A Gentle Place to Begin: Jigyna Patel on Presence, Healing, and the Power of Being Seen

Some people have a way of making you feel settled the moment they enter the room. Not because they have all the answers, but because they are fully there. Listening. Breathing with you. Holding space without judgment. That is the kind of presence Jigyna Patel brings to every support group she facilitates, trains, and coaches. And it is the same presence that first drew her to GPS.

Her introduction came during a GPS Facilitator Training in 2023, when she participated in a full GPS support group as part of the opening practicum. It was not just another professional experience. It was personal.

“I felt heard and seen in a way that I had not felt in other support groups that I led or attended,” Jigyna shares.

Something shifted in that moment. She felt hope. Comfort. A sense of possibility. And she knew that if a space could offer her that kind of grounding, it could do the same for so many others who were carrying quiet weight.

Walking With Families Through Tender Seasons

Jigyna is a perinatal mental health certified professional and community health worker who has spent years supporting mothers, parents, and families during some of the most vulnerable chapters of their lives. Her work includes deep engagement with South Asian families, where conversations about maternal mental health are often layered with cultural expectations, silence, and strength that leaves little room for rest. She understands that new parenthood can be filled with love and also with fear, exhaustion, and self doubt. And she believes that support should feel human, not clinical. Honest, not rushed.

That belief is what made the GPS model feel so different to her.

“I truly felt the model was one of the most authentic and genuine resources I had come across in the world of support groups,” she says. “If it gave me so much hope and comfort, I wanted others to feel that same kind of healing.”

Beginning With Breath and Intention

Today, Jigyna is a GPS Support Group Trainer and Lead Facilitator Coach, as well as the Education and Training Chair for the Texas chapter of Postpartum Support International. She brings her calm steadiness into every room she enters.

There are two parts of the GPS model that resonate most deeply with her. The first is mindfulness. Starting a group with slow, intentional breathing may seem simple, but Jigyna knows how powerful it can be.

“So many people come in carrying full lives, full minds, full hearts,” she explains. “That pause allows everyone to arrive. It creates calm. It reminds people that they are allowed to slow down.”

The second is the GPS realities and principles. These shared truths offer something many parents do not receive often enough: permission to feel exactly what they feel.

“They remind people that they are not alone,” Jigyna says. “That what they are experiencing makes sense. That they deserve compassion.”

In perinatal spaces especially, that kind of validation can feel like a deep exhale.

The Work That Gives Back

Professionally, GPS has opened doors for Jigyna to expand her impact. Training and coaching other facilitators has brought her a sense of fulfillment that runs deeper than any title.

“It has introduced me to a whole new level of peer support work that feels full of purpose and joy,” she reflects. “I have learned so much from the leaders at GPS and from colleagues whose stories inspire me every day.”

But the impact does not stop when the workday ends. On a personal level, GPS has given Jigyna tools she carries into her own life. Mindfulness. Motivational interviewing. Ways of listening more deeply to the people she loves.

“It has given me work where I feel valued and needed,” she says. “That sense of meaning brings peace into my personal life too.”

A Place Where You Can Be Yourself

At the heart of Jigyna’s story is a simple truth, one that feels quietly powerful.

“GPS support groups help those facing challenging times,” she says. “They are for people who want a place where they can be themselves and receive genuine, trauma informed support as they heal.”

No fixing. No pretending. Just presence, care, and community.

If you’d like to learn more about GPS training and how it can help you hold space for others while strengthening your own wellbeing, visit our calendar to explore upcoming trainings as well as support groups.