Dr. Vidisha Patel is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a doctorate in Counseling Psychology and practices as a therapist in Sarasota, FL. Her private practice, Peace of Heart LLC, works with individuals and families on managing relationships and emotional regulation. Additionally, Dr. Patel works as a therapist to college students at New College of Florida in Sarasota. She is licensed to teach stress management techniques to individuals and small groups through the Institute of Heart Math and is a certified facilitator of SENG Model Parent Groups.
Dr. Patel is actively engaged with the medical community and higher education. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and chairs the committee on Patient Quality and Safety. Dr. Patel serves on the Board of Trustees of Williams College (Williamstown, MA) and of the Sidwell Friends School (Washington DC).
Locally, Dr. Patel continues to be actively engaged with the Florida Medical Society Alliance serving on the Finance Committee. She was the Chair of the Health Committee of the Sarasota County Medical Society Alliance in which capacity she helped integrate relevant health care issues into the local community. One such issue involved the prevention of violence amongst children in the Sarasota community. She has previously served in numerous capacities on the local chapter of the Medical Society Alliance.
Helping underserved populations is a passion for Dr. Patel. She has worked with pregnant and parenting teens at Cyesis, a school for pregnant and teenage mothers in Sarasota County providing dyadic therapy, parenting skills, and emotional support to teen parents for over fourteen years. She has served as a consultant to Girls Incorporated of Sarasota, providing therapeutic interventions with pre-adolescent girls and advice on behavioral and relationship issues between such children and their families.
Dr. Patel served on the international Board of Directors for SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) for six years three of which were spent on the Executive Board as the Chief Finance Officer. Her work with SENG continues to complement her work with gifted children in Sarasota County.
Dr. Patel regularly speaks at conferences, schools, and parenting groups throughout the community and the state. She has consulted for Florida State University as a trainer of primary caregivers on infant mental health. Additionally, Dr. Patel has volunteered her time with a community advocacy group supporting the social and emotional needs of teen parents in the Cyesis Program.
Dr. Patel brings a rich experience of business and education to her current field of work. She obtained an undergraduate degree from Williams College, MA (with a major in Art History and Asian Studies) and an MBA from Columbia University, NY, with a specialty in Finance and International Business. Her Doctorate in Education in counseling psychology was received from Argosy University in Sarasota, Florida.
Dr. Patel’s professional affiliations have covered a wide range of institutions over the past 20 years and include the World Association of Infant Mental Health, the Zero to Three Society, Williams College Board of Trustees, Sidwell Friends School Board of Trustees, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Board of Trustees, Sarasota County Medical Society Alliance, the Florida Medical Alliance, the Pine View School Board of Directors, the Student Advisory Council for Cyesis, the Riverview High School Foundation Board of Directors, and the International Board of Directors for SENG.
She lives in Sarasota with her husband and has two children.
