MindSights

Dr. Mala was extremely patient while listening to our problems, the sessions we had with her were mostly focused on my partner. But on one of the days, I was feeling extremely confused on a possible path forward. So, I hi-jacked my partner's session to talk to her about my own problems.

The problem was that I had put up a huge wall b/w myself and [my-family, friends, colleagues] so that I could support my partner better by spending majority of my time with her. This was a wrong strategy as I was not happy with myself and since I was not happy, I could not help my partner properly.

So, to tackle the problem, Dr. Mala suggested that my partner is in a weak state and to support her I have to be strong. But I was also weak as I was not leading a life with good quality. So, I needed to improve the quality of my life first to become strong and then I can be capable of actually supporting my partner.

This advice in an approximatley 40m session made me understand the missing piece as I later came to manage my life better with help from Dr. Mala and lectures from Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. And now, my dynamic with my partner is so good that it reminds me of the initial few months (maybe better now) of our 7y long relationship.

Thank you so much Dr. Mala for helping us out!

One thing that I believe Dr. Mala can work on is simplifying the process of scheduling an appointment, it is through whatsapp texts and it involves too much back and forth messages. And for someone, who is dealing with such serious issues, it can be quite frustrating.

I am 40 years old female and for the past14 years, I was struggling with psychological issues that were vaguely put under the umbrella of depression. I had visited many psychologists but I had never received any detailed information about my problems and I never felt understood. It was a coincidence that I came to know about Dr. Mala Murlidhar. I took the appointment and from the very first session, I felt that I am in good hands. She quickly understood my language and summarized it exactly I way I used to feel. She crafts her words very positively. I found her very professional. And the best part was that my session didn’t end on any sympathetic note. I decided to continue with the therapy and it proved to be the right decision.

After Three sessions Dr. Mala diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder and put me under cluster B personality types. I had never heard about these terms before. I read about it and I was surprised and shocked at the same time. Surprised about the accuracy of the diagnosis and shocked about the fact that how come no one ever managed to find it out. I knew always that I struggle with fear, loneliness and extreme mood swings. But I never knew the whys. I was always asked to look at the outside environment to fix. But since that was never an actual problem so those fixers never worked. I am right now taking regular therapy sessions from Dr. Mala and I am really feeling more aware of myself. She focuses on the roots of the problem rather than the external environment. And above all, she uses a very professional and emphatic approach to treatment. I go through ups and downs but I firmly believe that with the right help I will sail through it. I am optimistic about my future only bcoz of Mala. Thanks a lot.

At various stages of my life, I thought of seeing a therapist due to various traumatic experiences I was never fully able to cope with and for which I was not able to achieve full closure. For the past couple of years due to problems at work, my mental health suffered, and Covid and the lockdown made the situation worse. My mental state started affecting my marriage too. That’s when I opened Practo's website and, after going through some profiles and reviews, I booked an appointment with Dr. Murlidhar. I chose her for her professional qualifications and experience. Seeing she collaborates with Manipal Hospital gave me the confidence that she was the right choice. I booked a face-to-face visit by mistake, but Dr. Mala was very accommodating and we had our first session online.

The first session went well and we scheduled another visit in person for the following week. The second visit was incredible, Dr. Murlidhar tried to go a bit deeper on why I decided to start therapy and that’s when I opened up to her. What helped me and built trust was her openness and her non-judgmental attitude–I had premarital relationships (even live-in) and not once have I felt judged or looked down upon, something I was worried about before. The second session with Dr. Murlidhar was the turning point for me, she helped me realise my thought process and behavioural patterns. She opened my eyes to many aspects of my character I never noticed before and helped me connect the dots. Thanks to the exercises she gave me, I was able to put down on paper my feelings and she helped me to look at situations from a different perspective and restructure the way I react to my and other people’s behaviours.

During the following sessions, Dr. Mala helped me work on my assertiveness. While she was direct when she needed to be, she has always been extremely encouraging and, thanks to her continuous support, I can see a big difference in my thoughts and behaviours. Even if I am still on a journey towards my goal, our sessions together have made a massive impact on my well-being.

I would advice anyone who is thinking about it to start therapy at the earliest, it’s hard work but the results are incredible. I would also recommend Dr. Murlidhar to anyone, she is professional and experienced but also friendly, non-judgmental, and her sessions are very effective.

I've been going through a tough time in my marital life since Nov 2022 and was finding it hard to cope with everything. I had tried 1 counselling session in Nov 2022 with a different counselor and the counselor barely listened to me and told me to reduce stress and get more sleep to fix my issues, even when I told her that it was difficult for me to do that, so I did not try any more therapy sessions or look out for other therapists assuming all will be the same. Naturally the issues built up over the last year and reached a point in Dec 2023 where I could not take it anymore. I started doing more research and came across Dr. Mala's profile and thought I should give therapy another try. I'm very glad and relieved about this decision. It took 2 sessions to describe what I was going through in my marriage and she patiently listened to me without any interruptions or judgement, she then gave me a few exercises to write down. I have completed 5 sessions so far and am slowly healing. Therapy is slow and steady and obviously I will take time to heal, but I do see a shift in my mindset, I'm less self critical and more loving towards myself. I'm able to be more in control of my decisions and emotions. I feel more confident that with time and more sessions over the next few months, I will be fine and life will be ok. All this is thanks to Dr. Mala and her therapy approach. She balances well between being a caring professional yet not making me too dependent on her. She helps one be more in control of their lives and independant through the exercises and through conversations. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who needs help, but they need to be patient and willing to put in the work.

I met Dr. Mala mam when I was feeling very depressed and started to notice some kind OCD behaviours in myself. I still remember that i was crying in the first session when I was talking to her about my life. But, she made me feel very safe and at ease right after our first meeting and felt that i could talk to someone about my problems. She explained to me really well the root cause for my issues which was a traumatic childhood and made me do some therapy exercises to help deal with my issues in day to day life.Slowly, I started feeling better after every session and after following her mental exercises regularly. I feel much better now and can't thank her enough for all the help she has given me. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who is struggling with stress, depression,anxiety or any other psychological issues. Very grateful and blessed to have met her.

After feeling a lack of motivation at work for a long time, met Dr. Mala Murlidhar to get help. She patiently listened as I talked about how I feel, the details of my job, history of past jobs, academic background, childhood, etc., making sure she understood everything by asking specific questions. After that, she explained her diagnosis/interpretation clearly and has suggested an exercise for a week. I left the place feeling clearer and more hopeful than how I entered there.Overall, a very helpful and friendly doctor. Would definitely recommend her.

I looked up clinical psychologists in Feb 2021 on practo and read feedbacks for a lot of doctors. I was certainly impressed by the reviews Dr Mala had got and decided to consult her. Needless to say she has been my savior eevwr since. I went to her when I was neck deep in waters. I had been served a divorce notice by my husband and I was in shock. I wanted to save my marriage at any cost. But my marriage was disastrous and I was very unhappy in it too. I was confused. I had my share of childhood trauma that hadn't been resolved and that was carried into my marriage. So I went to her shattered and depressed not knowing what to do. All I got from her was immense support. She explained my behavioral and emotions patterns, my core schema that I had developed of myself as a child and other things that helped me know myself better to work and heal myself. Its been 2 months now and I've seen quite an improvement in myself when it comes to confidence, inner strength and grit; which were all nil before I met her. She have me confidence and strength to believe in myself.

Mental health is so important and we all often neglect it. And so did I for a long time. Although i still have a long way to go, I'm confident that Dr Mala will be there along the way to lend me a helping hand. She's very friendly, highly Empathetic, very patient in listening to what one has to say and she always spoke to me beyond the time alotted. I thank her for her immense support.

I have been getting intrusive thoughts for the last 4 years and then recently it worsened and I got an anxiety attack. I decided I needed to see a psychologist, a thought which I had been contemplating for the past 3 years. I found Dr Mala through practo and she agreed to meet me immediately the next day as I had mentioned I needed help urgently. ( that was very rare as we need to wait at least a couple of days for an appointment with any psychologist now a days).

Also the wait time to see the doctor was less than 5 mins for me which is another important factor.

Dr Mala allows us to speak whatever things we are comfortable about and never judges us based on what we say. The first week was the hardest for me I felt all my fears were coming to me at the same time and I even called her and she reassured me that it was normal and I continued therapy.

She made me realize the reason why I am undergoing obssessive complulsive disorder as the cure to anything is to realise why we got it in the first place. I am half way through therapy and yes even now there are very bad days and there are really good days. I know this healing process is not easy , but with Dr Mala by my side I am sure it is not going to be hard as I thought and it is very much possible.

I completely recommend Dr Mala for all of you who are searching for inner peace and want to heal from inside!

I was looking for a therapist for my anxiety issues and glad I found Dr.Mala. She was able to diagnose the problem and helped me to figure out the root causes. I am feeling much better now after a few sessions with the doctor and she is helping me to cope with the problem and ways to tackle it.She is a very good listener and I feel like I am talking to a friend, not a therapist. Thank you doctor for all the help in getting me back to normal life.

I have been going to Dr. Mala for around two months now. She is extremely friendly, very understanding, and most importantly she's non-judgemental. She made me feel so comfortable since the first appointment. She has celebrated my good days and has always helped me work through some of my lowest times. Talking to her is like talking to a friend. Thanks Doctor, for helping me gain some confidence in myself. You're awesome!!