Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Ms Kanak Kataria

Assistant Professor
Mumbai Campus, Centre for Human Ecology, School of Human Ecology

Qualification

M.Phil (Clinical Psychology) - National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.

M.A in Applied Psychology (Specialization in Clinical Psychology) - Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

B.A (Hons) Psychology - University of Delhi.

Contact

kanak.kataria[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in

kanak.kataria@tiss.ac.in

#405, 4th Floor,

Prof MS Gore Block

Tata Institute of Social Sciences,

Naoroji Campus,

Deonar Farm Road, Mumbai 400088.

Phone: 022-25525350

Kanak Kataria is an Assistant Professor at the School of Human Ecology (SHE), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.

She completed her B.A. (Hons) Psychology from Jesus and Mary College (JMC), University of Delhi, and her M.A. in Applied Psychology (Specialisation in Clinical Psychology) from TISS Mumbai. She went on to complete her M.Phil in Clinical Psychology from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru and is currently enrolled as a PhD Scholar at TISS Mumbai.

She is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist by training, with experience in working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. Before joining TISS as an Assistant Professor, she worked as a research officer at NIMHANS, as a research assistant at the Boness Addictions Lab, Center on Alcohol, Substance Use and Addictions (CASAA) at the University of New Mexico, and as the Project Manager for the School Initiative for Mental Health Advocacy (SIMHA), a field action project of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Kanak is passionate about applied research, mixed-methods research, harm reduction, and implementation science.

Interests:

Substance Use, Addiction and Harm Reduction
Chronic Illness: Identity, Coping, Meaning Making and Resilience
Self-regulation of Health Behaviours
Dysregulation and Mental Health Concerns
Suicide Prevention
Psychotherapy Process and Outcome
Existential Concerns and Psychotherapy

Journal Publications:

Duggal, C., Kataria, K., Bagasrawala, L., & Walia, A. (2025). Trauma-informed teaching practices: An online pilot program with teachers in India. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 13(1), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2024.2444463

Alva, M.H., Antony S.P., & Kataria, K. (2024) Exploring the Use of the Therapist’s Self in Therapy: A Systematic Review. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (online). https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176241252363

Boness, C. L., Kataria, K., & Morris, J. (2023). Should we embrace the term ‘preaddiction’? Neuropsychopharmacology, 49(3), 495–496. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01764-4

Kataria, K., & Philip, S. (2022). Reorienting to mild and borderline intellectual disability: An appeal from South Asia. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(22)00136-5

Conference Presentations

Kataria, K., Montaño-Pilch, M., Boness, C.L. (2023, April 13). Medical versus Recreational Cannabis Use among New Mexico
Residents with and without Medical Cannabis Cards [Poster Abstract]. Rocky Mountain Psychological Association
2023 convention.

Kataria, K., Montaño-Pilch, M., Boness, C.L. (2023, March 23). Comparing sociodemographic and clinical correlates of binge
drinking measurement items with and without 2-hour time qualifier [Poster Abstract]. Collaborative Perspectives on
Addiction Annual Meeting 2023.

Kataria, K. (2022, June 17). Who’s Asking? Researcher Positioning in Qualitative Inquiry. [Roundtable Discussion]. SQIP 2022 Virtual Conference, Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, online.

Kataria, K., Saha, M., Mehrotra, S., Agrawal, J. (2022, June 17). Qualitative Methods in Training Peer Support Volunteers.[Video Presentation]. SQIP 2022 Virtual Conference, Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, online.

Kataria, K., Saha, M., Mehrotra, S., Sudhir, P., Bhola, P., Agrawal, J., Kapanee, R. M. A. (2022, April 22). Online Peer Support Forum for Youth Mental Health [Conference Presentation]. Manodarpan-Integrated Approach to Mental Health and Well-being in the Universities: Perspectives, Methodologies and Practices –National Conference, Ministry of Education and MaitreyiCollege, DelhiUniversity.

ICMR's Multistate Implementation Research on Suicide Prevention and Well-being Promotion in Schools and Colleges (co-PI, TISS)

AP1&2: Counselling Process and Microskills
AP3: Approaches to Psychotherapy and Counselling-I
AP5: Understanding Psychological Problems
AP11: Psychological Assessment and Diagnostics-I
AP18: Qualitative Data Analysis
AP21.3 School Counselling