About

Dr Chahal qualified as a Counselling Psychologist in 2014 with a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the University of Manchester. She also holds a MEd in Psychology of Education from the University of Manchester, a MSc in Counselling Psychology from Keele University, and a BA in Psychology from Pune University. Furthermore, in the context of working as an Expert Witness for Family Courts in the United Kingdom, she undertook and was awarded the Cardiff University and Bond Solon Expert Witness Family Certificate in 2022. Further details of her qualifications, work experience, and continuous professional development can be available on request.

Since qualifying as a Counselling Psychologist, Dr Chahal has worked in the National Health Service (NHS) in England within different Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) services in a variety of different roles as a Specialist, Highly Specialist, and progressing in 2022 to the position of Principal Counselling Psychologist. Dr Chahal currently works both in private practice and the NHS, where she is a Principal Counselling Psychologist in a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency Family Court Assessment Team undertaking comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessments of families in court proceedings.

Dr Chahal is experienced in working with a range of psychological and mental health problems, including but not limited to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma, stress, and relationship difficulties. She is experienced in working with children, adolescents, and adults, including those with neuro-developmental differences such as Autism Spectrum Condition and Learning Difficulties. She has a particular interest in the treatment of trauma and relational difficulties. She offers brief and medium term therapy that is focused and goal orientated, depending on the complexity of an individual’s presentation and the shared understanding or formulation of the presenting difficulties.

Dr Chahal views the therapeutic relationship as being central to enabling facilitative change and meaning making for her clients. She works integratively, drawing upon a range of therapeutic approaches that she is trained and experienced in, for example Person-Centred Therapy (PCT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), and Mentalisation Based Therapy (AMBIT). Working integratively means that she draws upon several therapeutic approaches or models to assess and develop a shared understanding or formulation of a client’s difficulties, and collaboratively develop a treatment or intervention plan that helps clients meet their goals and needs meaningfully, and enable them to improve their quality of life. She aims to provide a safe and compassionate space to help her clients work through their difficulties to make lasting and enduring changes. Having completed her training as an EMDR Therapist in 2024, Dr Chahal is currently working towards becoming an EMDR Accredited Practitioner.

Publications by Dr Chahal are as follows: Chahal, P. (2013). A trainee counselling psychologist’s considerations in CBT-informed practice with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Counselling Psychology Review, 23 (3), 30-42.