alone. It’s one piece of a larger system, and each piece serves a different need:
TherapaJi — The advocacy and trust layer. Community networks, podcast conversations, cultural research, and toolkit development. This is where relationships start.
Pomwell — The digital wellness product. Built from real community insights gathered through TherapaJi. Culture-first tools that track what actually matters. Available now on iOS.
167 Hours — The conversation layer. Amar and Sukhi, talking about everything that happens in the 167 hours your therapist doesn’t see.
Each piece feeds the others. TherapaJi builds trust and gathers insights. Pomwell turns those insights into tools. 167 Hours starts conversations that make everything else possible.
What’s Next
TherapaJi is still early. We’re recording podcast episodes, expanding the network, developing cultural toolkits for multiple South Asian communities, and growing a directory of practitioners who actually get it.
If any of that sounds like you — whether you’re a mental health professional, a first-gen kid who’s been through it, or someone who just believes our communities deserve better — I want to hear from you.
Join the South Asian Mental Health Network | Explore the Ecosystem
TherapaJi — South Asian Mental Health Advocacy