Kyle MacDonald - Psychotherapist

Kyle MacDonald - Psychotherapist Psychotherapist, Director of the Robert Street Clinic and Mental Health Advocate Nick Smith. He has recently become an insufferable e-bike convert.

Kyle is an AUT trained psychotherapist, with over 20 years clinical experience across the public and private sectors. He is passionate about improving access to mental health and addictions treatment and educating the public about psychotherapy. Since 2016 he’s written a weekly mental health column for the NZ Herald, and co-hosted the award-winning mental health radio show “The Nutters Club” on NewstalkZB. For the last 10 years he has publicly fought for improved access to mental health and addiction services. In 2009 Kyle was one of the media spokespeople for a small group who protested the National Government’s changes to the ACC’s Sensitive Claims scheme – funded counselling for people in New Zealand suffering psychological trauma as a result of sexual violence. As part of these protests he organised one of the first online petitions to be presented in the New Zealand Parliament – by Labour MP Lynne Pillay in October 2009 – in opposition to these changes. The public pressure led the ACC to halt the changes and forced a ministerial inquiry initiated by National Minister the Hon. By 2014 he had worked collaboratively with the ACC to redesign the system to better meet people’s counselling needs. In 2016 he led the “People’s Mental Health Review” with Mike King and Action Station – which led directly to “He Ara Oranga: The Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addictions” initiated by the 2017 Labour led Government. In 2019 he ran for the Auckland District Health Board in the local elections as a Green endorsed “City Vision” candidate, and in the 2020 General election he ran as the Green Party candidate for the electorate of Epsom and was placed at 14 on the Green Party list. He regularly appears on radio and TV offering expert commentary on mental health and emotional wellbeing. He is currently on the Psychotherapy Board of Aotearoa New Zealand (PBANZ), served four years on the NZAP Council and was awarded a Distinguished Service Award by the NZAP for his time promoting psychotherapy. He established – and is co-director of – the Robert Street Clinic in Ellerslie, and lives in Mount Eden Auckland, with his partner and two daughters – where he is a parent representative on the Balmoral School board of trustees.

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Address

Robert Street Clinic, 37 Roberts Street, Ellerslie
Auckland
1051

Telephone

+6421708689

Website

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