Chula Goonewardene spent his former years as a musician and during this time he became a heroin addict. He came into recovery via Action On Addiction’s CLOUDs House in 2003 and has remained completely abstinent since, by engaging with a 12-Step programme. 

 He joined the voluntary sector of the substance misuse field in 2005 and has worked as a drug & alcohol practitioner, with over 600 clients in community-based treatment. He moved into treatment management and training in 2010 and recently spent 3 years as the operations manager and senior counsellor of Steps2Recovery; a charity providing free residential rehabilitation for individuals from the Criminal Justice System, caught in the cycle of addiction and criminality. 

He now has a thriving psychotherapy private practice at 15 Harley Street, where he specialises in working with music and media professionals, including high-profile creative artists.  He is co-founder and clinical director of Azura Minds and lectures on the Addiction Psychology & Counselling MSc at London Southbank University.