Chris Munden

Psychotherapist-in-training

About Chris

Meet Chris Munden, a psychotherapist-in-training currently pursuing his MSEd in Mental Health
Counseling at Hunter College. With a background spanning psychological research, suicide
prevention, mental health advocacy, and the creative arts, Chris brings a deep curiosity about
what shapes us, a reverence for the stories we carry, and a belief in the possibility of
meaningful change.

At the heart of Chris’s approach is a simple belief: people make sense. Even the patterns,
emotions, or behaviors that leave us feeling frustrated, ashamed, or stuck often developed for
understandable reasons. Rather than approaching therapy as a process of simply eliminating
symptoms or “fixing” what is wrong, Chris is interested in understanding what those
experiences may be communicating, what they may have helped a person survive or adapt to,
and what might now be ready to change. He believes emotions are meaningful sources of
information and that healing often begins when people can encounter their inner lives with
greater curiosity, compassion, and freedom.

Chris takes a relational, client-centered, and psychodynamically informed approach to therapy.
He places particular importance on the therapeutic relationship and strives to create a space
where clients can let themselves be seen and be honest without feeling judged, rushed, or
expected to perform. His work is informed by Psychodynamic Therapy, Accelerated Experiential
Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), mindfulness, and practical
tools drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
 

Rather than following a single formula, Chris works collaboratively with each client to
determine what kind of support is most useful, sometimes slowing down to explore emotions,
relationships, and longstanding patterns, and at other times developing concrete ways of
navigating an immediate challenge.

Chris is particularly interested in working with people experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma,
ADHD, difficulties with self-esteem, relationship patterns, or a broader sense of feeling stuck,
disconnected, or uncertain about how they want to live. He views therapy not only as a place to
relieve suffering, but as an opportunity to better understand oneself, reconnect with parts of
life that may have become inaccessible, and discover new possibilities for meaning, connection,
and growth.

Chris also believes that no person can be understood outside the context of their relationships,
communities, identities, histories, and social environment. His background in research
examining discrimination and structural inequality informs his commitment to culturally
responsive care and to welcoming people from all walks of life. Above all, he approaches
therapy with warmth, humility, curiosity, and a realistic sense of hope: the belief that people
often possess capacities for growth long before they are able to recognize those capacities in
themselves.