She/her/hers  

Bhavani has been with SCCH since April of 2023 and is a peer recovery support specialist (PRSS) and certified substance use disorder counselor with advanced field experience. (SUDCC II). Bhavani received her BA in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she focused on social justice, inequality, and social psychology. Bhavani began her own recovery journey over 20 years ago. The road to recovery was long and difficult but when she finally created a fulfilling life in recovery, Bhavani realized that her true calling was to work with individuals struggling with substance use disorder. In 2012 Bhavani began to work towards obtaining her substance use disorder counseling certification. Since 2014, Bhavani has been working as an SUD counselor in the residential treatment and recovery field, first at New Life Community Services and then at Janus of Santa Cruz, before joining SCCH. Bhavani found her work in the residential treatment environment extremely rewarding but decided to take on the new challenge of working in the primary care setting at SCCH where she supports patients in all phases of their recovery journey. Bhavani’s approach is grounded in empathy and compassion and utilizes motivational interviewing to engage with patients in their change process to identify treatment goals and to develop treatment and recovery plans which focus on emotional regulation, physical well-being and increased social connection.