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Pradeep Kumar Chadha

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Pradeep Kumar Chadha

Psychiatrist in private practice

Dr. Pradeep K. Chadha

Brief description about me

Living in Dublin, Ireland for last 22 years, I was born and brought up in Delhi. Over last 17 years I have developed and practiced a type of mental health practice that involves meditation and psychotherapy with hypnosis and imagery. Instead of putting people on medications, I help them come off or reduce their dependence on psychiatric medications. As I understand, this is a unique system and is not being currently practiced anywhere else in the world. I call myself a Drugless Psychiatrist.

Important lesson learned

Recently I was giving a talk to a group of young psychiatrists encouraging them to be innovative. One of them was a skeptic in doing new things in his field. He stated that 'all the knowledge we need to have is already there'.This is a starkly different approach to what I have taken in life. An important lesson for me is to continue learning new skills to challenge yourself and to do things differently from others. That is what makes you unique. Honesty and integrity are important in life too. People who know me call me a 'genuine' person. I did not know of it till someone described me as such. I have learnt that when you interact with the world you carry yourself as a 'brand'. You may not realize it but people know you as a particular kind of person. Another lesson I have learnt is that there is a way in which you can make God or Mother Nature do your bidding. Once you know how to do it, you are a winner.

My role model

Buddha had more than 200 teachers. Like him, I have had many people in my life who have inspired me. My grandfather was my first role model. He was a spiritual person who gave me the foundation of Indian culture. He explained to me what the scriptures and the Vedas taught us, also that God is an energy that can manifest Himself in many forms.
In my professional life, the one man who inspired me most was Milton Erickson, an American psychiatrist hypnotherapist who challenged the whole of western psychiatric system. He had to face the opposition of the Establishment in order to practice his unique skills. He practiced in Arizona, US, from 1920 to 1980. I have tried to study his approaches, like many others, but out of this curiosity, I have developed my own model of healing emotional distress. One of my role models is an Irish psychiatrist- Professor Ivor Browne. He, like Milton Erickson, inspired me to think differently from my contemporaries. He is my guide and support.

More about myself

In India, we believe and I was taught, that Karma determines our destiny. But that destiny is totally out of our control is a widely held belief. This in my experience is not true. Destiny is the result of our partnership with God, Allah or Parmatma. We have choices that we may not know we have. Each one of us has the potential to change our destiny by changing our emotional state. Our emotional state is our Karma or sanskars that we are supposed to be born with. It is a myth that we cannot change our destiny. Many years ago, when I started to help people reduce their use of psychiatric drugs, I realized that as they became emotionally well and their suffering reduced, they also started to have lucky co-incidents. Looking at this phenomenon, I learnt that changing our destiny is possible by changing our 'emotional state' and not our 'thinking' as many westerners believe. I can say it because it has been my experience in helping change the lives of hundreds of people.

Initiative to develop a country

When doctors play a role in female foeticide, it pains me. They have contributed to a distortion in the male: female ratio in India. India is a respected country in the IT sector. But there are instances that foreign companies are duped by their employees when the data are stolen.They do not know it, but their actions have repercussions all over the world. Everyone knows about them and it gives India a bad name. Professionals can help India become a developed country by doing whatever they are doing in a 'professional' or 'honest' way. Each one of us has to look at ourselves as to what we do in our given professions. We need not look and follow others who are being dishonest. At the end of the day, your name and reputation in the world gets you more business that helps you grow. If we can grow as individuals, the country will grow itself. The examples of Japan and Germany are worth considering. We associate the people from these countries with integrity, honesty and hard work.

My strongest skill

I compete with myself and stay off the beaten track. One of my strongest attributes is that I am 'customer focused'. It may sound strange in the health sector, but my skills are aimed at providing my patients/clients the best treatment at a competitive price in the market. In the work that I do, I have no competition anywhere in the world. There is no one yet, that I know of who can combine spirituality and science to heal mental suffering. I am able to do it because in competing with myself, I aim to do better for my clients using different approaches and skills that may not be commonly known. In this effort, I have learnt hypnosis, coaching, ayurveda, herbal medicine, nutritional medicine,homeopathy and acupressure in an effort to combine them with modern psychiatric skills. When you compete with yourself, you always win. This is a 'stress free' way to be competitive and still remain ahead of your peers. Looking at problem solving techniques outside the box helps.

Influenced by

Many people have influenced me in my life. My parents influenced me in shaping my early education. Their own middle class backgrounds and their emphasis on education helped me appreciate the values of academics. My school- Cambridge School- in New Delhi influenced me in appreciating my own self worth and taught me how to negotiate the ways of the world. My teachers and peers in the medical college supported and helped me learn the known skills but also to think differently. My family and my children have been a source of inspiration and support all along. On my arrival in Ireland, the consultants that I worked with, encouraged me to work the way I wanted to. The people of Ireland, my patients and clients have helped me develop the protocol of my own work. Recently the Indian psychiatric group in the UK called BIPA (British Indian Psychiatric Association)that I have joined have been extremely helpful. My Indian cultural background has also influenced me in doing what I do.

My family background

I was born and reared in Delhi, My father is a retired civil servant and my mother was a school teacher and a refugee from undivided Punjab. My grandfather was one of the survivors in the Jalian Wala Bagh shooting in the year 1919. One of my brothers is now senior executive in tourism industry in the US. My four children are professionals or training to become one. We are based in Ireland.

Ensuring success

One of the keys to self development in the fast changing world of today is to remain stress free. For this, I make sure I do my daily meditation and do half an hour of physical exercise. If you have good physical and mental health only then you can continue to grow. Illness and disease stagnate you. Slow or appropriate pace of life is also needed to be able to learn new skills. A fast pace of life destroys the quality of life quickly. Internet and information on the web help me learn new skills and gain knowledge that was not available when I was in college. I continue to challenge myself in various ways. Currently I am writing a dissertation for MSc for University of Sheffield, UK. I am also learning how to write feature articles from the London School of Journalism. If one continues to be curious and learn, there is no limit to growth. It is likely that in the future, I will be learning something new, not related to my profession.

Degree that I recommend

In my case, my medical degree has helped me develop the field I am in. Qualifications in psychiatry or in clinical psychology can be of great help. In my case, I have gone out of the way to learn hypnosis from a well known school in Ireland. I have also done Coaching training and am also a Certified coach. A knowledge of herbal medicine and homeopathy is also helpful. Formal training in any branch of psychotherapy is also helpful. Some people prefer to branch out in cognitive behaviour therapy or psychoanalysis or family therapy.

My achievements

I am blessed with the privilege of bringing together and understanding spirituality and science in mental health. My Indianness and western education helps me in creating this unique model. I have recently been invited to join a group of well known psychiatrists of Indian origin to provide services for corporate clients. In this project we will be providing growth opportunities to corporates all over the world. I also have had the privilege to present and write a paper on Drugless Psychiatry that explains how the science can be practiced without drugs. In the near future, I will be training therapists to do the work I do. One of the programmes is Anger Reduction Programme. It is a unique programme that 'reduces' anger instead of 'managing' anger as is currently done.

Important decision

There was a time, I had to decide to stick to the medical model of psychiatry or to chose my own path. I decided to go my way, leaving the medical model behind. I have no regrets about it. In the process, I have learnt what I could never have learnt in the psychiatric system.

Qualities needed to become a successful leader

Integrity, trustworthiness and a high self esteem are the basic qualities needed. Persistence and ability to stick to your path is the other essential quality. Flexibility and adaptability to change with the changing demands of the world is also a necessary quality. An ability to see the future and prepare yourself for it makes a leader stay ahead of the pack.

Couple of years from now

In India. Retired from what I am currently doing. Taking on a new challenge in providing an integrative psychiatric service. Also hoping to start a training programme for therapists to address the emotional stress of the suffering population that will be a model for the world to follow. Till date most of the psychotherapies have come from the western world. I would like to give to the world a therapy model from the East. I call it Subjective Emotive Brief Therapy.

Thoughts on Education system of our country

The education system in India has its merits. This system has created and given to the English speaking world many professionals in the field of medicine, engineering and economics. But the system fails to encourage innovation and creativity. It is not surprising that when Indian professionals leave India, they do well. Also the reservation system, with all its good intentions, discourages the bright people to stay back. The backward classes need help to shine and compete successfully with others. The current system promotes mediocrity and kills efficiency. Also the current system is rigid in many ways. It has age bars for various courses. It has age bars for various jobs. It has few opportunities for people who for some personal reason could not complete their studies but want to study later in life. Encouraging the students to do projects at school level instead of being exam focused would change the quality of education in India.