Hi (or g'day!) I’m Malinder....
I am a HCPC Registered and BPS Chartered Psychologist based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. I am also a Psychology Board of Australia Registered Psychologist.
I have over 20 years' international experience working in NHS forensic mental health, criminal justice, the independent healthcare sector and in private practice.
I am best suited to help people over 16 years of age with issues related to complex psychological trauma, emotional over-control, risk of harm to others, and particularly tough relationship problems in any part of your life. Click here to read more about the issues I can support you with.
I fully appreciate that it can feel overwhelming or confusing being faced with so much information and advice nowadays. I have successfully helped many people who have felt anxious about, disillusioned with or even harmed by therapy or their workplace. Or because of their histories and life circumstances, they have believed that change is impossible for them.
I offer a variety of approaches that could work to meet your needs and we will always decide together and at your pace, what is best suited for you, at whatever stage of your journey.
I am a proud ally of First Responders, and Armed Forces serving personnel and veterans. I am passionate about contributing to healthy, safe, trauma-informed workplaces and the improvement of BAME and First Nations collective health and wellbeing. I am a proud supporter of the Jilya Institute in Western Australia. You can read more about me here.
Where am I from?
I get asked this a lot! I am of mixed northern Indian and Straits-born Chinese heritage, I hail from Australia, I've loved traveling the world since I was a child and have happily called the UK home since 2004.
More about me
My journey as a psychologist
I trained and qualified as a Forensic Psychologist in Western Australia working in prisons before coming to the UK. I enjoyed a highly rewarding career in some of the most cutting-edge NHS forensic mental health services around England. I have worked with highly complex people and systems, delivering individual and group therapies, psychological assessments and much more, while having the good fortune of meeting many inspirational service users and passionate, learned colleagues along the way. I have trained and supervised colleagues around the world, and presented workshops and papers at national and international conferences. In 2019, after some very challenging experiences, I made the difficult decision to leave the NHS and return to Australia for a much-needed rest, to spend time with my then terminally ill father, and to reflect on my forward path. The pandemic arrived and as it did for so many the world over, it changed the course of my life. I took the opportunity to start my career in private practice and have not looked back.
How and why I practice as I do
My professional and personal background means I am uniquely placed to help those who have struggled to find a therapeutic space that genuinely resonates as safe, understanding, responsive and effective. Whatever your background, I believe that any decision to share your vulnerability is a big deal and I try to never forget that. I’m a natural listener and problem solver, though I prefer the approach of “asking, not telling”. I’m frequently reminded that humour can really help us make sense of what can be very difficult moments – including in my own life!
If you are on the fence about taking that step...
I completely get it. I think a myth exists that your psychologist is the “expert” and in the best position to “fix” your problems. Nothing could be further from the truth. Psychologists have a duty to share their knowledge and expertise as best they can but I strongly believe everyone has their own wisdom and inner compass to find their solutions. Therapy is often simply the way you discover or re-connect with those wise parts of yourself to find your way forward, either in your own life or the life you share with others. It might assure you to hear that I'm as human as the next person which means I’ve been through very tough life experiences, I've made mistakes in relationships, I’ve been hurt by people I thought I could trust, I forget I don’t need to be perfect, and I’ve needed support with my own mental health and wellbeing at times in my life. These experiences have shaped so much of how I practice and who I am as a person. Oh, and a good bit of chocolate almost always helps put things in perspective!
"If we are courageous enough to say, "not this person, nor any other, can ultimately give me what I want; only I can," then we are free to celebrate a relationship for what it can give"
James Hollis
The Eden Project: The Search for the Magical Other
Contact me
Dr Malinder K. Bhullar (she/her), BPsych, DPsych, PGDip (CAT), C.Psychol
or : 075 382 651 03
Please allow 2 business days for a reply
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Availability
Please contact me for the latest availability
Location (
Park Place Practice
2nd Floor, 17 Park Place
Leeds LS1 2SJ
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