
“Shared joy is double joy. Shared pain is half the pain.” ~Swedish Proverb
Rameya Shanmugavelayutham, LCSW
Rameya (Rum-ya) Shanmugavelayutham is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, ADHD coach, and educator. She works with individuals of diverse intersecting identities , as well as the broader systems they inhabit, to support neurodiversity & trauma healing through practices of shame-reduction, pleasure and play.
Rameya received her BAs from Loyola University Chicago, her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and an Infant Mental Health Certificate from Erikson Institute. She holds clinical social work licenses in Connecticut, Illinois and Vermont. Rameya is currently training in Dance Movement Therapy at Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Kolkata/ Mumbai , India and supports clients virtually.
Rameya has close to a decade of experience as a therapist working with diverse and varied populations. Given her background as a spiritually rooted woman of color, Rameya often works with BIPOC folx who are seeking to preserve aspects of their ancestral, cultural and spiritual wisdoms while also striving to break cycles of intergenerational trauma, internalized oppression, internalized capitalism and white supremacy. Rameya welcomes clients who are seeking to carve an individualized, authentic existence that honors their complex, intersectional identities and values through a commitment to anti-oppressive, racially-allied liberatory healing.
Rameya also offers specialized ADHD Coaching with the aim of supporting ADHDers and their families to unlock their brains potential. Rameya’s coaching services are provided virtually across the country. She specializes in the intersection of neurodiversity and complex PTSD.
In addition to her therapeutic and coaching services Rameya has taught Master’s level courses in Social Work and International Peace Building and at the University of Chicago School of Social Administration, the Hartford International University for Peace and Religion and Erikson Institute. Her philosophy around teaching involves embodying the values and skills she hopes for her students to gain within her teaching and facilitation style. She leverages community building, play, self-reflection and an egalitarian valuing of multiple intelligences in the classroom space in order to facilitate multi-modal, embodied, transformative learning.
Licensure:
Connecticut : (LCSW) # 11939
Illinois:(LCSW)# 149.020433
Vermont: (LCSW) 089.0136477TELE

Select Trainings and Certifications
The following are a select list of trainings that inform Rameya’s therapeutic approach. Please contact her for a more complete understanding of her training and experience.
Dance and Movement Therapy Post Graduate Diploma -Tata Institute of Social Sciences - In Process
Somatic Attachment Certificate - Embody Lab - In Process
Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP) Certification - 2023
EMDR Basic Training - The Center of Excellence in EMDR Training -2023
Infant Mental Health Certificate - Erikson Institute - 2017
And Baby Makes Three - Gottman Institute- 2016
Clinical Scholars Program Scholarship - University of Michigan 2014-2015
Michigan Interim Teaching Certificate - University of Michigan 2012
Maroon and Gold Society - Loyola University Chicago - 2012
Representative Conferences and Presentations
2024 Invited Guest Lecturer, “Trauma, Grief, and Bereavement in the Case of Suicide,” Death and Dying chaplaincy course, Hartford International Seminary, Hartford International University for Peace and Religion, May 2024
2023 Invited Speaker, “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Conversations about World Events,” Hartford International University for Peace and Religion, November 2023 2023 Invited Facilitator, “Continuing the Conversation on Mental Health and Well-Being,” StudentPersonnel Administrators’ Conference, Dallas, TX, March 2023
2023 Invited Panelist, “On Mental Health, the Effects of Trauma, and Caring for Students as Whole Humans,” Service and Formation in Changing Times: Navigating the Trends of Theological Education, Student Personnel Administrators’ Conference, Dallas, TX, March 2023 [with Z. Moon and E. Norris]
2020 Plenary Presenter, “Connect 2 Kids: Equipping Teachers (and At-Home Teachers) with Relationship Strategies to Reduce Children's Emotional and Behavioral Barriers to Learning,” Intrapsychic Humanism Society Conference, Chicago, IL, November, 2020 [with S. Buddhe and K. Gleason]
2017 Co-Presenter, “Integrating Mindfulness & Diversity in Practice Nurturing Authentic Relationships with Infants, Young Children & Families,” Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Biennial Conference, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2017 [with R. Waddell, E. Alfafara, K. Rosenblum, and M. Muzik]
2017 Poster Abstract of Distinction, “Predicting Retention in Infant Mental Health Home Visiting Services,” Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting, May 2017, Washington, DC [with J. Jester, E. Alfafara, J. Lawler, M. Julian, R. Waddell, N. Miller, M. Muzik, and K. Rosenblum]
2016 Invited Pre-Conference Presenter, “Collaborative Evaluation: Providers, Consumers, & Evaluators Working Together to Build an Evidence Base for IMH Practice” Michigan Home Visiting Conference, August 2016, Detroit, MI [with J. Jester, E. Alfafara, J. Lawler, M. Julian, R. Waddell, N. Miller, M. Muzik, and K. Rosenblum]
Student Testimonials
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"Rameya is an incredibly responsive and dynamic person. A true educator. She is creative and varied in her activity choices; she is socratic and supportive in every aspect of the class in ways I had not even considered possible. She shows us that she understands our concerns and emotions and prioritizes our presence over our performance. She leads by example and by action. I'm grateful for the grace and peace she created/facilitated in this course."
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"I truly felt valued, respected, and cared for within this class in a way that I have never felt in a classroom setting before. Rameya did a brilliant job of creating space for everyone in the room, and using humor, kindness, and creativity to meet all of our diverse learning needs and styles. I am so pleased to have taken this course and would strongly recommend all clinical students have an opportunity to experience it."
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"This class was unlike any class I've ever taken. We truly created a community. I'm beyond impressed at Rameya's thoughtfulness, intentionality and skill to facilitate an environment where it was okay to speak, to err, to feel and to be vulnerable. Her efforts to empower students and their agency is palpable. I'm sad this class is ending; I really wish we could meet all year long. Unparellelled!"
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"Rameya's flexibility and creativity was hugely important in creating a comfortable, engaging, challenging, and inspiring learning environment. I really felt like we were putting the idea of the concepts the course was meant to explore into practice every week in new ways, and I really appreciated that."