Breaking the Silence on Mental Health — with Harsha Dodani, Chief Heart Officer of EmpathifyU

On Look for the Helpers, a podcast by Engage Therapy in Agoura Hills, Adelina Brisbois, LMFT sits down with her longtime friend Harsha Dodani — Chief Heart Officer of EmpathifyU — for one of the most personal conversations we've had on the show. Harsha and her husband Ajith have spent years teaching empathy, storytelling, and change-making to students and companies. But as Harsha shares — for one of the first times out loud — teaching empathy and learning to talk openly about mental health are two very different things. She and Adelina get honest about the cultural silence so many of us grew up with, the day she decided “the stigma stops with me,” and why caring for yourself (“you have to be selfish to be selfless”) is the most generous thing you can do for the people you love. They also dig into the work Harsha does now at EmpathifyU — why empathy is a human skill, not a soft one; how neurodiversity and belonging make teams (and families) stronger; and the four-month corporate program that ended with a skeptical participant saying it changed his relationship with his daughter. Adelina shares her own vulnerable moments too, including a Monday night when her seven-year-old showed her what repair looks like. Chapters 00:00 One of the first times saying it out loud 00:40 Welcome to Look for the Helpers 01:00 Two helpers, a 15-year friendship 05:40 Teaching empathy — then living it at home 08:40 “How much do you spend on mental health?” 15:00 “The stigma stops with me” 18:40 Culture, therapy, and unlearning shame 20:50 White-knuckling: Adelina's own season 25:00 EmpathifyU: empathy as a human skill 30:00 Losing herself — and finding the way back 34:00 The breaking point, and taking leave 37:40 “You have to be selfish to be selfless” 40:00 A rising tide raises all ships 43:00 Neurodiversity, belonging & the business case 47:00 “It changed my relationship with my daughter” 51:00 Grown-up kids, raising kids 55:50 A seven-year-old's choice point 1:01:00 Respecting kids like we respect adults 1:06:40 When it gets easier 1:12:20 Expert companions, holding each other up Key topics: empathy as a human skill (not a soft skill) · breaking cultural & generational mental-health stigma · therapy, shame and “you don't know what you don't know” · self-care and boundaries (“selfish to be selfless”) · neurodiversity, belonging & the workplace · raising kids who can speak up · rupture and repair in parenting · community: a rising tide raises all ships About Engage Therapy Engage Therapy is a clinician-owned, clinician-led practice supporting youth and families across the Conejo Valley — Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and nearby. Learn more about our programs at engagetherapy.com · (805) 497-0605 · @engagetherapy. Guest: Harsha Dodani — Chief Heart Officer, EmpathifyU · www.empathifyu.com · IG @harshadodani