The Awareness Centre

Starting therapy at The Awareness Centre has been truly life changing. Claire was the perfect fit for me from the beginning and is helping me navigate so many things I used to muddle through alone. Having somewhere like this local to me has been a complete game changer and I’m so grateful for it.

I was going through a troubling time after the epidemic and the lockdowns, which I had found very hard. I started seeing Karlene hoping to deal with the troubles that were at the “surface” level of my day to day thinking.

Karlene was calm, kind, non-judgemental but most of all an extremely skilled therapist. It turns out that the troubles that were at the “top level” of my brain were that – only the surface. I hadn’t been able to see this for myself, but Karlene very carefully and gently helped me to unpick this. There were layers to my issues, going back decades, which we began to peel back. I came to an understanding of certain events that had taken place in the past that were colouring my experience of the present.

Having this understanding is hugely helpful – I now have the ability to watch my own thought processes and understand when they are going down certain avenues coloured by past experiences, and to redirect where necessary.

I cannot recommend Karlene enough. Sometimes it is simply not possible to see beyond our own day to day thinking patterns, to begin to understand why we experience life or certain situations the way we do, without the help of a skilled “other”. For me, Karlene was exactly what I needed at that point in time, and I cannot thank her enough.

I’ve only had one session with Natasha but she made me feel comfortable about opening up and explained very clearly the procedures which put my mind at ease of the professionality of the practice. I would recommend this centre to anyone looking for some extra support during difficult times.

Nick is an excellent listener and really helped me to find balance and perspective in the issues I was dealing with. I could trust him to meet me with compassion but also offer challenges when necessary.

I worked with Anna over the course of 8 counselling sessions and I have found these sessions extremely helpful. Anna set some clear objectives and an initial timeline for our work together. She was professional but also friendly and approachable so I found myself at ease very quickly and was able to share more and more over our sessions together.

I felt that Anna genuinely cared about my story and while she was a wonderful listening ear, she also gave me ideas and avenues to explore in order to move forward, by interpreting how my past experiences may have shaped the person I am now and the challenges I sometimes struggle with. Her warmth and her absolute belief that anyone can change and have a healthier relationship with themselves was a great comfort to me.

After 8 sessions, I find myself with some great tools to move forward and achieve the change I am seeking. Anna has taught me that the most important thing of all is being kind and patient to myself and I am very glad I worked with her. I would be completely happy to recommend Anna to anyone who is looking for a good counsellor.

Vas is the most professional therapist I’ve had the fortune of having. I feel like they always have a warm and welcoming space for me. Vas is very adaptable so if we need to take a different approach it is no problem. I really couldn’t recommend her enough!

Phil was an excellent therapist, both giving me space to speak my mind to the conclusion of a thought, and then at the appropriate time stepping in to suggest new ways of seeing my emotions in context. I’ve emerged from the experience enriched and better able to perceive the perspectives of others in my life and relationships, without negating my own emotions within them. I would highly recommend speaking with Phil if you have a situation in your life which you feel a lack of control over – his calm, patient and kind approach was invaluable in navigating several very difficult months for me.

I started therapy to help with anxiety, worrying, and catastophising as it could dominate my thoughts, which was both exhausting and could prevent me doing things.

It was helpful to have a safe space to say how I was feeling and how my brain would think about things to someone and have that support of someone who would listen without judgement. Being able to discuss things in therapy has helped me look at issues more rationally and help me think of other possible outcomes to situations I worry about and to take action.

Dealing with anxiety hasn’t been a smooth journey and I have some way to go, but I feel I have become better at managing negative thinking and now have more techniques to fall back on when things are hard.

Had a good experience with The Awareness Centre when my son did some counselling with Magda Florek in preparation for secondary school. Her approach through art worked really well with our son, who is on the quiet side, and she had some practical advice and reassuring commentary at the end of our round of sessions.

I’m currently new in counselling and so far I’m enjoying it. My therapist made me feel human and that having emotions are ok. He listen to my concerns and address it. He’s really a big help especially on the type of work I do. Counselling made me realise a lot of things and recognise that I do need help. Thanks Pavol!