Madhu Chandra

Madhu is a registered psychotherapist working with adults, in private practice at Birkenhead, Auckland and online.

Areas of Special Interest

• depression
• grief
• trauma
• anxiety
• relationships
• self-esteem
• shame
• gender and sexuality
• migration adjustment
• PTSD
• intergenerational trauma
• LGBTQI+, Queer friendly

Therapy Services

Psychotherapy helps to understand who you are deep down, how your life experiences have affected and shaped you, and how this sometimes leads to self-defeating and harmful behaviours, a lot of which happens unconsciously. At times you may find life’s challenges hard to cope with or come to a point in life where you lose direction or purpose. These can manifest as stress, anxiety, depression, hopelessness or feeling overwhelmed and previous ways of coping don’t work.

I provide a caring, empathic and non-judgmental space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings and beliefs. As adults we hold all our experiences inside from infancy through to who we are today. How we learn to cope, behave and communicate with others are a result of these experiences. Talk therapy helps identify those learnt behaviours and beliefs that no longer serve us and gets in the way of living the life you wish to live now and into the future.

Benefits of therapy include:

• healing emotional wounds and trauma
• understanding what you want from life and relationships
• finding healthier ways of resolving conflict at work and in relationships
• building resilience and tolerating anxiety when challenging situations arise
• recognising what strengths and skills you already have
• leading a more fulfilling and happier life

Therapy Approach

• Psychodynamic and relational psychotherapies
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
• Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT)
• Mindfulness
• Drawing therapy
• Dream interpretation

About Me

I was a body therapist for 20 years, working with people who lived with chronic pain. My interest in psychotherapy began through recognising that we cannot separate mind from body as physical and emotional pain are felt emotionally, mentally, and physically.

As a psychotherapist, I work holistically to understand who you are as a person and what your goals and needs are.  I welcome working with people of all cultures and genders. Each of us has unique experiences and therefore each person’s journey through life has challenges that only they have dealt with. Together, through the relationship we build in therapy, you can learn to understand the deeper aspects of yourself. This includes behaviours, unconscious triggers and defences that were used to cope and keep you safe through childhood and adolescence but are no longer working as an adult. In therapy you learn better, healthier ways of coping and how to build resilience during challenging times.

I was born in Aotearoa New Zealand but have travelled widely and lived in several parts of the world therefore have an awareness of how cultures differ in worldviews, traditions and customs. Your life may hold complex and sometimes conflicting beliefs and cultural experiences.

As a mature adult, I apply my life experiences and skills to help understand issues you are going through. I am caring and compassionate but also have a pragmatic outlook on life which is necessary to cope with the realities.  My previous experience includes working with people with complex mental health issues at the AIH Psychotherapy clinic and with groups and individuals at Segar House, a public mental health specialist service.