Anu Chahauver-Nelson

As well as supporting clients with mental health issues such as ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression and somatization, Anu has been recognized for her particular expertise in several other areas. Some of her specialties include offering play therapy for young children, working with chronic illness (diabetes, lupus, GI issues, POTS, dysautonomia, chronic fatigue syndrome), somatization and treating medical- and sexual-abuse trauma. She has also provided clinical supervision to many of social-work interns, medical residents and clinical social workers.

Anu’s passion for helping people with mental-health issues started when she was a young adult. Long before she could have imagined her current role managing a mental health clinic, Anu was a college student studying social work, when a job placement changed her life. Tasked with counselling a young man who had serious substance-abuse issues, Anu was privately doubtful she could help, since his problems seemed so overwhelming.

So she simply asked a few questions and listened as he opened up and told his tale. To the rookie counselor’s surprise, her client’s relief was palpable, and Anu saw, firsthand, how simply being listened to in a safe, non-judgmental way could make a difference in someone’s life. When this man eventually graduated from his substance abuse program, he told Anu that their initial conversation had been a turning point for him.

Shortly after, Anu worked with another client—an educated, cultured elderly gentleman in his 60s. In a matter of months, this once-successful man had lost everything—his home, his job, his wife—due to untreated major depression. For Anu, this experience gave a face and a name to the devastating impact of mental illness. These two encounters, one hopeful, one sobering and both powerful, inspired her to become a therapist.

While pursuing her Masters at the University of Toronto, Anu also learned the value of evidence-informed treatment, which is now a cornerstone of her practice. Research shows that meaningful change comes from building a therapeutic alliance between client and therapist. Using a standardized form, Anu asks clients to give her regular feedback. This keeps her accountable to you, and helps create a feeling of collaboration, as client and therapist develop and work toward their goals.

Those clients, by the way, also include children, from toddlers all the way up to teenagers. During the 14 years she spent with Toronto’s SickKids hospital, Anu developed a special focus on helping young people through their medical and mental health challenges using a variety of therapeutic methods, including play therapy. And today, many young clients still come to her via referrals from pediatricians and child psychiatrists.

More than ever, Anu believes in the power of the therapeutic relationship and the strengths-based model to effect lasting, positive changes in the lives of families, couple and individuals. Opening up your life to a therapist is not an easy step, but as you work toward a happier, more satisfying life, Anu is honoured to take this journey with you.

Anu is fluent in:  Hindi, Punjabi & Urdu