About Us
The Chosen Family (TCF) is the brainchild of Dr. Manjula V, a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist.
The Chosen Family is a non-profit initiative that was born out of Dr. Manjula’s personal and professional reckonings over the many years. She is herself a survivor of emotional abuse and has spent years supporting narratives of fellow survivors of emotional abuse. After navigating the emotional toll of the tightrope between supporting them and being clinically ‘neutral’, she saw time and again how survivors were retraumatized and let down by the very systems aiming to help them.
In the absence of a truly safe, survivor-led space, there came a calling from within: to create the very space that she would’ve needed.
A calm place to land.
And so, the seed for ‘The Chosen Family’ was planted.
Emotional abuse is complex and often overlooked, partly due to gaps in training and understanding in society and professional care spaces. TCF seeks to fill that gap by centering survivor voices and building compassionate and trauma-informed systems of care where none existed before.
Nurturing this space, slowly and steadily, has been possible because of fellow fearless advocates against emotional abuse.
Today, TCF stands as a collective where survivors, mental health professionals, social workers, doctors, lawyers, and community members can come together as equal stakeholders.
Each voice matters. Each story counts.
Our Mission
Our mission is to be a supportive presence for anyone currently facing emotional abuse or healing from its aftermath. While our work centres the experiences of women, The Chosen Family is an inclusive space that welcomes survivors across the gender and sexuality spectrum: cis and trans women and men, non-binary children and adults, and anyone navigating the pain and isolation of emotional abuse in any kind of relationship.
On a larger scale, we not only work with individuals in the context of their interpersonal relationships but also in the context of feminized labor (work traditionally done by women and gender minorities).
Feminized labor is often built on emotional extraction: your kindness, your patience, your sense of duty. But this labor is invisible in policy, undervalued in pay, and unsupported in practice.
We want to change that.
What We Aim To Do?
Build a supportive, non-judgmental community for survivors of emotional abuse
Collate accessible tools and resources in different regional languages to support survivors in retaining their dignity
Amplify survivor voices and lived realities
Train care workers in ethically and holistically navigating the realities of survivors
Work with teachers, caregivers, NGO staff, community health workers, and others who often carry the emotional weight of society without support or recognition
Bridge gaps across mental health, legal, and social systems
Build networks of solidarity across sectors, caste, gender, and location
Conduct research to inform therapeutic care and advocacy
(To learn more about emotional abuse, visit our ‘About Emotional Abuse’ tab.)
Be Part of The Chosen Family!
