Counsellors and Psychotherapists at The Awareness Centre are either registered with BACP (The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy), BPS (British Psychological Society), COSRT (College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists), FDAP (The Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals), HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council), UKCP (The UK Council for Psychotherapy ), UKRCP (United Kingdom Register of Counsellors/Psychotherapists) or AHPP (UK Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners).
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Our Therapists
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Andrea Burianova
Languages: English, Czech Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Family & Relationships
- Guilt & Shame
Andrea Burianova is a qualified, registered and experienced psychotherapist, offering weekly therapy sessions to individuals on a short-term and open-ended basis. Andrea’s objective is to create a warm, supportive and empathic space where her clients can feel safe, be fully themselves and talk freely about their concerns without fear of being judged. By working through their worries and identifying challenging thoughts, emotions and behaviours, clients can make a better sense of their current but also past difficulties and how those are often related. Andrea’s intuitive and creative approach helps her clients to get in touch with their inner resources, achieve a deeper understanding of themselves and explore new ways of being and relating to others.
To name just a few, Andrea has worked with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, panic attacks, relationship difficulties, low confidence, loss and recovery from abuse or trauma. Andrea has an extensive experience of working across a range of mental health services including Samaritans, Bereavement services and NHS. Andrea’s gentle and compassionate approach has been particularly benefiting clients struggling with issues around low self-esteem, one’s identity and deeply ingrained shame. Having previously lived in various places including Europe, America and the Middle East, Andrea has a good understanding of different cultural and minority issues and the impact of external as well as internal pressures on one’s self.
Andrea is a Master level qualified integrative counsellor and psychotherapist and has a BSc (Honours) degree in Psychology. She is a registered BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) member - currently working towards professional accreditation. As an integrative psychotherapist, Andrea has been influenced by various therapeutic modalities that she has used depending on client’s needs, preferences and pace, including Psychodynamic and Attachment Theories, Transactional Analysis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Humanistic approaches. However, Andrea believes that the most significant factor facilitating her client’s change and growth is the trust within the client-therapist relationship.
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Anna Jurek
Languages: English, Polish Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Children & Adolescents: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Family & Relationships
- Life Transitions
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Anna Jurek is an integrative child and adolescent counsellor who supports young people to safely express and explore their feelings by using the Arts, imagination and play. The creative processes contained within the context of a trusting relationship and the rhythm of regular meetings offer opportunities for change. Thus, counselling can help children and adolescents gain a better understanding of themselves and others whilst building resilience and promoting emotional wellbeing. Anna’s experience as a counsellor across various school settings has highly informed her practice, as it has been providing her with a greater understanding of young people in their school life. While working with a young client Anna also works with families to gain a full understanding of the difficulties and determine the most effective way forward. She provides sessions for parents to help them to understand their child’s needs and how to respond to them and support them during the counselling process.
Anna’s background in cross-cultural psychology means that she understands diversity and anxiety related to cross-cultural and racial/ethnic identity issues. These can also be linked with transition periods in the children’s and adolescents’ lives and, therefore, it is pivotal to analyse the role these factors play in a young person’s life and how this transition could be supported. Accordingly, her experience in cross-cultural settings is exceptionally valued, especially when working with families who migrated to a different country. For this reason, she is particularly interested in working with issues, such as transition, acculturation, anger, relationships difficulties, anxiety, depression, and divorce.
Anna holds a Masters in Applied Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling. In addition, she has specific training in working with parents, helping them to better understand their children behaviour and gain confidence in managing it. In her approach to children and adolescents, Anna draws on person-centred and play therapy to discover the most adequate way to work with her clients’ difficulties. Anna’s private practice at The Awareness Centre is further supported by her work within the charity sector at Place2Be and The Mix.
Anna is a professional member of the British Association of Counsellors & Psychotherapists (MBACP) and adheres to the BACP Code of Ethics; maintaining confidentiality and following relevant safeguarding procedures where necessary. She holds a full professional liability insurance and an up-to-date DBS (Disclosures and Barring service) certificate that further confirm her credibility as a competent and effective counsellor working with children and their families.
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Anna Meech
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Family & Relationships
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Sex & Relationships
Anna Meech trained as an integrative counsellor, gaining her Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (Integrative) in 2015. She undertook her clinical placement at Cranstoun, an addiction agency in London, supporting clients in their early recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. She continued at Cranstoun until August 2017, offering counselling to staff members. Anna is a registered member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).
Anna works integratively, drawing on person-centred theory (which recognises and values the individuality of the client and their capacity for growth and change), as well as psychodynamic theory (looking at how our early relationships and experiences inform our current patterns of thinking, feeling, behaving and relating). Anna’s approach is to create an atmosphere where her clients feel safe enough to be in touch with their feelings and to express them without fear of judgement. She believes the relationship between therapist and client is incredibly important to the therapeutic process and therefore offers a warm, sincere, honest and genuine connection with her clients. Anna believes the key to a happier life is to learn to love and accept ourselves with all our flaws and vulnerabilities.
Anna balances a role as a legal PA in the City alongside her private practice work. She also has a background in performing arts, so understands some of the pressures and expectations of pursuing a creative career, and the impact of the profession on mental health and self-worth. She has an interest in and experience with working with addiction and co-dependence. Anna is committed to her own continued personal development and growth, and is a member of a spiritual self-development group.
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Aurora Gomez
Aurora Gomez aims to provide a safe, supportive and confidential space in which a trusting relationship can evolve. This is in order to enable her clients to think about the difficult issues that have brought them to therapy. Issues may include painful feelings, disturbing thoughts, recurrent patterns of behaviour and difficult relationships. They may have been caused by recent events or they may be anchored in the past. Either way, Aurora uses a psychodynamic approach to counselling. This includes exploring attachment patterns as well as becoming aware of the emotional impact that past events and relationships may have in the present. Aurora firmly believes that developing self-awareness and insight is the first step towards long lasting change. Wherever necessary, Aurora can also integrate her approach with simple CBT techniques.Accredited: BACP Languages: English, Spanish Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Private Healthcare: BUPA Specialisms: - Depression
- Family & Relationships
- Life Transitions
- Workplace Issues
A client’s wish to start therapy may be brought about by loss, trauma, significant life changes or simply, by a desire to live a better and more satisfying life. Whatever the reason that brings the client to therapy, Aurora aims to provide a safe and confidential space in which a trusting relationship can evolve in order to enable her clients to think about the issues they are struggling with. These may include painful feelings, disturbing thoughts, recurrent patterns of behaviour and / or difficult and unsuccessful relationships. They may have been caused by recent events and may have been going on for a short while, or they may be anchored in the past and may have been going on for some time. Aurora uses a psychodynamic approach to counselling overall which she can integrate with CBT techniques where appropriate.
Aurora has a background in Education and has worked in educational settings as a counsellor for many years supporting both sixth formers and university students. As such, she has a special interest in supporting clients with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia as well as those in the AS. She has a good understanding of the pressures that students face nowadays as well as the complexities of the education system. Aurora also works with EAPs supporting clients struggling with work related issues such as stress, performance anxiety, workplace change and workplace relationships amongst others. Aurora works long term as well as short term (6 sessions). She can provide counselling in English and Spanish.
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Barbara Perini
Languages: English, Italian Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Personality Disorders
Barbara Perini is a psychodynamic psychotherapist registered with the BACP and holds an MSc in psychodynamic counselling and psychotherapy. She is working towards BACP accreditation. Currently training in Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) means she is able to offer brief therapy (16 sessions) as well as long-term. Barbara works as private therapist at The Awareness Centre in Tooting.
Barbara’s therapy is focused on her clients’ personal experiences and feelings. She provides an empathic, non-judgemental and containing space to allow her clients to feel safe in sharing issues they want to discuss. Her belief is that clients need a space where they can be heard and helped to identify their personal skills and resources, in order to improve their wellbeing. Barbara places importance on current and past relationships in her clients’ lives, and the ways in which these impact on their presenting issues. Psychodynamic therapy allows unconscious material, memories and traumas, which could be painful and unbearable at times, to emerge in a setting where they can be looked at in a different light.
With over four year’s experience of working with adolescents (16-18 years), Barbara is aware that at this age there can be lots of changes and challenges, at school, at home, with peers and also within themselves, their bodies, minds and sexuality. The adolescent can feel overwhelmed so having somebody who can talk with them in a safe and confidential space can help them make sense of these physical and emotional changes.
Barbara has been working and volunteering in mental health since 2006 in a variety of settings, including a prison and a mental health charity. Barbara has experience of working with complex issues, such as severe depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and personality disorders. She has also worked with addiction and dementia. Barbara has been practicing as a psychodynamic counsellor and therapist for five years, working with adults in short-term or open-ended therapy, depending on the client’s needs. While working with all these different clients, Barbara’s focus is on the individual and how therapy can help them discover the inner resources they need to better manage their difficulties.
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Barbara Volkar
Languages English, Slovenian Works with: Individuals, Groups Individuals: £60 Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Barbara Volkar is a qualified Transactional Analysis (TA) counsellor in the final stages of her Masters in TA Psychotherapy. She has experience in anger management, eating disorders, addictions, anxiety, depression, sexual assault and family and relationship issues. She works with clients looking for long-term as well as short-term counselling. In line with TA philosophy, Barbara believes the broader purpose of therapy is to develop and expand our capacities for intimacy, awareness and spontaneity.
Barbara will work together with you to create a clear and non-judgmental working relationship in which you can explore whatever issues you bring. Research has shown that therapy is most effective when the client and therapist establish and agree on goals together – whether that’s behavioural change or gaining more understanding of the conscious and unconscious beliefs you hold about yourself, others and life. Often when our beliefs change, our behaviour follows – and, equally, new behaviours affect and shift our self-limiting beliefs.
Personal transformation often comes from a mixture of three therapeutic elements:
- understanding your past in a new way;
- new experiences (in the therapy room as well as outside);
- and authenticity or honesty in the therapeutic relationship.
As a counsellor Barbara's role is to help you find the unique balance of these three elements, which will work best for you. Barbara’s background is in the arts and publishing. She enjoys music and travelling in her spare time.
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Bathma Thailan
Accredited: UKCP Languages English Works with: Individuals, Groups Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Depression
- Guilt & Shame
- Stress
Bathma Thailan works in a way that allows clients to explore their thoughts and feelings in a safe and confidential space. Her original training in Psychosynthesis offers an approach that values uniqueness, and to see the client as a whole with choices and potential to realise their true worth. At times, due to the past or current circumstances, clients may experience a sense of stuck-ness and difficulty in managing various painful emotions. By interacting and exploring together, Bathma’s aim is to support clients to recognise, contain and manage their emotions, and to become aware of patterns of b_ehaviour that are no longer serving towards their well-being, interests and relationship with self and others.
Bathma’s background is rooted in care and relating, gained throughout her careers in nursing, counselling and psychotherapy. She has previously managed a community team which provided care for physical, social and psychological well-being, and has extensive working knowledge and experience working with generalised anxiety, depression, stress at work and personal life, low self-esteem, feelings of guilt and shame, losses, trauma and relationship issues.
Bathma has an ongoing interest in the links between physical and psychological health and how they relate to each other in the healing process. She has interest in mindfulness and yoga practices, which allows her to work with clients in a creative and grounding way. Her time spent in the East and the West has given her great appreciation of different cultures and family roots, and has interest in working with clients struggling with identity issues, differences and difficulty in adjusting to different cultures and environments.
Bathma is a qualified and accredited integrative psychotherapist and therapeutic counsellor with more than 30 years’ experience working as a clinician in the NHS. Registered with the UKCP, she currently works with individuals in private practice.
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Ben Dustin
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £55/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Communication Issues
- Depression
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Ben Dustin provides confidential, non-judgmental counselling and psychotherapy, placing a strong focus on developing a safe and trusting relationship, one in which you can feel free and comfortable to share your difficult thoughts and feelings openly. He places a strong emphasis on working with you to together understand your difficulties, their meaning for you, and their impact on your life, as well as what you want from counselling and therapy.
Ben believes that we all carry around ideas, assumptions and beliefs about ourselves, other people, and life in general, which inform how we live our lives. Most often we are unaware of these ideas, and so they go unchallenged, meaning that if they are unhelpful we can find ourselves living in a way which causes pain and suffering. He uses Transactional Analysis to help people gain awareness of and explore their patterns of feelings, thoughts and behaviours in a way similar to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). By working with people to lift the lid on these assumptions in order to examine their accuracy and usefulness and to explore healthier and more realistic ways of viewing ourselves and the world, he helps people to lead happier, more fulfilling and more satisfying lives. He also believes that it is only through accepting our difficulties that we are able to work through and gain freedom from them, and above all that freedom from emotional pain and suffering is developed through having compassion for ourselves and others.
Ben is a qualified counsellor and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He holds a Diploma in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapeutic Counselling, and is currently in his final year of an MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy (in TA training as a transactional analyst). Ben works on a long and short-term basis in private practice at The Awareness Centre’s Clapham and Tooting branches. He has experience working long-term and short-term with people at the charities Mind and Age UK, as well as experience supporting people in despair and distress as a Samaritan.
Ben’s background is in teaching and law. He is interested in the creative arts and practices mindfulness and meditation.
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Bridget Freer
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Abuse
- Communication & Workplace Issues
- Family & Relationships
- Guilt
Bridget Freer believes that therapy is a collaborative process that can help people to understand and make sense of their own histories and the person that they are. Bridget offers confidential face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy with the aim of helping people to gain a greater understanding of why they feel and behave the way they do, and to manage their lives differently. Through a psychoanalytic approach she aims to support you to find ways to address unconscious thoughts that can lead to frustrating and repetitive behavioural patterns that can keep you stuck and prevent you from achieving your full potential. She believes that by getting to know and accept our real selves we have a better chance of having better, more realistic and satisfying, relationships with others.
Bridget’s first training was as a journalist, she worked for many years as a features writer and profile writer for newspapers and magazines. She continues to write occasional articles on mental health issues and other related subjects, and has retained a strong interest in communication and expression. Powerful feelings of sadness, worthlessness, self-hatred, emptiness, disconnection and inadequacy can affect the way we present ourselves and the way we react to others, these feelings can have a strong impact on our relationships, our work and our sense of self. Bridget sees counselling and psychotherapy as a joint venture in which you and she work together to build a therapeutic relationship and work on the things you would like to improve in your life such as dealing with depression and anxiety and improving your relationships with others.
Bridget is a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor who has wide experience of working with people with a broad range of issues including anger, trauma, depression, anxiety and difficulty with relationships. Bridget has a Masters in psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling. Bridget works with clients, both in private practice, and in the NHS.
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Chris Matcham
Languages: English, French, Italian Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Private Hea AXA PPP Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Illness
Chris Matcham is a Counsellor and Psychotherapist, with a Masters degree from a BACP-accredited course at Roehampton University, following a BA in Psychology with Italian and a Post-Graduate certificate in Psychodynamic Counselling. He is a fully registered member of the BACP, working towards professional accreditation. Having worked within the NHS and the charity sector, Chris is now in private practice at the Awareness Centre in Tooting and other London locations.
Working as an Integrative therapist, Chris draws on a wide range of theories, working in an empathic, person-centred way whilst combining concepts from various schools of thought, such as Attachment Theory, Psychodynamic work and Existentialist philosophies.
Chris will provide you with a safe space to be able to talk freely about anything that is painful or troubling you, in confidence and without judgement. Each person's experience is seen as unique and Chris aims to help build a relationship that allows you to feel held, secure and more able to examine what is bringing you to therapy; helping you to find a "way of being" which allows you to feel more at ease in the world.
You will work in collaboration with Chris through the sometimes painful journey towards feeling better, whilst safe in the knowledge that he is there to listen and provide support during times of confusion or distress.
With a multi-cultural background, Chris is particularly aware of issues over identity and the way that people "fit in" to the society, job or social group they inhabit: Any loss of grounding may be due to an intrinsic difference between your own background and that of your peers, or due to a change in your circumstances, such as illness, financial problems or the loss of an important person in your life. Chris has worked with a range of mental health issues, treating such conditions as anxiety, depression, anger, addictions and historic trauma.
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Christine Blake
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £70-£85/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Bereavement & Loss
- Family & Relationships
- Trauma
Skype: christine.blake5 Christine Blake is trained as an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist, which gives her an in depth understanding of the importance of relationships in helping to shape our experiences in early childhood and throughout our lives. She currently works in private practice with individuals at The Awareness Centre.
As an attachment-based practitioner, she aims to work in a relational way to support you to build a sense of security in yourself and your relationships with others in order to develop the internal resources to cope with the many challenges life brings. Through a psychoanalytic approach she aims to support you to make sense of and find strategies to address unconscious thoughts that can lead to frustrating and repetitive behavioural patterns that can keep you stuck and prevent you from achieving your full potential.
Her practice is underpinned by knowledge of trauma, abuse, bereavement and loss with a background of twenty five years of working with people in the community. This includes working with the sometimes hidden and sometimes overwhelming feelings of anger that can result as a way of managing pain and loss. She also has knowledge and experience of working with addictions and other compulsive or repetitive behaviours that individuals can develop as survival strategies to defend against painful feelings that have never been fully addressed, understood or supported.
Christine says through working with a diverse range of people it has helped her to appreciate the importance of loving relationships and how much people struggle with feeling abandoned and alone, sometimes in the face of terrible depression, anxiety and loss. Her aim is to work through painful or difficult experiences with kindness and warmth to provide a secure base in which it is possible to slowly build trust in an ongoing therapeutic relationship and be empowered to engage in the world in a new way. Christine sees counselling and psychotherapy as a joint venture in which each therapeutic relationship is unique. You are your own expert and she aims to bring her skills and experience to facilitate and empower you to get in touch with your own meaning and purpose.
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Christopher Headon
Accredited: BACP, UKCP, COSRT Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals £70/hr Couples: £90/hr Specialisms - Anxiety Disorder
- Gender & Identity
- Sex & Relationships
- Sexuality
Christopher Headon offers a secure, confidential, non-judgemental space that clients can use for helping them relate their emotional distress. Through his constructive feedback clients become more aware of their internal world and are helped to manage their anxieties better, gain perspective, feel more competent and freed up. The process is collaborative between client and therapist where current concerns are listened to, and the past used to bring insight to the present. The emerging narrative of life developments and patterns leads to understanding better what changes are necessary for moving forward. This positive approach builds on existing strengths to increase motivation and confidence.
Christopher draws on his extensive previous experience in university teaching in Canada, community social work in south London, and with Albany Trust (specialising in the wide spectrum of human sexuality). A year's training in a Montreal psychiatric hospital has informed his awareness of mental health concerns. He uses his academic background in history and cultural studies in his work.
Christopher Headon, Ph.D, is a psychosexual and relationship counsellor and psychotherapist, primarily psychodynamic and attachment based but incorporating other approaches as appropriate. He is MBACP (Snr Accred), COSRT (both psychotherapist and supervisor accredited), and UKCP registered. He holds the Diploma in Human Sexuality from St. George's Hospital Medical School. He works with sexual dysfunction, orientation and identity issues, and addictive typess of sexual behaviour, informed by attachment and trauma perspectives. His Jungian analysis has provided a foundation to his work, with the exploration of meaning, symbols, metaphor, mindfulness, dreams, creativity, and the transformation off anger and depression into the positive power for change within an increased capacity for loving and kindness.
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Collette Boyd
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £65/hr Specialisms - Abuse
- Depression
- Trauma
Collette Boyd is a qualified Counsellor and registered member of the BACP, with over nine years’ experience of working with female survivors of domestic abuse as well as helping individuals overcome substance abuse and addiction.
Collette works as a person-centred therapist; however, as she believes much of the therapeutic relationship is about meeting the needs of the individual, she is pluralistic in her overall approach.
Collette’s clients come from diverse backgrounds and she has experience of working with substance misuse, addiction, self harm, trauma, sexual abuse, depression, mental health, bereavement and loss, communication and workplace issues, and relationship issues. She also works with people who present with issues including identity, sexuality, Asperger’s Syndrome, self harm, substance misuse and bullying. -
Dean Forbes
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Depression
- Guilt & Shame
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Sexuality
Dean Forbes is a qualified psychotherapist and has gained his experience working in private practice and the voluntary sector. He holds a degree (BA Hons) in Integrative Counselling and is a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He has a number of years’ experience working as a psychotherapist including two years working with a charity based in the LGBTQ+ community.
Dean is sensitive to how difficult it might be for a client to talk to a stranger about personal issues, so he works towards creating an atmosphere of trust within the room. His motto is ‘Rebuilding in a safe, non-judgemental environment’. Dean’s way of working is not to tell you what is right or wrong, or even to tell you what to do; he will strive to hold your difference and uniqueness in the utmost regard. Dean’s approach is Integrative psychotherapy, with his core based in person-centred and psychodynamic. He believes that working in a person-centred way allows the client to work through their issues at their own pace and in their own way. Working in a psychodynamic manner also helps them to reveal the hidden parts of their past and things they may not be aware of in themselves. He also works with some cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches, which can be useful in helping a client address unwanted thoughts and behaviours.
Along with the specialisms above, Dean has worked with persons dealing with a variety of other psychological issues. These include but are not limited to, anxiety, bullying, gender & identity, sex & relationships, workplace issues, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. His aim is to work along with you through your particular difficulties. These may be deeper, past issues that you find hard to let go, or the rigours of day-to-day troubles that wear you down. Dean believes that therapy can help you through your difficult times, discover who you really are and unlock your true potential.
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Denise Sims
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Groups Individuals: £65/hr Couples: £85/hr Specialisms - Depression
- Relationships
- Stress
Denise Sims offers confidential face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy with the aim of helping people to gain a greater understanding of why they feel the way they do, and as a consequence how to manage their lives. Denise believes counselling and psychotherapy is a collaborative venture in which you work together to build a therapeutic relationship. Her aim is to facilitate a safe, supportive and authentic environment that can help clients explore freely their difficulties as well as challenge their self-limiting beliefs and relationship patterns.
Denise is currently working towards her Masters in ‘Transactional Analysis’ Psychotherapy. She has previously obtained certificates in Humanistic Counselling Skills and Studies, Mindfulness and CBT. She has experience working with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, health, illness, relationship issues, pregnancy and childbirth, self-harm, bereavement and loss. Denise is a member of the BACP and works within their guidelines.
Her approach to therapy is humanistic and in keeping with the ‘TA’ philosophy, Denise believes that people are born OK; people can think and have the capacity to change, achieve autonomy, spontaneity, awareness and intimacy. -
Diana Brotherton
Languages: English, Romanian Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Family & Relationships
Diana Brotherton is an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist with extensive experience of working in different settings. She holds a Masters of Science in psychotherapy and counselling and is registered with the BACP. Diana works in private practice at The Awareness Centre.
Sometimes the source of the hurt is clearly known, other times it’s waiting to be discovered. Diana’s aim is to help people as to what needs to address in order to live a more fulfilling life. She is providing a safe space where collaborative, fresh and honest exploration takes place into the ways people can change and thrive. Diana is bringing her real self into the room in an accessible and open way, to explore what emerges through ordinary language. Humanistic, existential, psychoanalytic and postmodern thinking influence her practice, adopting a tailored approach to the unique needs of each of her clients. Diana believes that when it comes to emotional health, maintaining transparency is important because there isn’t such a thing as a magic pill or silver bullet.
With a background in business and marketing, Diana has an interest and experience in observing what naturally pulls people’s attention. She understands that sometimes people can present really well and can seem completely put together when they want to be, but privately they feel hurt inside. She works with people who feel depressed, anxious or have problems with relationships. She has a special interest in changes to people’s rhythm of everyday life, with accent on finding ways to manage anger and stress levels.
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Dilnia Horton
Languages English, Arabic, Kurdish (Sorani dialect) Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Couples: £90/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Dilnia Horton aims to provide an empathic, supportive space where clients can open up and feel seen and heard for who they truly are. While counselling helps clients to process difficult or painful thoughts and feelings, she believes that therapy can also focus on the potential of her clients. She works with them to identify and draw on their inner resources to live a fuller, more satisfying life. Working interactively, Dilnia may use CBT to help clients identify patterns in their thoughts and behaviours, Transactional Analysis to help clients manage their relationships in a healthier way, and mindfulness to help tame anxious responses. Her approach is tailored to the individual client.
With a background in International Social Policy, teaching and advocacy, Dilnia has an interest and experiences in workplace issues and conflict resolution. She understands the internal and external pressures people can put on themselves, which can lead to unhelpful or damaging coping strategies. She works to identify healthier ways of managing emotions and stress. She also specialises in anxiety, anger, relationships, and has a special interest in alcohol and addiction.
Dilnia Horton is a qualified integrative Counsellor who draws on the approaches that best suit the issues that clients, individuals as well as couples, bring into the therapy room. She works on an open-ended basis in private practice at The Awareness Centre at the Clapham and Tooting sites.
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Dr Antonella Tomasin
Accredited: BPS, HCPC, BPC Languages: English, Italian Works with: Individuals Individuals: £100 Private Healthcare: Aviva, AXA PPP, Bupa, Cigna Specialisms: - Anger Management
- Communication & Workplace Issues
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Dr Antonella Tomasin, DPsych/MA Criminology is a Clinical Psychologist chartered with the BPS (British Psychological Society), registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Profession Council) and accredited with the BPC (British Psychoanalytic Council). She obtained her doctoral degree in 2002 in Italy and did the Statement of Equivalence in the UK to be recognised in this country. Dr Tomasin has almost ten years of experience in working within the NHS, mostly IAPT.
Dr Tomasin aims at providing a confidential space where clients feel comfortable to talk about their difficulties. Her approach is client-centred and values greatly their feedback. Due to her integrative approach, she is able to adapt her way of working according to her client’s needs. Dr Tomasin is trained in CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), DIT (Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), Mindfulness, DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy), NET (Narrative Exposure Therapy), Mentalization and Compassionate Mind. Dr Tomasin has experience of working with older adults, children, adolescents and couples; however, recently she has been specialising in working with adults.
Dr Tomasin has a particular interest in trauma and relationship problems and has years of experience in supervising junior clinicians. She has expertise in anxiety (worries, stress, panic, OCD etc.), post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, eating disorders, bereavement, health problems, self-confidence, sleep and relationship difficulties (both personal and within the work environment). She is able to offer therapy both in English and Italian.
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Dr Caroline Coffey
Languages: HCPC Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals - Assessment: £100/hr Individuals - Therapy: £100/hr Couples - Assessment: £150/1.5hrs Couples - Therapy: £150/1.5hrs Specialisms - Addiction
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Psychosexual & Relationships
Dr Caroline Coffey is an experienced and accredited Clinical Psychologist and couples therapist. She has been qualified and practicing since 2006 when she completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She has gone on to complete Post Graduate qualifications in several psychological approaches including training as a couples’ therapist. She is skilled at working with clients to explore a range of difficulties within a safe, free and non-judgemental space.
Caroline is experienced in using a number of psychological models including cognitive behaviour therapy, narrative and systemic approaches, compassion focused therapy and cognitive analytical therapy which are all evidence based practices for several difficulties. She can use such models in a pure form or in an integrative manner depending on the needs of the client. Caroline works with adults and couples.
Caroline is skilled at working with experiences of low mood, depression, stress, anxiety, trauma, loss, adjustment to difficult life events or illness and many other issues. She has a specialist interest in aspects of sexual health and identity, health anxiety and relationship difficulties. Caroline can offer short or longer term therapy options and appreciates that making the decision to meet and talk with a therapist can be challenging and so is happy to organise an initial telephone discussion if there are concerns or questions.
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Dr Danielle D’Mello
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £110/hr Couples: £150/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva, AXA PPP, Vitality Health, WPA Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Gender & Identity
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Danielle D’Mello is a Counselling Psychologist registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC; PYL33340). She works integratively, often using third wave modalities such as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. She also offers EMDR. Currently, Danielle works in the NHS in secondary and tertiary care and works privately at the Awareness Centre on Saturday afternoons.
In terms of therapeutic approach, Danielle believes it is important to try to understand a person from their own perspective and support them to make sense of their internal experiences in a way that respects their individualism. Danielle uses evidence-based interventions grounded in acceptance and compassion to support the individual to overcome their difficulties, work towards their personal goals and better psychological well-being. In your first session, Danielle will explore with you what you are looking for and construct a therapy plan together based on your experiences and individual needs.
Danielle has a long standing interest in the human psyche and helping others. She first began to explore a career in working therapeutically with others when volunteering at a counselling helpline whilst completing her undergraduate degree in psychology. Since then, Danielle completed her doctorate in Counselling Psychology at City University and has ten years’ experience of working in counselling and mental health, in the National Health Service (NHS), private and charity sector. She has experience offering psychology to individuals, couples and groups and has worked with anxiety, depression, OCD, addiction, trauma, PTSD, personality disorders, work related issues and bullying, psychosis, LGBTQI issues, grief and loss.
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Dr Francesco Bernardi
Accredited: BPS, HCPC Languages: English, Italian Works with: Individuals Individuals £100/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva, AXA PPP, Cigna, Vitality Health Specialisms - Addiction
- Anger Management
- Depression
- Sexuality
Dr Francesco Bernardi, DPsych/MSc Neuropsychology, is a Counselling Psychologist registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professional Council). He has completed a specialisation training on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and has worked for in the NHS for the last 7 years.
He has worked in secondary care and primary care. He has experience in offering therapy to adults and older people suffering from anxiety and depression. His specialties are: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety, panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), specific phobias (such as, needle phobia, blood phobia, animal phobia, etc.), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. He also works with anger, low self-esteem and relationship issues. Dr Bernardi has also a specialist interest in working with the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Queer population (LBTQ) and has helped people addressing sexuality, coming out, and relationship issues.
Dr Bernardi’s approach to therapy is based on mutual respect and collaboration with his clients. He is able to use different psychotherapeutic approaches - such as CBT, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Narrative Exposure Therapy, and Skills Training in Affect and Interpersonal Regulation - either in their pure form or by integrating them, depending on his clients’ needs.
He can offer therapy both in English and Italian.
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Dr Jane Major
Dr Jane Major is an experienced clinical psychologist and relationship therapist working with individuals and couples. She is empathic and warm seeking to support clients to increase their awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Jane enables clients to interact with themselves and others in a way that is personally meaningful and compassionate. She takes the approach that problems are not created within individuals but between people.Accredited: BPS, HCPC Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £120/hr Couples: £135/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP, Bupa, Vitality Health Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Family & Relationships
- Trauma
- Workplace Issues
Jane takes a pluralistic approach to therapy which means that she has found that no one approach to therapy works for all. Therefore she adapts the approaches she uses to best meet her clients unique needs. She draws on four main approaches which include cognitive behaviour therapy, systemic family therapy, emotionally focussed therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Jane ensures that she develops a comfortable relationship with her clients so that they feel able to talk with her openly and regularly seeks feedback about how clients are experiencing their work with her.
Jane trained as a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Surrey. Prior to her training, and subsequently, she worked for many years in the National Health Service working with clients of all ages in many different environments. Jane is experienced in working with people affected by trauma and relationship issues and her interest in this area led her to undertake further training in couple and family therapy at the Institute of Family Therapy and at Tavistock Relationships. She is a keen student and regularly participates in further training courses. This year this includes undertaking a diploma in clinical sexology at the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology and a 12 day professional training course in Somatic Trauma Therapy facilitated by Babette Rothschild. As well as working in private practice Jane also works on a voluntary basis offering consultancy to a psychotherapy charity in Sheffield which offers long-term reduced fee therapy to adults affected by emotional distress.
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Dr Mirjana Jovanovic
Accredited: HCPC Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals £100/hr Couples: £130/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva Specialisms - Anxiety Disorder
- Addiction
- Sexuality
- Trauma
Dr Mirjana Jovanovic is an experienced and HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist. She completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2008 and has wide experience of working with clients from diverse backgrounds with a variety of presenting difficulties.
Mirjana is experienced in using a number of psychological models, including cognitive behaviour therapy, schema focused therapy, narrative and systemic approaches, compassion focused therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. She is skilled at adapting such models to fit the specific needs of the client. Central to Mirjana’s therapeutic approach is respect for diverse views and the expertise and potential strength of every person. She is committed to providing a safe and non-judgemental space for clients to feel heard, understood and empowered.
Mirjana’s clinical experience has included working with adults who present with experiences of low mood, depression, stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, trauma, loss, adjustment to difficult life events or illness and many other issues. She has extensive experience of working with individuals/couples with concerns about sexual health and intimacy and has a particular interest in working with clients exploring relationship issues as well as trauma related issues.
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Dr Sara Simblett
Accredited: HCPC Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Families Individuals: £100/hr Couples & Families: £130/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Illness
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Dr Sara Simblett is a Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC) registered Clinical Psychologist. She completed her DClinPsy qualification at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, following an academic PhD from the University of Cambridge and MSc qualification in Neuropsychology from the University of Bristol.
Sara uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help explore thoughts and actions that may be maintaining emotional difficulties, combined with an integrative approach that draws on several other psychological models. These include supporting people to develop a compassionate self-understanding (from Compassion Focussed Therapy - CFT); to regain purpose and meaning by exploring personal values (from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - ACT); and to be more aware of the present moment (from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy - MBCT). Sara is committed to the provision of psychological therapy that is offered in a respectful and non-judgemental way. She believes in focussing on each individual, couple or family. She works collaboratively to support people to understand their strengths, deal with difficult problems, and achieve important goals and aspirations. She employs a multitude of creative solutions and, where helpful, incorporates her academic knowledge and experience of using technology to assist with these challenges.
Sara is trained to provide therapy for people across a wide age spectum, from children to older adults living with depression, coping with anxiety, experiencing low self-esteem, surviving stress, or dealing with trauma and related loss. She would welcome helping with any of these, or related mental health issues. Alongside this she has worked in specialist Neuropsychology services within the NHS to support people with neurological conditions. She is also is keen to provide theraputic support for people who are experiencing emotional difficulties whilst living with long-term conditions and illnesses or adjusting to new physical health diagnoses.
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Dr Stephanie Doig
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Families Individuals & Families - Assessment: £200/1hr including report Individuals: £120/hr Families: £120/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Asperger's Syndrome
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
Dr Stephanie Doig has lived and studied in a number of countries gaining her Masters in Applied Psychology at New York University before completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in London. She is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and registered with the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC).
Dr Doig provides a warm, calm and compassionate approach to support her clients to move towards their goals. As a parent herself, Dr Doig understands the challenges and pressures that being a parent/caregiver brings and how there can be a need for some extra help and guidance along the parenting journey. When working with children and young people Dr Doig provides a creative and relaxed approach to ensure her clients feel comfortable in order for them to open up.
Dr Doig has over 10 years’ experience of working with children, young people and adults in various settings within the NHS as well as independently. Dr Doig draws on different therapeutic approaches and tailors interventions to meet the clients’ needs based on a shared understanding of the problem. Therapeutic approaches she can work with include but are not limited to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), systemic, narrative, mentalization based therapy (MBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Dr Doig is also trained in completing Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI).
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Elizabeth Lawrence
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £50 - £65/hr Specialisms - Anger
- Bereavement & Loss
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Self-Harm
Elizabeth Lawrence Dip. Counselling Reg. MBACP, began counselling clients in 2010. She provides a safe and confidential space to promote a trusting working relationship with individuals so that they have the confidence to speak about personal thoughts, feelings and difficult situations they may be struggling to deal with alone. Liz has an integrative approach (meaning she has trained in different counselling approaches); through being able to work with different approaches, she is able to tailor her skills to work with the individual needs of each of her clients. Liz works in a way to emphasise the personal worth of an individual, giving them the confidence to identify and draw on their innate abilities to deal with their circumstances and lead rich and fulfilling lives.
With a background of working in Criminal Justice and also as a Manager in the Health and Social Care Sector, Liz has an interest and experience of working with confidence and self-esteem issues as well as assertiveness and conflict resolution. Through her career journey, Liz has gained a deep insight into how life's pressures can affect people, which can lead to unhelpful or damaging ways of managing this. Liz works to identify healthier ways of managing emotions and stress. She also specialises in anxiety, self-harm, bereavement, and has a special interest in eating disorders.
Liz Lawrence is an integrative counsellor, and is a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. Her other qualifications include a Diploma in therapeutic counselling, and a certificate in specialised bereavement training. She works in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham.
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Emel Saban
Languages: English, Romanian Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Emel Saban is a counsellor and psychotherapist who has worked in a variety of mental health settings, such as the NHS, bereavement services, children and adolescents’ mental health and a residential addiction rehabilitation centre. Emel now specialises in addictions, anxiety, depression, bereavement and relationships.
With Emel, you will find a comfortable, safe and confidential space, where you can discuss what it is that has brought you to therapy. You can vocalise things that you might not be able to do so, anywhere else. You will be supported throughout the therapeutic journey, processing any difficulties, anxieties and challenges that you might be experiencing. Emel provides professional but relational support, tailored to your needs.
Emel’s own mixed cultural background has led her to have a strong interest in multicultural counselling, and a curiosity into how our cultures can shape and influence our daily lives. She is a frequently practices mindfulness and strength training, helping her remain balanced, clear and focused.
Emel is a counsellor and psychotherapist and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She currently works with individuals in her private practice, based in South West London, as well as seeing clients online. Online work can be suitable for those that want a very early session, can fit it in on a lunch break or even on the weekends.
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Emily Barney
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60 Specialisms: - Adoption & Abandonment Issues
- Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
Emily Barney is an integrative therapist whose approach is based on the belief that we all have the creative ability to develop our own potential and overcome the challenges we meet in our lives. In an increasingly busy and frenetic world it is all too common to feel overwhelmed, stressed or lost in life.
The therapeutic process can provide an opportunity for the client to take time out, to focus on and explore their own needs, wishes and dreams to find new ways of seeing and understanding their lives. As an integrative counsellor Emily will use approaches from psychodynamic and person-centred theories adapting them to the needs of the client.
Within a confidential and collaborative therapeutic relationship Emily will support the client to identify and reflect on their own agenda. Through deepening self-awareness clients can develop and strengthen their own sense of self, finding new perspectives and the autonomy to allow the client to re-evaluate and overcome past difficulties or problems. Facilitating change will help the client to become more confident and positive in utilising their inner resources and tools to enrich their own lives and their interaction with others.
Former careers in the performing and visual arts and education has given Emily a wealth of experience of the creative process and a visual language that informs her work now. From working within education, Emily has a clear understanding and empathy for the many levels of stress and anxiety teachers encounter throughout their careers and the impact of that on their work/life balance. She has experience of working with people across the life stages with a variety of different issues including anxiety and depression, eating disorders, adoption, managing work place stress and conflict, feeling stuck or blocked.
Emily Barney has a Diploma in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling and is an registered member of BACP. She works in private practise at the Awareness Centre where she also was a placement counsellor for Lambeth NHS, and experienced in working with long-term clients as well as short-term, more solution focused therapy.
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Emma Swaisland
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £65/hr Specialisms - Addiction
- Bereavement & Loss
- Communication & Workplace Issues
- Guilt & Shame
Emma Swaisland MA, MBACP provides a confidential space within which you can safely explore your issues, re-connect with yourself and work on problematic thoughts, assumptions and behaviour that may be holding you back. Having experienced and shared the change and growth possible in this process time and again, she is passionate about the power of psychotherapy to help you work through problems and challenges, become more accepting and self-aware, and ultimately to live a more meaningful life. Whether you’re feeling in crisis and extremely vulnerable, or maybe experiencing a persistent feeling of malaise, Emma helps a range of people unravel meaning, gain insight and identify what might be stopping them from functioning well, reaching their potential, or enjoying healthy relationships.
Emma has a BACP-accredited Masters degree in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling from Roehampton University. She is also working towards professional accreditation with the BACP, (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy). As an integrative psychotherapist, Emma draws from a range of therapeutic approaches depending on the needs and preferences of her clients, the issues they bring and their previous experience of therapy, if relevant. She has experience working across a range of services in the voluntary, private and NHS sectors.
Prior to training in psychotherapy, Emma worked for over 20 years in the corporate sector where she developed strong mentoring, management and leadership skills. She has a good understanding of the stresses and pressures of working life, particularly the balance between the personal and the professional, the private and the public. Emma has worked with clients experiencing a range of issues including panic and anxiety; addiction; low-confidence or self-esteem; relationship difficulties; career and life choices; pregnancy and fertility issues; bereavement and loss; depression; and recovery from trauma or abuse.
Emma works with clients short-term or open-ended; she is experienced in both and what works best for you is something to discuss during your first session. Reduced rates are available on some sessions for students or those on a low income, please enquire.
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Ewa Pawluk
Accredited: HCPC Languages: English, Polish Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Depression
- Personality Disorders
- Trauma
- Relationships
Ewa Pawluk is a qualified counselling psychologist and a psychodynamic psychotherapist in training. She has been working with people with a broad spectrum of mental health issues ranging from mood and anxiety disorders to personality disorders and severe mental illness. She gained her experience over years of working in both in-patient settings as well as private outpatient practice.
Common issues that Ewa works with include: depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, life transitions, loss and grief, abuse and trauma, and communication and intimacy issues. She specialises in psychodynamic psychotherapy which is successful in helping individuals who struggle with relational difficulties, personality disorders, and psychosexual problems. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a pathway to understanding, insight and change. In her work Ewa focuses on helping her patients to embody their authentic selves, learn how to effectively communicate their feelings, desires, needs, and boundaries, deepen their capacity for intimacy, and honour their goals and dreams. She strives to develop this understanding collaboratively in an atmosphere of openness, safety, honesty and curiosity.
Her background is in applied psychology and the American approach in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Her style is interactive with an emphasis on using insight to achieve emotional and relational change. She believes it is important to engage not only the patient’s deeper feelings and experiences but also current, everyday stresses and dilemmas.
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Gina Phillips
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60- £65/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Communication & Workplace Issues
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Gina Phillips is a BACP accredited counsellor with an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling and a Post-Graduate Certificate in CBT. As an integrative counsellor, Gina’s approach incorporates humanistic, person-centred, psychodynamic and cognitive behaviour modalities, which are tailored to a client’s individual needs. She has a broad range of clinical experience working within the NHS, London Authorities and Private Practice and offers short term and long term, one to one counselling.
Gina believes the most important aspect of counselling is a strong therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client. She aims to provide a warm, safe, supportive, non-judgemental space, which allows clients to challenge established ways of thinking and being. Working collaboratively, Gina aims to help clients evaluate their needs to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, enabling them to make empowered choices.
From her previous experience in the world of media and the creative industries, Gina understands the pressures on the individual in the workplace and home, and the impact it can have. This informs her practice which includes working with a wide variety of mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, self-esteem, addiction, relationship and workplace issues and bereavement.
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Isabel Turner
Isabel Turner is an experienced integrative counsellor and psychotherapist having both a BSc (Hons) in Integrative counselling and a MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapist (BACP) adhering to their ethical framework. Isabel's approach draws on a range of theoretical approaches from her extensive training including Person Centred, Existential and Psychoanalytic. Isabel acknowledges that embarking on therapy takes courage and conviction and that the relational experience with her plays a key part in the process.Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Isabel has experience of working with clients with a wide range of problems including low self-esteem, relationship problems and anxiety.
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Jacqueline Miller
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP Specialisms: - Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Trauma
- Suicidal Thoughts
Jacqueline Miller is a qualified person centred counsellor and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP) and is currently working towards her accreditation. She works with how an individual is feeling in the “here and now”, whilst respecting the client and supporting the issues of which they bring into the therapy room. Jacqueline gained her professional experience as a therapist working in various locations. She has worked within the private sector, NHS surgeries and within a charity organisation exclusively providing bereavement counselling.
Jacqueline uses the Humanistic approach, which means she respects and encourages the autonomy of clients within the therapeutic process. She provides an empathic, safe, non-judgmental and confidential space where clients can feel respected and comfortable, to open up and feel seen and heard for who they truly are as an individual. Whilst counselling helps clients to process complex and distressing thoughts and feelings, she considers that therapy can also focus on the potential of her clients.
With a background of over 13 years in the NHS as a nurse, Jacqueline understands the internal and external pressures people can put on themselves, which can lead to unhelpful or damaging coping strategies.
Jacqueline has experience working with individuals from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, and she has experience of working with clinical cases including abuse, anxiety, addiction, trauma, sexual abuse, depression, relationships, bereavement, loss and separation, life transitions, menopause, brain injuries, self-harm, shame, suicidal thoughts, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), HIV, and communication and workplace issues.
Jacqueline has enhanced her experience on how the social world and various cultures can impact individual’s psychological wellbeing, and endeavours to support the impact of which you may be experiencing. She is committed to her continual professional development and continues to develop to help ensure her competence to practice.
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Jane Anghelatos
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £65/hr Couples: £75/hr Specialisms - Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Family & Relationships
- Illness
Jane Anghelatos is a psychodynamic psychotherapist with extensive experience of working with individuals short and long term. She is accredited with BACP. She trained initially at Roehampton in Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counselling and subsequently at IATE in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy from Essex University. She is currently a post trainee on the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Training at the Society of Analytical Psychology. Jane qualified in 2000 and has worked in GP surgeries for 17 years. She also has a private practice in Southfields, SW18.
Jane brings past experience in teaching and organisation development in the NHS. She teaches on psychotherapeutic counselling skills courses and has an MA in Self Managed Learning from Middlesex University. She has a wealth of experience working therapeutically with depression and illness, bereavement and loss. She also has particular interest in family and relationship issues. In her GP and private work she has experience of working with trauma and sexuality issues. Workplace difficulties have also formed a large part of her caseload. Jane is suitably qualified and experienced to work with students on psychotherapeutic counselling courses.
Jane’s approach is largely derived from a developmental Jungian persepctive. She sees the therapeutic relationship as the vehicle for change and believes this approach can be applied to short or long term work. She believes in the power of the unconscious to express itself in dreams and metaphor. She integrates these beliefs with a practical relational approach to therapy. She has personally benefitted from her own ongoing 4 times weekly Jungian analysis. She is able to work with individuals once or twice weekly.
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Jane Boots
Jane Boots has trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist at The Guild of Psychotherapists. She is a member of the BAPC and UKCP She has undertaken trainings in Dynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy which is approved by NICE for treating anxiety and depression and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing which offers treatment for complex trauma and short traumatic experiences. Jane currently works in an NHS service as a psychotherapist and see individuals in private practice. Jane aims to provide a supportive space to enable clients to explore their difficulties. This is led by the client and Jane’s approach is to provide a personalised care plan which incorporates several different approaches which will be fully explained during the assessment. The sessions will focus on the client’s relationship with themselves and others in their lives and the influence past experiences are having on their current life. She also works with the clients to make choices of how they may adapt different ways of managing their thoughts and behaviour so that they can move towards resolving some of their difficulties. Jane has worked extensively in the NHS and in independent organisations and currently has a position as a psychotherapist in a NHS Trust. This has enabled her to specialise in working with adolescents, pregnancy, childbirth, depression, anxiety, trauma related issues and assessment for Borderline Personality Disorder.Accredited: BACP, UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Personality Disorders
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Pregnancy & Childbirth
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Jennifer Cox
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Guilt & Shame
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Jennifer Cox is a member of the Tavistock Society of Psychotherapists, and is registered with the BACP and the BPS. She is a Registered Scientist with the Science Council, and holds a postgraduate diploma in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the Tavistock Clinic. She underwent a following two year qualifying training with the Trust, and now works in private practice in three London locations, including The Awareness Centre.
Jennifer’s experience of working in secure hospitals and wards for people with severe psychiatric illnesses lends her a straightforward and clear approach to therapy. She encourages honesty in the room, and helps clients to look at aspects of themselves and their lives which they may feel an instinct to bury. Once these issues have been aired and worked through, it can bring significant relief to the client’s negative symptoms and behaviours. This may take time, and Jennifer’s calm and patient approach supports the client through the process, allowing people to work at a pace that fits with them.
Since graduating from Cambridge University in 2000, Jennifer has worked extensively in psychology roles in psychiatric and forensic mental health settings across London. Jennifer completed her counselling and psychotherapy training at the University of London and the Tavistock Clinic, which conferred membership of the British Psychoanalytic Council. Jennifer’s interest in psychoanalysis is fused with her adherence to the findings of neuroscience, and she is an attendee of the London Neuropsychoanalysis Group. These combined interests inform her work and as her client, you too will benefit from this learning.
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Jennifer Ofori
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £60/hr Specialisms - Anxiety
- Life Transitions
- Family & Relationships
Jennifer Ofori UKCPreg, (MBACP) is a qualified and fully accredited counselling psychotherapist who has gained experience working in private, voluntary educational and public sectors- which includes her work: for an IAPT/NHS service offering counselling to clients on a short term basis.
As a registered and accredited counselling psychotherapist she currently works in private practice with both adults and members of the younger generation (aged 7+). She has extensive experience working with adults and members of the younger generation with depression and/or anxiety, behavioral issues, as well as issues relating to the family.
Jennifer recognizes the importance of continuing her professional development and is currently in the process of completing her doctoral research project with Middlesex University. As an integrative existential humanistic practitioner, Jennifer works from an existential base, encouraging her clients to gain greater meaning of their experiences, thoughts, feelings and behaviours, in a creative and collaborative way.
She aims to support her clients to make better sense of their issues in a safe and nurturing environment. Her existential focus means that she encourages her clients to authentically confront and challenge the difficulties they may be experiencing. She invites her clients to consider new ways of coping. Together with her clients, Jennifer aims to create a trusting co-constructed, confidential therapeutic relationship.
Jennifer’s background in Criminology, Psychology and Sociology has greatly influenced her interest in the human condition. She views psychotherapy as a courageous step towards permanent change. She is particularly interested in those facing existential issues, cultural/ racial issues, family issues and those experiencing depression/anxiety.
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Jeremy O’Sullivan
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Specialisms: - Family & Relationships
- Guilt & Shame
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Sexuality
Jeremy O’Sullivan is a qualified Person-Centred counsellor and a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). He has a Diploma in Practitioner Counselling from City Lit in London and works with individual adults. Jeremy offers a supportive, non-judgemental space to facilitate self-exploration.
As a Person-Centred counsellor, Jeremy works with empathy, unconditional positive regard and genuineness as the basis of the therapy - these simple elements can be very powerful in the counselling relationship and support loving, honest and kind self-exploration. The Person-Centred approach holds that each individual person is an expert on themselves with innate resources to deal with life, and these can be tapped into by providing supportive conditions for a person to grow and develop. These conditions can be provided in Person-Centred therapy through the therapeutic relationship. If you would like to talk with Jeremy about things that are going on for you he would be happy to help.
Born in Ireland, Jeremy grew up in County Cork in a farming community by the Atlantic Ocean and is the youngest of 7 children. He has lived in France, the USA, and now lives in the UK. In the past Jeremy has worked in the hospitality industry, construction industry, and has worked with and studied horses. He currently works in the pharmaceutical industry as a clinical project manager in addition to working as a counsellor.
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Jo Small
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £65/hr Specialisms - Depression
- Family & Relationships
- Pregnancy
- Self-Harm
Jo Small is a BACP Accredited Psychotherapist and Counsellor who works predominantly from a Gestalt perspective. She has experience with adults, adolescents and children where she draws on person-centred and play therapy to discover the best way to work with your difficulties. She has experience in the NHS, Bromley Community Counselling Service and The Awareness Centre and has also worked in charity settings such as Off the Record and Place2be. Jo has worked with a range of issues including anxiety, depression, bereavement, self-harm, suicidal ideation, pregnancy and childbirth, trauma, relationship difficulties. She also has extensive experience of supporting young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Jo works holistically to raise your awareness of how you think, feel and act in the present moment. She works supportively to establish a non-judgemental trusting relationship where you can feel safe enough to explore whatever issue you bring to therapy. Through play with younger clients, Jo provides a safe space to express emotions and make sense of difficult feelings.
Jo holds an MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy from London Metropolitan University and the London Gestalt Centre. She also works as a school based Senior Psychotherapist for primary and secondary aged children with significant emotional and behavioural needs. Within this role she works closely with parents, careers and school staff to ensure all round support for the child, and manages a team of therapists providing clinical supervision. She has advanced DBS clearance and extensive safeguarding training.
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Julie Chivers
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Life Transitions
- Stress
Julie Chivers is a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor & Psychotherapist and is Accredited and Registered with full membership with BACP. Her diploma as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor & Psychotherapist enables her to work using different methods depending on her client needs. Julie works as a private therapist at The Awareness Centre.
Julie will help to provide a safe and supportive environment in which to talk through and try to make sense of your emotions, thoughts and problems and reflect on past and present events with a knowledgeable, non-judgemental professional. She will give you a confidential place to explore and express your feelings. She will encourage you to take a look at why you are struggling. As therapy progresses she will help you to gain insights and find more helpful ways of coping with your problems and emotions. As well as talking about your emotions Julie may use CBT and Mindfulness relaxation exercises to help you as well as helping with coping techniques. She will help to find ways of managing overwhelming emotions in a way that will take you to a safer and more secure place. Therapy can provide an environment to understand and learn about yourself so that you can take control of and responsibility for your life.
With a background in the Armed Services and Education, Julie cares and understands that emotional wellbeing can enable a richer more productive way of being, she has also worked in the voluntary sector for Counselling services, NHS Support and IAPT services and has gained experience of working with: Abuse, Anger, Anxiety, Stress, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Bereavement & Loss, Life Transitions, Guilt & Shame, Relationship Issues, Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence, Trauma & PTSD. If your problem is not listed that does not mean she cannot help you.
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Karen Dempsey
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £60/hr Couples: £70/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Bereavement & Loss
- Life Transitions
- Sex & Relationships
Karen Dempsey is an accredited and experienced psychotherapist with an integrative and intuitive approach – meaning she draws on different theories and skills to suit you and the issues you bring to therapy.
The gift of weekly therapy is to help you contain emotions that might otherwise spill into other areas of your life. Karen can help you gain insight into your current issues, and work through the blocks that have held you back from becoming the true you. She cares about helping you identify ways to create the life you were always meant to lead, so you’re no longer compromising your values.
Some of the issues she works with include anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, anger, inner critic, work issues, loss, childhood wounds, tricky relationships, miscarriage, dementia, life transitions, and finding meaning and purpose.
With a background as a writer, Karen also works with writer’s block and runs workshops on writing for resilience. She is a registered member of UKCP and BACP.
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Karen Scothern
Karen Scothern appreciates the courage it can take to begin the therapeutic journey by reaching out for help. She provides her clients with a calm, nurturing and non-judgemental space within which her clients feel comfortable enough to explore whichever issues have brought them to therapy. She works with clients on an open-ended basis and this is in-keeping with the key components of her approach which places a high value on client autonomy and includes going at a pace governed by the client.
With a career that has included holding a managerial role in an Education department for a London Borough, Karen has, for a number of years managed a very large team of staff. She became aware that she gained the most satisfaction in her role when opportunities arose for her to support people who were struggling with challenges in their lives. She understands the pressures of modern day life and the balancing act that we are often faced with. She is interested in the way that her clients respond to these demands and assists them with finding healthy ways of dealing with them. Karen has a particular interest in loss, in its various forms; anxiety and our relationship with it; sexuality and related issues; utilising creativity for therapeutic gains.
Karen’s clinical experience to date has given her the opportunity to support clients from a variety of backgrounds who have presented with a range of issues including: abuse, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, loss, relationships, self-esteem, sexuality, work-related stress.
Karen is a qualified person centred counsellor working towards accreditation. She is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and holds a degree in Social Policy, Health and Psychology. She works in private practice at The Awareness Centre's Clapham branch.
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Katerina Tulloch
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals £60/hr Couples £70/hr Specialisms - Addiction
- Bereavement & Loss
- Pregnancy & Childbirth
- Sex & Relationships
Katerina Tulloch aims to provide an empathic, supportive space where clients can open up and feel seen and heard without judgement. While psychotherapy helps clients to process difficult or painful thoughts and feelings, she believes that therapy can also focus on the potential of her clients. She works with them to identify and draw on their inner resources to live a fuller, more satisfying life. Katerina draws upon several modalities that are suited to meet the individual needs of the client. These include a systemic and attachment model that helps to identify patterns of behaviour, family and societal scripts and experiences that influence our thought processes and belief systems; a psychodynamic approach that enables the client to identify early life experiences that may be influencing their present and a person-centred approach that allows the client the space to express their feelings and work through their problems within a supportive environment.
Katerina has a background in nursing and midwifery which has given her an interest in problems relating to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as psychosexual and relationship issues, which led on to her training and becoming qualified in this modality. She has experience working with the LGBTQ community and worked in a central London sexual health clinic in the role of honorary psychosexual therapist. Katerina is experienced in working with adolescents aged 16-18, which was gained whilst working within a targeted youth support team. She is also experienced in anxiety, stress, depression, life transitions, ill health, addiction, trauma and bereavement.
Katerina Tulloch is an integrative psychotherapist, who draws upon the approaches that best suit the problems that clients bring into the therapy room. She has a diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy and is registered and accredited with COSRT. Katerina is working towards completion of an advanced diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy and is a trainee member of the UKCP. She holds qualifications in Emotionally Focussed Couples Therapy, an advanced diploma in couples therapy, as well as training in systemic therapy to intermediate level.
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Kelly Garrett
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English, Spanish, Turkish Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals £70/hr Couples: £90/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva, Cigna, Vitality Health and WPA Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Self-Harm
- Trauma
Kelly Garrett is a qualified, accredited and experienced psychotherapist, counsellor and clinical supervisor, specialising in the areas of depression, anxiety, trauma and relationships. Kelly has several years’ experience working with a wide range of psychological, emotional and mental health problems in the private, voluntary and NHS sectors. She is also a certified coach and has extensive experience working in corporate environments. Kelly currently works in private practice with individuals and couples in Clapham, South London. She is also Clinical Director at The Awareness Centre.
Kelly is an integrative practitioner, which means she has combined many theories of thought and has found her own style of working as a therapist. Her training was in existential and psychodynamic approaches, and she has a strong interest in attachment, separation and loss. Kelly works short-term and long-term with clients, and offers therapy in English, Spanish and Turkish.
Kelly’s specialist area is trauma therapy. Trauma is often the result of an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope or to integrate the emotions involved with that experience. People can feel numb, disconnected, and unable to trust others. Kelly explores ways to manage and cope with those feelings. Whether the trauma happened years ago or yesterday, the work helps clients to heal and move on. Kelly is also an avid yoga practitioner. She believes her practice has allowed her to develop strong mental and physical strength, clarity of thought and a renewed sense of being, and she uses these strengths in her therapeutic approach. -
Laura Golding
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £50- 65/hr Specialisms - Anxiety
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
- Schizophrenia
Laura Golding provides a warm, non-judgemental and empathic space for you. Believing the client is the expert on themselves, she is there to help facilitate the process in which you can access your inner resources, in order to better tackle the issues you may be facing. She believes that the therapeutic relationship is the most important aspect of therapy and within this, healing and growing can occur. Her training is Integrative, which means she is able to use a number of different approaches in her work with you. However her preference is for a person centred approach, focussing on the relationship, empathy and joining the client on their journey.
Laura has extensive experience working in high pressured and stressful environments. These experiences have made her feel passionately about working with people suffering from workplace stress and looking at the importance of a healthy work life balance. She feels that this is an especially important topic in London, where the balance is often uneven. She has also worked for four years in a residential home with people suffering from mental health diagnoses such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Psychosis. As such, she can offer counselling to people who are supporting someone with these conditions. Laura realises how daunting the mental health system can be and how much carers need support of their own.
These experiences have informed Laura’s practice and have become topics she is interested it. However, Laura sees clients with a wide range of issues and experiences and her approach means she is versatile in the way she works and therefore the range of people she sees.
Laura is an integrative counsellor in private practice. She has a BSc in Psychology and HR, and a Diploma in Integrative Counselling. Laura is registered with the BACP. She regularly takes part in continued professional development in order to strengthen and inform her practice, most recently completing CPD in trauma and grief.
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Léann Lavery
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals £65/hr Specialisms - Addiction
- Anger
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
Léann Lavery is a qualified counsellor, supporting people dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, anger, suicidal feelings, bereavement and loss. Believing that we all need human connection, she considers the relationship between client and therapist to be the most important aspect of counselling. Léann provides a non-judgemental, safe and confidential space where your healing is supported. She focuses on helping you to better understand your current and past feelings and behaviours, and to also recognise negative patterns that may be affecting how you live your life. This will support you as you find new ways of living and develop more fulfilling relationships.
As an integrative therapist Léann draws on a range of theories – including psychodynamic, existential, and humanistic – and she tailors how she works depending on your needs and aims. She believes our bodies often hold difficult and painful emotions, and she integrates the mind, body and soul in her approach to help facilitate change and work through these emotions. With a background in marketing and PR from different sectors such as charity, television, and higher education, Léann brings this experience into her therapeutic stance where she works creatively with her clients.
Léann has many years’ of experience of working long-term and short-term with clients in a variety of settings, including the NHS. She is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and a divisional member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), she is working towards a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy.
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Leanne Howard-Williams
Languages English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Areas of Expertise - Adoption
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
- Suicidal Thoughts
Leanne Howard-Williams is an integrative counsellor whose skills rely on approaches from psychodynamic, person centred and CBT modalities. She is a qualified counsellor working towards her accreditation with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) with whom she is a registered member. As an integrative counsellor Leanne can assess the issues brought and determine the therapy best suited to the client’s needs. At The Awareness Centre,Leanne has worked in open- ended and short-term counselling with NHS Patients.
Leanne Offers an empathetic, supportive and warm welcome to enable clients to feel safe when talking about difficult issues. For some clients it may be the first time they have been able to speak openly which can feel daunting.Leanne invites clients to talk at their own pace whilst offering a listening ear in a non-judgemental setting. She helps clients realise their inner strength and potential so that they are able to function with less stress or anxiety, and thereby improve their mood and general wellbeing.Leanne draws on psychodynamic theory, which is looking at events that have happened in the past, person centred theory which looks at situations happening in the here and now and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which involves helping the client to change their thoughts and behaviours to function more effectively in everyday life. Leanne realises every client has their own unique potential and no one is the same. This is why she will work with clients to find the approach best suited to them. Her aim is for clients to feel free to talk about upsetting or stressful circumstances and to feel heard.
Leanne came to counselling through her role as a youth worker at Groundwork in Croydon where she supported young adults from diverse economic, social and ethnic backgrounds some of whom were leaving care. She has worked in placements for Grow Live Bromley as a trainee Addictions Counsellor where she completed a twelve week introductory volunteer training programme to help her work more effectively with addiction and rehab clients. She has also counselled students at South Thames College for over 4 years where she started as a trainee and stayed once qualified for a further three years. Their presenting issues included high risk; suicide, special needs, abuse and LGBTQ difficulties.
With over 13 years as a clinical assistant running oncology and antenatal clinics in the NHS,Leanne has first-hand experience of communicating with patients suffering from serious and painful medical issues. Working in challenging clinical settings Leanne has engaged with people dealing with bereavement, mental health, pregnancy and those who have lost babies. Leanne has been a qualified counsellor since 2015 and is now working towards becoming accredited. She joined TAC in 2017 as a qualified NHS counsellor.
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Lesley Cameron
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £55/hr or £70/hr for private health insurance Couples: £70/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva, AXA PPP, Cigna, Vitality Health Specialisms: - Abuse
- Anxiety Disorder
- Family & Relationships
- Stress
Lesley Cameron is an accredited member of UKCP and a registered member with BACP. Lesley’s experience as a psychotherapist covers a range of issues including low self-esteem and low confidence: relationship issues, family and work related: symptoms of being in abusive / unhealthy relationships, including isolation and feelings of self-directed guilt and blame. Her approach is integrative, meaning that she will work with the content that you bring to ensure that support provided is tailored to your individual situation and needs. She is experienced in providing brief, medium and long term therapy, including a period of time in an NHS setting. Lesley provided counselling at a specialist agency working with survivors of domestic violence /abuse for several years; she has been based at The Awareness Centre for over one year.
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist Lesley spent several years in an educational environment providing guidance and advice to young people experiencing relational and behavioural difficulties. She also has several years of experience working in a social work setting supporting vulnerable families, many of whom presented with a range of complex mental health issues and required support to cope with the daily stresses that life sometimes presents.
Lesley believes that the client/therapist relationship is the key element of therapy that supports growth and change. She brings down-to-earth authentic warmth, compassion and integrity. She understands that seeking help can feel anxiety-provoking at times and works with her clients with respectful sensitivity and at a pace that suits them, with the core conditions of unconditional positive regard and empathy being central to the process. Within this Lesley conveys a primary interest in her client’s values and beliefs, tapping into their inherent resources as a potential source of healing.
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Lesley Cook
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Lesley Cook is a qualified counsellor working with individuals and young adults from the age of eighteen years old. She is a member of BACP and adheres to their ethical guidelines for good practice. Lesley trained in integrative counselling which incorporates learning from many different approaches to therapy including CBT and the Minnesota model twelve step recovery.
Lesley provides space for clients to explore and discuss their life story and issues within a safe and calm environment also working together to create a solid treatment plan. She has a special interest in working with Anxiety, Depression and Addiction particularly working with clients who experience alcohol abuse and dependency issues. Addiction can affect both the user and their relationships with family and friends.
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Lindsey Reeman
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Family & Relationships
Lindsey Reeman is a qualified Counsellor with a diploma in Humanistic Counselling and a degree in Reflective Therapeutic Practice. She is a registered member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and works within their ethical framework. She works in private practice at The Awareness Centre's Clapham branch.
Life brings us many different challenges, and whether a client comes to explore a specific issue or because they would like to understand themselves better, Lindsey seeks to build a safe, trusting and empathic relationship in which clients can process difficult or painful feelings, at their own pace. With the Person-Centred approach at the foundation of her work, she practises in a fundamentally optimistic, non-judgmental way which is individual to each client, to help them focus on their capacity for self-awareness and autonomy: “being all that you can be”. She aims to help clients by encouraging them to recognise their inner resources and strengths, and to support their emotional well-being.
Lindsey comes from a creative background and in addition to practising as a counsellor, is a freelance florist. She feels that she can contribute some of the understanding and learning that her own life experiences have brought her, to her counselling practice. She works with people from all walks of life and has a special interest in eating disorders, and experience with working with young people.
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Liz Woods
Liz Woods provides a safe and confidential space where clients can talk – without fear of judgement – about the issues in their life that may be uncomfortable, confusing, painful or cause them anxiety. This can help clients manage difficult feelings, find new ways of relating to themselves and others, and support them through life crises or life changes. Liz works collaboratively with clients to help them look at their experience and feelings, find different ways of coping, and see what options might be available to make changes or perhaps for adapting to the things that can’t be changed. Her approach is tailored to the individual client.Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Life Transitions
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Liz has many years managerial experience working in the health and social care services, where she has developed good mentoring, coaching and leadership skills. She has experience of counselling in the NHS, private practice and for a number of charities, working with adults, young and old with a range of issues and presenting problems, including anxiety, depression, self-confidence, self-esteem and relationship issues. Liz’s approach helps clients move towards more positive and enjoyable lives, bringing them closer to living their lives well and being the people they want to be.
Liz is an integrative counsellor working in private practice at The Awareness Centre, holding an MA in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Roehampton. She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). She uses an integrative, relational approach, drawing on theories and techniques from a range of psychotherapeutic models and approaches, depending on the needs and preferences of her clients and the issues they bring.
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Lucinda Holloway
Accredited: UKCP Languages English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Specialisms: - Family & Relationships
- Guilt & Shame
We all have times in our lives when we need some support. Lucinda Holloway’s style of therapy is warm, compassionate and down to earth. Whether you are looking to resolve a specific problem, or a more complex and deep-seated emotional issue, Lucinda offers the space for you to talk confidentially and feel listened to and supported.
Lucinda can help you to gain insight into your issues, to clarify your feelings, thoughts, and motivations, and to understand why you might find yourself repeating negative or unwanted patterns in your life. In doing so, you will become better equipped to make more conscious choices, improving the quality of your life and well-being. She has a special interest in in developing your strengths and qualities and supporting you to discover the purpose and meaning of your life.
Lucinda’s overall training and approach is integrative, which in practice means that she draws on a range of therapeutic theories and skills, depending on what you are experiencing in your life and what you are hoping for from your sessions. Her training has prepared her to work effectively with different issues, some of these include helping you to gain relief from pain, anger, guilt and shame, experience freedom from addictions, get to the root of what is causing anxiety and depression, release and heal outdated beliefs about yourself, move beyond feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness and create intimate and loving relationships
Lucinda is an experienced integrative transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist, working in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham and Tooting. She is registered and accredited with the UKCP and works in accordance with their ethical framework.
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Luke Williams
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anger Management
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Self-Harm
Luke Williams is a professional person-centred psychotherapist who is registered with the UK Council of Psychotherapy. He holds a post graduate diploma in contemporary person-centred psychotherapy and applications and is currently completing a piece of research on “client’s shifts in therapy” which will give him a Masters qualification. Luke works privately and as a psychotherapist at one of worlds leading universities.
Luke provides an empathic and non-judgemental space that allows clients to explore the areas of their live they feel need attention. He helps clients deepen their understanding of their beliefs, values, decision-making processes and patterns of behaviour. This helps clients realise their potential and make the changes they want. Luke does this in a holistic way that takes embraces a person’s complete and unique experience of life; this helps clients see things in a clearer way and cultivates confidence, self-acceptance and the courage to move forward and make the changes they want for a more harmonious and fulfilling life.
With a background in operations management, training and then education Luke understands the pressures and complexity of commercial and academic institutions and helps clients discover practical ways to fulfil their goals in a way that also protects and nourishes them. He understands managing stress, and external demands and expectations in a busy time pressurised modern city like London can feel overwhelming and helps clients gain perspective, let go of unhelpful internal dialogues and focus on what is really important to them.
Luke has lived and worked in several continents and has worked with clients from diverse communities with a wide range of issues. He has extensive experience working with depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviours, perfectionism self-harm, relationship difficulties, attachment, trauma, abuse, confidence and existential anxiety. Luke is passionate about psychotherapy and continues to work as a researcher to uncover and support the latest developments in psychology and psychotherapy. He continues to train and keep up to date with the with the latest research, theoretical developments and psychological treatments.
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Malcolm Peterson
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Groups Individuals: £65/hr Couples: £120/hr Groups: £35/person Private Healthcare: Aviva, BUPA Specialisms: - Isolation & Loneliness
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Trauma
Malcolm Peterson provides a safe and confidential place in therapy for people to talk through and make sense of what might have brought them to seek therapy. He has a background in working in specialist addiction services and later in the NHS working in specialist services as well as generic services working with people who suffered from depression, anxiety, and those who had been exposed to traumatic events. He currently works in occupational health settings helping people with work related stress and anxiety as well as those that have been exposed to traumatic events during the course of their work.
Malcolm is trained in psychodynamic therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment, Dynamic Interpersonal therapy for treating depression, and has had some training in EMDR to work with people who have suffered trauma. Malcolm can work with people either short term between 12 to 16 sessions as well as working in an open-end manor. Malcolm provides clinical supervisions to training psychotherapists and counsellors, counsellors and psychotherapists working organisations and private clinical supervision to counsellors, psychotherapists and other health care professionals.
Malcolm works in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham. -
Maria Regis
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £55/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Suicidal Thoughts
Maria Regis is a qualified integrative counsellor with a B.Sc. Counselling Hons degree. She is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, and is working towards her accreditation. As an integrative counsellor, she is able to draw from different techniques that work for different clients at different times. Maria works in private practice at The Awareness Centre's Tooting and Clapham branches.
Maria has had the opportunity to work with various different charities as a volunteer counsellor to gain some of her experiences, as well as working with Anxiety UK to help clients with Anxiety disorder. She has experience working with clients who have suffered the following: bereavement & loss, anxiety, stress, trauma, relationship difficulties, depression, enduring mental health and work related issues.
She is available as a private therapist at both the Clapham, and Tooting Awareness Centres. Her work centres around the clients needs, as she works with clients in a collaborative way to establish a therapeutic relationship, where the clients feel secure and held to explore their feelings about their world in a non-judgemental space where being empathic is genuine and key to the clients exploration. Maria believes that being able to guide someone to self-help is very rewarding; She works collaboratively with the clients to identify strategies that help clients and also psycho-educate them where appropriate, which is important to the clients’ re-building and recovery to a place of wellbeing. She understands that it may be difficult to share deep and personal issues with a stranger, however, with a therapeutic relationship, there are no judgements, and confidentiality is essential.
Maria adheres to the BACP Codes of Ethics.
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Marielle Albers
Accredited: HCPC Languages: English, Dutch Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms - Anger Management
- Communication Issues
- Gender & Identity
- Life Transitions
Marielle Albers is a qualified and accredited integrative psychotherapist. Her approach is based on using creativity, connection and careful attention. She sets out to provide a space that feels safe enough to explore what is holding people back or causing them pain. She adapts her way of working according to the individual’s personality and concerns, drawing on a variety of theories. She believes in the humanistic idea that all people are born with innate wisdom and creativity, that sometimes gets lost in protective barriers that have been built in our past. Marielle is also a qualified art therapist and offers the possibility to use art materials in sessions, to invite clients to explore deeper layers of feelings. This does not require any artistic skills: for some people, it can offer an extra channel of communicating to access those feelings that have no words. Using art materials is always a choice
Marielle has held psychotherapy positions in a number of NHS trusts and mental health charities. She developed a creative way of working which can be particularly useful for people who find it difficult to articulate their feelings in words, or perhaps conversely, those who find their words or intellect keeps them ‘stuck in their heads’ in repetitive thinking patterns. Marielle’s previous career in international marketing management in two different countries, has given her a deep appreciation of life challenges regarding transitioning between different cultures, careers and ways of life. One of her interests is working with issues around identity and self-esteem and how major life changes affect people in who they are and how they cope with things. Apart from the above, she is experienced in working with issues of parenting and infertility, as well as dealing with anger (either anger management or inability to express anger).
Marielle holds a Master’s Degree in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy. She is accredited through the HPCP and the BACP. She attends regular continued professional trainings to keep up to date with professional developments, with a special interest in neuroscience, psychoanalysis and embodied psychotherapy approaches.
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Michael McDowell
Languages English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Specialisms: - Abuse
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma
Michael McDowell offers counselling in The Humanistic approach. The counselling process involves- but is not limited to- creative enquiry into how you are functioning, including: how you think, feel, behave and relate. A principle of The Humanistic approach is a belief in the innate wisdom and healing potential of every individual- given conducive conditions. The quality of relationship between therapist and client being an important element. Michael offers a safe, supportive and steady presence, and works with respect to each individual’s unique experience and perspective. Depending on needs and goals, the aim of counselling with Michael might be to: develop awareness, make sense of your experience, and to increase resources that would support change and growth.
At times in life, many of us find ourselves with depleted and/or limited resources, which can involve believing/feeling we are 'not-enough' (or too much) and leave us in need of some additional support. Michael works 'holistically': believing that it is important to consider how our whole life situation (past and present) affects how we think, feel, and behave (including the choices we make). He believes that through collaborative relationships we can know and accept more about ourselves, thus increasing resources: allowing for more choice in how we think, act (and react) as we navigate through our lives. Michael has many interests, including: people, meaning, sustainability (environmental, community and human), nature, walking/travel/exploration, football, comedy and singing. He is committed to his own continued personal development, and is dedicated to the ongoing development of his practice.
Michael is qualified with Diplomas in both Gestalt Psychotherapy and Person Centred Counselling. He works in private practice with adults on a one to one basis at The Awareness Centre in Clapham, and has over 9 years’ experience working in: The Low Cost Counselling at TAC, the NHS and a number of other mental health settings. He can work with clients on short term or on an open ended basis, and has previously worked with issues such as: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, loss, trauma, abuse, low self-esteem, shame, isolation, anger and addiction. He is a member of BACP and adheres to their code of ethics.
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Michaela McCarthy
Accredited: MBACP Snr. Accred. Registered: UKRCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Groups Individuals/Couples: £100/hr Groups (2 hrs/8 members): £30/person Private Healthcare: Allianz, Aviva, BUPA, BUPA International, Cigna, Vitality Health, WPA Specialisms: - Addiction
- Anger Management
- Eating Disorders
- Sex & Relationships
Phone: 07850 282 495 Skype: michaela.mccarthy5 Michaela McCarthy is an experienced psychotherapist and psychosexual and relationship therapist. She has worked for 20 years as a therapist and has worked both in the public and private sector. Her achievements and contributions to psychological health are a credit to her drive and ambition to support clients wellbeing. Michaela is the Managing Director of The Awareness Centre (TAC), which runs the NHS Counselling Service in Lambeth, Brixton Prison Counselling Service and Low Cost and Private Counselling services.
Michaela has established her private practice in Clapham, South London after leaving her practice in Harley Street. She believes the most important process of therapy is the co-creation between therapist and client to achieve a solid professional relationship which allows space for trust and honesty to develop. Michaela’s intuitive approach enables clients to go on a journey of self-discovery which develops true awareness for personal growth. Michaela also works with other professionals especially with psychiatrists working with medication management.
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Millie Burton
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £55-65/hr Specialisms: - Family & Relationships
- Guilt & Shame
- Life Transitions
- Parenting
Anxiety, indecision, critical thoughts, feeling stuck or unsure of who we are and how we belong in the world are issues that can affect us all, yet each of us has our own individual story that has led us to where we are now. As a therapist, Millie Burton doesn’t claim to know the answers and is unlikely to give advice. Instead, she offers a non-judgemental space in which to explore what might be blocking you from feeling more comfortable in yourself, your life and your relationships.
Millie brings to her work an interest in attachment, child development and relational body psychotherapy. This means that she pays particular attention to early childhood experiences, relationship patterns, and the here-and-now embodied experience of relating to another person, especially that which is most difficult to articulate. Most importantly, she will listen and attend to what you bring to each session. Millie has experience in working with relationship problems, depression, anxiety, chronic ambivalence and indecision, infertility, adoption and parenthood. Millie has worked with adult clients at therapy services in North and South London, and in a play-therapy setting with school children in a South London primary school.
Millie is an integrative counsellor working in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham. She has a diploma in integrative counselling from the Minster Centre. Millie is registered with the BACP and is committed to regular continuing professional development to inform and enhance her practice. -
Nathalie Baur
Languages: English, French Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £65-90/hr Couples: £100/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP Specialisms: - Bereavement & Loss
- Bipolar Disorder
- Depression
- Suicidal Thoughts
Nathalie Baur is an integrative psychotherapist and counsellor at Master level (university of Roehampton) and is a registered BACP member. She works with clients on a long term basis in private practice. Her integrative training allows her to draw from a variety of theoretical approaches, including Mindfulness, Humanistic such as Person Centered, Psychodynamic and Attachment Theory, Cognitive & Behavioural (CBT), Gestalt and Transactional Analysis modalities. In addition I have trained as a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Time-Line Therapy™.
Nathalie’s approach to therapy is based on the fact that each person is unique and distinctive and therefore one approach may not fit them all. She places the client-therapist relationship at the heart of an effective therapeutic process providing an honest and non-judgmental stance where your feelings can be expressed and contained in a safe and confidential setting. Her integrative stance allows her the flexibility to adapt to your needs and where you are at the time of therapy. You might want to make sense of the past and explore how it can sometimes be reconstructed in the present or you might seek to get back in touch with your real self through acceptance and a better mind-body connection. She believes that an increased awareness can enable you to gain a greater clarity allowing you to develop long-lasting ways to cope better and start achieving your full potential. Nathalie offers short and long term therapy either in English and in French.
She has gained professional experience as a therapist working in various settings within the charity sector providing exclusively bereavement, NHS surgery and private organisation. She worked with individuals presenting with a variety of clinical cases including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), life transitions, bereavement and losses, suicidal thoughts, abuse, eating disorders and bipolar. Nathalie’s previous experience overseas has contributed to increase her awareness of how our culture and social world impact on each of us. Her ability to work within a multicultural environment and the challenges met when adapting to a new culture has developed her new interest to work with expatriates and individual with multiple ethnic/nationality origins. -
Nicola Elmes
Languages English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £60-£65/hr Couples: £75/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Family & Relationships
Nicola Elmes is a qualified therapist with more than 5 years’ experience working in the private, voluntary and public sectors. Registered with the BACP and holding Diplomas in Integrative Therapy and CBT, she works with individuals.
Nicola strives to provide a relaxed, informal, confidential safe space where she helps her clients look at links from their past to make sense of the present, to help identify negative behavioural patterns that prevent them from leading a fulfilled life and realising their true potential. She believes that therapy can help you accept yourself and be comfortable with who you are and help equip you with the tools to help you move forward in life.
Nicola understands that looking for the right therapist can seem overwhelming and all the different styles can seem confusing, so she offers an Integrative approach which incorporates all the different models of therapy to find an approach that is right for the client and suits their needs. As well as depression, Nicola’s specialist areas include relationships, family issues, self-esteem/low-confidence and anxiety. Nicola began her counselling training by working for the UK’s largest bereavement agency with bereaved adults. -
Payal Kumar
Accredited: BPS, HCPC Languages: English, Hindi Works with: Individuals Individuals: £90/hr Private Healthcare: Aviva, Axa PPP, Bupa, Bupa International, Cigna, Vitality Health, WPA Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Guilt & Shame
- Self-Esteem
Payal Kumar is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist and Social Worker by training. She is registered with The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), The British Psychological Society (BPS) and is also on the BPS Register of Accredited and Approved Supervisors. She has over 12 years of experience of working with children, adolescents, university students, adults, and families in a range of public, private and voluntary settings such as NHS, education, charities, and Social Services in U.K. and abroad. In addition to private work she also works in a busy NHS team seeing clients experiencing anxiety disorders and depression.
Payal provides individual therapy for a range of issues related to emotional and psychological well-being such as anger, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, depression, post-natal depression, self-confidence, OCD, social anxiety, worry, relationship difficulties, perfectionism and work place problems. She also provides goal focussed interventions for time management and achieving work-life balance.
Based on her clinical and personal therapy experiences (a mandatory component of her training) Payal believes that clients possess the inner resources to bring about change, and attempts to collaboratively uncover these to create a difference. Payal has an empathic, warm, non-judgemental and curious stance and endeavours to provide clients with a safe therapeutic space to move towards their aspirations. She draws on a range of evidence based approaches such as Cognitive behaviour therapy(CBT), Systemic Therapy (Family therapy), Solution focussed therapy and ideas from Mindfulness, and Compassion focussed therapies. Payal is sensitive to the many contexts we all belong to. Her own inter-cultural experiences of living and working in different countries, being a social worker, a psychologist as well as a clinical supervisor and her own life transitions of migration, relationships, parenthood, being an employee and a business woman have enabled her to be aware and respectful to the challenges we all face. She sees clients from diverse backgrounds such as education, law, medicine, finance, media, journalism, fashion and politics and has a special interest in parental mental health, long term conditions (such as chronic fatigue syndrome, physical health problems), work place stress and redundancy, and the role of transitions in life (e.g. pregnancy, becoming new parents). -
Pegah Houshmand
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £80/hr Couples: £90/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Pegah Houshmand is a fully qualified counsellor with over ten years of experience in the field and is currently completing her Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. She is registered with The British Psychological Society (BPS). As an integrative counsellor, she draws on the approaches that best suit the issues that clients bring into therapy and works on a short or long term basis, depending on the clients’ needs, working towards goals that are important to the client.
She aims to provide an empathic, supportive space where clients can open up and feel seen and heard for who they truly are. While counselling helps clients to process difficult or painful thoughts and feelings, she believes that therapy can also focus on the potential of her clients. She works with her clients to identify and draw on their inner resources to live a fuller, more satisfying life. She uses Person-Centred and CBT to identify patterns in their thoughts and behaviours; Psychodynamics to help clients to identify and address the root cause of their problems; Transactional Analysis to help clients manage their relationships in a healthier way; and Mindfulness to help tame anxious responses.
Pegah’s experience includes working with low mood, depression and anxiety, stress, self-harm, bereavement and loss, couples counselling, trauma, alcohol and drug misuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, abuse, agoraphobia, OCD, panic attacks, adjustment to difficult life events or illness, and many other issues. She understands the internal and external pressures people can put on themselves, which can lead to unhelpful or damaging coping strategies. She works with her clients to identify healthier ways of managing emotions and stress, and also has a special interest in eating disorders.
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Phil Whichello
Accredited: BPS, UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Confidence
- Family & Relationships
- Stress
Phil Whichello is an experienced Gestalt psychotherapist and occupational psychologist who has worked with individuals for nearly 15 years in both short-term and long-term engagements. He is registered with the BPS, the HPC and the UKCP, and currently works as a leadership consultant and executive coach to organisations and as a psychotherapist in his private practice to individuals where he offers support across a range of personal needs.
Phil works together with individuals to make sense of who they are and how they act today, and to explore new ways of being. He offers a safe, non-judgmental, and confidential space, helping people to understand how they are stuck and to discover pragmatic solutions that make a real and enduring difference. He brings to his work expertise in behaviour change both as a therapist and as a psychologist.
Phil has worked in the area of behaviour change for over twenty years, and after a series of commercial management roles in the UK and abroad chose to specialise in individual development from his time working as a Samaritan. He works across of range of areas, including from stress and depression through relationship and identity issues to trauma and loss. -
Philippa Madden
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Suicidal Thoughts
Philippa Madden is a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor and is registered as a clinical member of the Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UPCA). Philippa holds a BSc Degree in integrative psychotherapeutic counselling and a diploma in integrative clinical supervision of both groups and individuals. Philippa works in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Tooting.
Philippa provides a safe and confidential space for all her clients. Her aim is; through drawing on different approaches which are tailored to each client and through dialogue, reflection and exploration, to assist and accompany a person to work through and shift from any depressive or anxious thoughts or feelings. This therapeutic process helps a person to become more aware of themselves and to better understand where the roots of the issues might be coming from. Working together each session; through any painful or difficult feelings which may have become a stumbling block for positive change or development.
Philippa’s professional background is currently; and for the past 11 years, been in service management for psychological and counselling services for the charity ‘Mind’ and the ‘NHS’. She has also worked as a counsellor for many years. Her experience in being a counsellor and managing and supervising other counsellors, has helped develop her client work considerably and she is always looking at ways to develop and enhance her practice. Philippa specialises in working with symptoms of depression and anxiety, relationship difficulties, stress and feeling overwhelmed, abuse, feeling stuck, meaninglessness and hopelessness, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
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Pinar McGivern
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English, Turkish Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £80-90/hr Couples: £100/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP Specialisms: - Panic Attacks
- Postnatal Depression
- Family & Relationships
Pinar McGivern is a fully qualified and UKCP accredited mindfulness-based psychotherapist, with an MA in Core Process Psychotherapy. She has diverse experience of providing therapy in the private and voluntary sectors, including working for a NHS service and within the charity sector. She currently works with individuals and couples in private practice, offering long and short-term psychotherapy.
Pinar’s therapeutic approach is informed by mindfulness, aiming to bring the client to the present moment and explore how the experience of “now” may be conditioned by early experience in life. It is an embodied approach that empowers client’s own inner wisdom, enabling them to better address challenges in their lives.
Before training in psychotherapy, Pinar did a degree in Film Studies and worked in TV and film. During her media work, she began exploring mindfulness and studied meditation in its traditional setting in Nepal over several years. Pinar’s specialist areas include relationships, depression, anxiety, panic attack, trauma and addiction. She also works as a mindfulness coach. -
Richard White
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals: £80/hr Couples: £80/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Family & Relationships
Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of our lives; we may not like or understand how we behave or react, but feel unable to change. Sometimes a part of us may feel overwhelmed by life events, feel anxious or depressed, or struggle with difficult relationships. Deciding to meet with a therapist can be an important step in helping you to make changes and move forward in life. A therapist will provide a reflective space, where you can speak your mind and explore your difficulties. Richard White believes this relationship can help you clarify and understand the patterns that have developed in your life, and explore how past experience may still be affecting you and the way you relate to others. Going through this process can help you have more confidence and choice in the way you live. His work with couples has the same principles in mind, but is particularly useful in exploring how the couple relates to each other and how what each has brought with them into the couple, impacts upon the relationship.
Generally, the people he sees come to therapy in order to address emotional, personal or relationship problems. These include: lack of confidence; difficulties in sustaining relationships; bereavement & other losses; physical illness; difficulty in expressing feelings; loneliness; issues relating to abuse or unhappiness in childhood, stress at work or spousal abuse. They might also come because they wish to work on one or other of these symptoms: Depression, Anxiety or Panic attacks; Obsessive and or Compulsive Behaviour; Psychosexual Problems; Substance Abuse (including Food, Alcohol, Pornography, Drugs) or Suicide and Self-Harming.
Richard usually offers open-ended long-term therapy, once or twice a week, which may continue for at least several months — often longer, especially if difficulties are deep-seated. With him, you can reflect on how you respond to life events and explore the way you relate to yourself and others. He won’t tell you what to do or give advice but will help you make your own choices.
We would start with an assessment, where we can both get a feel for each other and get a sense of whether we wish to work together. Following this, once or twice weekly sessions last for 50 minutes. I charge £80 a session but offer some reduced-fee places. His working modality and supervision are psychodynamic and his training was accredited by the BPC (British Psychoanalytic Council). He is a registered member of the BACP.
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Robert Falkner
Languages: English, Portuguese Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65-£150/hr Specialisms: - Anger Management
- Family & Relationships
- Sexuality
Robert Falkner has completed both an Advanced Diploma and a Masters in Integrative Psychotherapy, both of which are UKCP accredited courses. With a background of over ten years of working with vulnerable young people and their families across London, Rob has worked therapeutically through his training in a variety of settings including hospitals, prisons, GP clinics, schools, in the community and in private practice.
His aim is to provide an environment of curiosity, honesty and care, where a person can become more aware of their habitual patterns and learn to address them in new ways. With a relational and flexible approach, Rob will respect the differences between us, and the range of difficulties people come to therapy with. Rob believes that our emotional lives shape and lead the other parts of ourselves, and our job in therapy is to bring our feelings into clarity. He feels therapy is not about making a problem, fear, trauma or loss ‘go away’, but rather, learning to live with that problem in a new way.
Rob was schooled in the U.K. and Portugal. He has an Honours B.A. in Developmental Studies. His interest in different cultures and countries led him to work in Portugal, Costa Rica, Israel and Canada. He has travelled throughout Europe and North Africa. He is fluent in English and Portuguese. From all this Rob brings his sense of discovery to the one-to-one ‘adventure’ of psychotherapy.
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Rose Simpson
Rose Simpson is a qualified, experienced psychotherapeutic counsellor. She has a MSc in counselling and psychotherapy. Consistent with Rose’s training she draws on both existential and psychoanalytic approaches when working with clients.Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Guilt & Shame
Rose has a private practise based at The Awareness Centre. She offers both short term and long term therapy. Short term counselling focuses on immediate life concerns whereas longer term therapy explores habitual life patterns and tendencies. She believes that psychotherapy is about providing a safe, reliable and confidential relationship in which to explore life’s problems. By understanding and making sense of how past experiences might influence current ways of behaving and feeling it is possible that different choices can be made and new ways of behaving can be established.
Rose worked in the statutory sector for many years, mainly with individuals who experienced issues with attachment and loss, particularly as a result of adoption, separation or emotionally unavailable parents. Rose also has experience of bereavement and loss having worked as a counsellor in a hospice, she prepared and supported families and friends with their loss and grief.
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Rosie Dashwood
Rosie Dashwood is an integrative transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist with experience in private practice, the NHS and charities. She is registered and accredited with UKCP. She holds a Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy, an Advanced Psychotherapy Diploma, a Diploma in Spiritual Guidance through Transpersonal Dreamwork and a certificate for training in therapeutic art. She offers a safe and calm place for you to talk about your difficulties where you will be listened to with acceptance and kindness. Working together, her aim would be to help you gain insight on underlying issues, to develop a deeper understanding of yourself and feel more fulfilled and in control of your life. Rosie uses different approaches to best help each individual. She has experience working with many issues such as anxiety, panic attacks, abuse, anger, depression, low self esteem, bereavement, relationship difficulties and feelings of being overwhelmed.Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples Individuals £60/hr Families: £70/hr Specialisms - Abuse
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Sex & Relationships
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Sahar Beg
Sahar Beg is an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist with over 20 years’ experience working in the field, she is accredited with BACP and has a Diploma in counselling. Sahar qualified in the mid 90’s and has a Certificate in EMDR for trauma based work and more recently a BA Hons in Theatre Studies and Humanities. Sahar works as a private practitioner at The Awareness Centre in Tooting. Sahar approaches all her work with empathy and confidentiality at the forefront. Her experience in supporting people of all backgrounds despite their status, mental health and wellbeing is an asset to the work she carries out. She is able to understand that every client's needs are different and she approaches this with care and sensitivity. She provides a supportive platform for her clients to work through their thoughts and feelings. Sahar also uses other techniques and tools within the sessions an example of one are, CBT worksheets to help clients work through anxiety issues which ultimately allows the client to manage this in a healthier and positive way. Sahar also works with complex trauma and uses EMDR within the sessions as an additional approach. Sahar has worked for many years in psychological services within a corporate environment which led her to write and present workshops on stress management and relationship coaching. She is keen for individuals to learn how to manage unresolved issues that affect their sense of being. Sahar specialises in abuse and trauma related issues and understands that this has a huge impact on client’s emotional health and wellbeing. Sahar is keen to help clients become empowered and to be able to self-manage their lives in a healthier and confident way. Sahar has a keen interest working with clients who have suffered domestic violence and trauma and currently runs women’s support groups within Wandsworth.Accredited: BACP Languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu Works with: Individuals, Couples, Groups Individuals: £65/hr Couples: £95/hr Groups: £250/hr Specialisms: - Abuse
- Depression
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Trauma
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Sarah Demaree
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Groups Individuals £70/hr Families: £100/1.5 hrs Specialisms - Anxiety
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Family & Relationships
Sarah Demaree holds an MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy and has extensive experience in both the private and public sector. She is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and the United Kingdom Association of Transactional Analysis and is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. She currently works with individuals and couples in private practice at The Awareness Centre.
Sarah’s work is focussed on helping her clients create real change in their lives, whether that is about addressing what is going on inside themselves or in their relations with other people, or both. She uses the widely accessible theories of Transactional Analysis (TA), such as ego states, psychological games, life scripts and emotional hungers to help her clients better understand themselves and other people. She also uses principles from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) so that she can adapt her approach to the individual needs of her clients.
Sarah works with clients struggling with relationships, addiction, bereavement, depression, anxiety including obsessive-compulsive disorder, stress, and adult survivors of childhood abuse. She also has specialist training in working with eating disorders, particularly overeating and binge eating. Sarah is keenly interested in new research looking at the role of nutrition in psychological disorders.
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Sarah Dosanjh
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms - Addiction
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
Sarah Dosanjh is a qualified psychotherapeutic counsellor, completing her four-year clinical training in Transactional Analysis psychotherapy. She has a particular interest in working with disordered eating and other compulsive behaviours and addictions.
She offers face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy for individuals, practicing a humanistic approach to counselling and therapy. This means you are the most important person in the room. It also means that therapy is not a one-box-fits-all experience - every person is unique, with different strengths and struggles. It’s not about the therapist’s agenda, or others’ expectations of you. Rather, it’s about collaborating with you and helping you forge your own path, so you can feel empowered to make your own choices and have the life experiences you want.
Her philosophy is everybody is capable of change and has the capacity to make choices for themselves. Therapy provides a supportive, non-judgmental environment to explore the changes you wish to make and raise awareness of the parts of yourself which lead you into self sabotage.
Sarah’s background includes seven years of working with prolific offenders in prison throughout the UK. She is a counsellor and assessor with Cruse Bereavement Care and an associate at private eating disorder clinic.
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Sarah McGuinness
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Postnatal Depression
- Family & Relationships
Sarah McGuinness is an integrative psychotherapist experienced in working with a wide range of issues including: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, parenting issues, relationship issues, postnatal depression, bereavement, anger management, OCD, eating disorders, binge eating, body confidence issues and family problems.
All of us face challenges in our lives and at times these challenges may feel overwhelming or too difficult to cope with. The way Sarah works is conversational and supportive, providing a confidential and accepting place to help you manage and explore whatever you are going through.
Psychotherapy can help us to understand and gain awareness of ourselves and our behavioural patterns, allowing us to take control of our lives and have choices about what we do and how we do it. We can become conscious of how we respond to and express different emotions, how we communicate, how we form and maintain relationships or how we manage conflict, and therefore we can develop the capacity to change things for the better.
Sarah has many year’s experience of working privately with individuals and as a volunteer for Samaritans and the mental health charity Mind. She has also run post-natal support groups and works with new mothers in children’s centres in South-East London.
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Scott Houston
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Sex & Relationships
- Sexuality
Scott Houston is a psychotherapist in the final stages of his Master’s Degree in Integrative Psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute, London. Scott is a member of UKCP and works in private practice at The Awareness Centre offering goal-orientated short term therapy in addition to deeper long-term work.
Scott draws upon different schools of psychotherapy to establish how the past might be impacting the present and how current issues in your private or working life may be causing you difficulties or distress.
Scott will look at your relationships, family history and any past traumas or deficits to help decide how these may impact your current situation and will pose questions to challenge current frameworks and perceptions. Scott will ensure that his work offers empathy and understanding, is non-judgmental and is conducted in an environment which is safe, secure and entirely confidential.
Scott has experience in dealing with a wide range of problems in many varied settings including business, finance, advertising, education and the LGBT community. Scott has worked with clients in a private practice, local counselling service and with an NHS Hospital HIV Support Service. Scott has broad experience with gay and HIV clients who are dealing with addiction/s to sex, crystal meth and chemsex. As an Integrative Psychotherapist Scott prizes the relationship between himself and his clients, providing help with issues such as; abuse, addiction, anger, anxiety, bereavement, bullying, depression, family & relationships, gender & identity, guilt & shame, illness, isolation & loneliness, self-esteem and self-confidence, sex & relationships, sexuality, stress, suicidal thoughts, trauma and workplace issues.
To help you recover from whatever problems are troubling you the therapeutic relationship that you and Scott create together can be a source of support and comfort while providing a place in which to make sense of these issues so that, not only do you feel relief from your distress, but you can once again have greater control of your own life.“Everyone is seeking emotional contact with another, and that is the deepest yearning of the human heart.” Ronald Fairbairn
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Shaheda Choudhury
Languages: English, Bengali Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Rape
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Self-Harm
Shaheda Choudhury works to provide a safe and empathic space for clients to feel heard and understood. She works collaboratively with clients to explore what issues might be bothering them, offering symptom relief initially if wanted, and then a deeper exploration to facilitate longer term positive change. Shaheda works with clients to enable more clarity and direction to help them find their own path to overcome their difficulties. This can help clients to feel more empowered in their daily lives whether it’s improving better personal and professional relationships, increased self-esteem and confidence or managing difficult feelings arising from traumatic life.
Shaheda has several years of experience working in NHS, charity and private organisations where she has worked primarily with anxiety, depression, rape/sexual assault and self-esteem and confidence and a variety of other issues such as bereavement, autism/Aspergers’s syndrome, traumatic stress, childhood and adult physical and emotional abuse, affairs and betrayals and divorce. Her cross-cultural identity as a British-Bangladeshi Muslim woman allows her an insight into issues effecting BME communities, where she can use her knowledge of cultural and religious influences on people’s lives to be more empathic and understanding.
Shaheda has expertise and knowledge in equalities through her work as an equalities advisor and governor in a government department and local primary school. She works to promote mental health awareness in these roles by regularly delivering presentations and facilitating group discussions.
Shaheda Choudhury is a counsellor and psychotherapist with an M.A. in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy. This means Shaheda is trained in a number of different approaches and can adapt her work according to the client’s needs. She is a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy which means her work is regulated to ensure she is working in the client’s best interest in a safe and confidential manner. Shaheda also has a BSc in Psychology and speaks fluent Bengali.
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Sharon Irvine
Sharon Irvine is a Humanistic counsellor, with a Diploma in Counselling with a BSc in Reflective Therapeutic Counselling. She is a registered member of the BACP. The Humanistic approach appeals to Sharon because it supports people positively, working to overcome emotional blockages to build inner strength and self- belief. Humanistic counselling includes the Person Centred, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt approaches. Drawing on these approaches Sharon works with empathy and without judgement, focusing on feelings and what is going on in the “here and now”. Sharon seeks to develop trust while respecting the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship. Sharon has worked with people who have sought support with concerns including low self-esteem, depression, family crises and relationship breakdowns. Her experience includes providing long term private therapy as well as providing short term therapy for up to twelve weeks within the NHS. Sharon’s previous experience of working in the public sector in housing, equalities and health contributes to her awareness and understanding of the effects of culture, change and difference. This deepens the effectiveness of her counselling practice. Sharon works in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham.Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50/hr Specialisms: - Depression
- Family & Relationships
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Stress
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Shereen Flam
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Shereen Alexander is working towards a Diploma in Transpersonal Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and is registered with the UKCP. As a transpersonal integrative therapist, she applies a spiritual aspect to different models of psychotherapy in order to create a bespoke practice best suiting the needs of the client. Her method can be best described as ‘meeting the client where they are.’
Shereen focuses on providing her clients with a safe and empathetic space in which work can be done to guide a person to his/her highest potential. The therapy focuses on self-development and awareness in order to unblock the barriers to living a more satisfying and complete life. Shereen understands the process can be challenging and may bring about difficult or distressing thoughts and feelings. Her work thus focuses on supporting clients to identify how their patterns of thought and behaviour are helping or hindering their lives. Using an integrative approach, she may make use of Gestalt to support a client working with anger and relationship issues, CBT to identify and manage depressive or anxious thoughts, or guided visualisations that bring awareness to patterns of thought and behaviour. She is also experienced in working with dreams. Her approach is personalised to what the client needs.
Her prior experiences as a teacher and behaviour specialist have allowed Shereen to work with many different people from various cultures and backgrounds, whilst also giving her a deep understanding of the myriad difficulties a person may be facing in his/her life that make change seem impossible. Shereen specialises in working with anger, anxiety, stress, depression, bullying and trauma.
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Sinthia Tijan
Languages: English, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Works with: Individuals, Families Individuals: £50/hr Couples: £90/hr Families: £110/hr (2hr session) Specialisms - Abuse
- Family & Relationships
- Stress
Sinthia Tijan is an experienced and qualified Integrative Counsellor with a background in business management. She understands the stresses of working to deadlines, managing other people’s expectations and holding responsibility at a high level.
Sinthia has worked as a primary counsellor, family therapist, a group facilitator in various settings particularly within the addiction sector and ran parenting skills groups. Sinthia has worked with C.R.I. (Crime Reduction Initiative) which allowed her to deeply understand drug and alcohol dependency, dual diagnosis, violence, shock, trauma, self-harm and sexual issues. She has also worked with clients who have been involved with the child protection services as well as the criminal justice system. Over the last six years Sinithia has worked with carers who often feel isolated and invisible.
Sinthia is currently working as a counsellor in a major South London Hospital where she closely works with two consultants who specialise in treating patients experiencing hearing loss as well as having balance issues. Their patients are referred to Sinthia for short-term or open-ended therapy. She also works in private practice offering individual and couple therapy in London and Surrey and provides a confidential, non-judgmental, nurturing space for you to explore any issues.As an integrative therapist Sinthia will draw on different aspects of various therapeutic models when working with clients. During your time in therapy with Sinthia you can explore relationship issues either present or historic, boundary issues and belief systems that impact your life. She will also support you in developing new coping strategies. She is also available for crisis counselling and short notice appointments.
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Stuart Derbyshire
Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Bereavement & Loss
- Family & Relationships
- Sexuality
Stuart Derbyshire is an experienced integrative psychotherapist, who has worked in psychotherapy for nearly five years. Stuart has completed a diploma and masters in psychotherapy and is currently completing a diploma in supervision. Prior to this he worked in mental health and therapeutic services for ten years. Stuart continues to facilitate recovery focused group therapy in a psychiatric service.
Stuart aims to provide a relational, reflective space, where clients can explore difficulties, and begin to understand the patterns that affect their lives and relationships. He will build a trusting, accepting relationship focused on gaining insight into your unique issues and concerns. Stuart’s work has included anxiety and depression, issues of self esteem, coming to terms with childhood issues and abuse, psychsexual concerns, adoption issues, bereavement, relationships, spiritual isssues, and finding meaning and purpose in life.
He follows an integrative approach drawing on the transpersonal, humanistic, psychodynamic and CBT perspectives. Believing most of us encounter problems at some point in life that we struggle to deal with ourselves, or find it difficult to gain resolution to issues which prevent us from moving forward in a positive and happy way. Entering a theraputic relationship allows us to explore and gain perspective and move forward in a healthier way.
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Sushil Mitchell
Sushil Mitchell is an accredited (UKCP) and experienced psychotherapist with a Masters and Post Graduate Diploma in Integrative Transpersonal Psychotherapy and Counselling. As an integrative therapist, she is equipped with knowledge and experienced in practising various therapeutic approaches, including psychodynamic (early childhood, attachment and relationships), humanistic (self-awareness), existential (search for meaning and purpose) and transpersonal (higher self, spirituality, transcendence of ego). In her time as a therapist, Sushil has applied her knowledge to work with a broad range of issues including anxiety, depression, loss, trauma, anger, cultural issues, childhood issues, abuse, addiction, relationship and family issues, fertility issues, post-natal depression, life crisis, bereavement, work related issues, loneliness, chronic illness and sexual identity. Prioritising the client/therapist relationship, Sushil encourages clients to trust in the process of therapy. Offering a safe and non-judgemental environment, Sushil facilitates the exploration of conflicts enabling clients to break-free of destructive patterns of behaviour. Helping clients to become conscious of limiting beliefs and integrating the parts of self which have been denied can lead to healing, growth and a sense of wholeness. Focusing on honesty and truth, Sushil helps clients to achieve a deeper understanding of themselves leading to a better sense of self and clearer direction in life. Her intuitive and empathic qualities help clients to feel contained and understood. Insight achieved through the joint process builds self-awareness leading to a renewed sense of hope and transformation. With a background in acting, marketing & PR, Sushil can relate to issues within the creative and corporate professions such as realising self-worth and managing stress.Accredited: UKCP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma
- Family & Relationships
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Tarynne Quirk
Languages: English Works with: Individuals, Couples, Families Individuals: £65/hr Couples: £80/hr Families: £80/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Trauma
Dr Tarynne Quirk is a Counselling Psychologist who completed her Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DPsych) at City, University of London. Registered with the Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC), the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), her approach is integrative. This approach allows her to customise therapy, creating a bespoke treatment plan for each individual, with their own set of unique issues.
Tarynne aims to provide an empathic, non-judgemental, transparent and supportive space where clients feel safe enough to open up about their various issues, in a trusting environment, where clients feel they are truly being heard. While therapy helps clients to process and understand difficult or painful thoughts, and feelings, Tarynne also believes that through individual therapy one can spend the necessary time identifying and understanding maladaptive behavioural patterns and coping mechanisms.
Coming from South Africa, Tarynne understands diversity, multi-cultural environments and the range of difficulties living in a cosmopolitan hub can bring. She understands the internal and external pressures people can put on themselves, as well as the extraneous pressures and stressors people feel they are subjected to in this fast-paced city – all of which can lead to unhelpful or damaging coping strategies. Tarynne works with you to identify healthier ways of managing difficult emotions and stress. She is particularly interested in depression, anxiety disorders (phobias, panic attacks), anger, trauma, addictions, couples work and eating disorders.
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Terry Sergeant
Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Private Healthcare: AXA PPP, BUPA Specialisms - Anxiety
- Depression
- Sexuality
Terry Sergeant is a BACP Accredited Counsellor & Psychotherapist. He has been working with children, young people and adults since 2003. He specialises in LGBT issues and the treatment of common anxiety conditions, including panic, agoraphobia, social anxiety, OCD, phobias, and excessive worry. He is employed by the NHS as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, and has a private practice based at The Awareness Centre in Clapham.
By using a range of therapy methods that have been scientifically-validated, Terry focuses on helping people to overcome depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties, in order to bring about real change so that they can feel more in control of their lives.
Terry’s ethos is to work with clients in the way that he would expect to the treated in his own personal therapy. He believes that counselling can be a transformative experience in many peoples’ lives, and works collaboratively with clients to tailor therapy to fit their own specific goals. Terry has a Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling, as well as a Master’s Degree in Integrative Counselling. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies. Currently, he is completing a PsychD Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. -
Thain Kleinhentz
Thain Kleinhentz is an accredited British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy counsellor with over 15 years’ experience helping clients in private practice and working in leading NHS Trusts in London. He believes that it is important that a client gets the most out of their therapy and that clients feel safe and not judged when sharing and exploring their issues with him. Clients can often be unsure of what counselling is or how 'it works', and Thain makes sure that a client is supported throughout the counselling process and that they are heard, sometimes for the first time. Speaking to a stranger is difficult and often a daunting experience but Thain believes that picking the right person to share your anxiety or problems with can be an uplifting and rewarding experience and clients can get a better perspective of issues and themselves. Thain makes every effort to understand the underlying issues and assist a client to open up and explore their thoughts and feelings; sharing with someone who is invested in helping a client to resolve issues and psychological discomfort enables a client to feel stronger emotionally and empowers them to tackle their problems. He believes that trust and the relationship which develops between therapist and client empowers and supports the client to gain insights and make the necessary changes to live a happier and more fulfilled life. Thain wants clients to develop and gain confidence and believe in their strengths and firmly believes that the client knows best. He is not there to analyse a client, but works as an equal to the client and believes that together, solutions can be found to the client’s issues. Thain uses different psychotherapeutic approaches, concepts and techniques in an eclectic manner drawing from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychodynamic and Humanistic approaches in an Integrative manner to suit each client’s needs individually.Accredited: BACP Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Gender & Identity
- Isolation & Loneliness
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
- Sexuality
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Tony Chapman
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £65/hr Specialisms: - Addiction
- Anxiety
- Abuse
- Trauma
Tony Chapman understands that taking the first step toward change can be daunting. Fortunately, personal crisis may also provide an opportunity for increased self-awareness. Tony is compassionate, amiable and effective and will draw on his training to help you stand back and move toward acceptance and emotional resolution. You will explore patterns of behaviour, uncover underlying causes and gain insight by discovering new perspectives.
Tony works with a model that expands on traditional psychodynamic and emotion focussed therapy by using experiential dynamic strategies, fostering a deeper understanding of the complexity of your human experience. Together you may focus initially on exploring behaviours, feelings and emotions, and working to regulate any anxiety. Tony encourages tolerating feelings that may have historically been defended against, and endeavours to restructure and reconsolidate your perspective toward them. An element of awareness training may be integrated into the therapy if appropriate for the client, however, for the therapist the daily practice of mindful awareness is an integral part of the approach. The therapy uses moment-to-moment tracking, practical and experiential techniques were appropriate, in order to encourage profound emotional experience in addition to intellectual understanding. Being client centred, Tony’s approach evolves within its parameters to meet the specific needs of the individual, accentuating the best fit for them personally. Crucially his approach is based on evidence from current advances in neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology.
Tony has lived and worked in South London as a company director for more than 25 years and now lives in West Sussex. He looks forward to exploring how you can develop bespoke skills and build practical emotional strategies that provide future resilience and a renewed zest for life. Tony has a special interest in the links between abuse, trauma, addiction, rage and anxiety.
Tony is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the National Counselling Society and works in private practice at The Awareness Centre in Clapham and Tooting.
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Virginie Dainton
Languages: English, French Works with: Individuals Individuals: £50-£65/hr Specialisms: - Abuse
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Relationships
Virginie Dainton is a qualified counsellor and a member of BACP. She holds a Diploma in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapeutic Counselling and Certificates in Humanistic Counselling Skills and Studies, Mindfulness and Neuroscience. She is currently in her final year of an MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy. Virginie works in private practice at The Awareness Centre. She also has experience working short-term with NHS patients at a GP surgery in Lambeth.
Virginie’s approach to therapy is humanistic and in line with the TA philosophy that People are born OK and have an inner ability to grow towards health and self-realisation. Virginie believes in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. Her view is that present issues are often linked to repressed experiences from childhood or traumatic events that were not able to be understood, empathised with and resolved – leading to limiting beliefs about self, others and life. Within the caring, non-judgemental and empathic stance of the therapeutic relationship, clients can learn to better understand and accept themselves, and feel empowered to make new fulfilling choices about their life.
Virginie has experience working with anxiety, depression, abuse, identity issues, low self-esteem and relationship issues. She has a special interest in co-dependency. Her aim is to facilitate a safe, trusting and authentic therapeutic environment that can help clients explore freely their difficulties as well as challenge their limiting beliefs and unhelpful relationship patterns.
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Yvonne Gordon
Languages: English Works with: Individuals Individuals: £60/hr Specialisms: - Anxiety Disorder
- Bereavement & Loss
- Depression
- Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence
Yvonne Gordon is an integrative counsellor registered with the BACP who works in private practice at The Awareness Centre. She has a Diploma in Integrative Counselling incorporating Person-centred and Psychodynamic approaches. She also possesses a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Skills & Theory and a Diploma in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). She holds five certificates from her work with young people for school-based charity, Place2Be. Her interests include transpersonal therapy and second-generational issues. She has experience of working one-to-one with clients of all ages and backgrounds.
Yvonne emphasises the importance of the therapeutic relationship in her client work and is of the mind that clients have their own answers within them if they are listened to sincerely with empathy and without judgement by the counsellor in a safe therapeutic space in which they can work on their mental and emotional challenges. Yvonne wishes to give her clients this space, working alongside them as they discover more about themselves and what they need to do within the supportive and contained environment of the counselling room. Being listened to whole-heartedly can be a transformative process which can enable the client to get a renewed sense of their ability to make new choices and decisions as they begin to see their difficulties with a different perspective and gain the courage to develop their potential. Yvonne sometimes draws on the tools and techniques of CBT which can facilitate clients in becoming more aware of their habitual thought patterns and how these are reflected in reactions and actions. She occasionally uses Mindfulness practice to help the client become aware of their feelings in the here-and-now. Yvonne believes that it is important to relate her approach to each individual client, although she acknowledges that counselling for most clients is about getting in touch with their innate ability to look at difficult feelings on the journey towards a fuller life. She has worked with older clients who have been bereaved, some of whom had not previously had counselling which enabled them to begin to move on. She has also worked with students suffering from anxiety, depression and low self-esteem issues and with professionals with confidence issues in the workplace, as well as issues stemming back to childhood which can result in long-term depression if not addressed.
In her work in schools she worked therapeutically doing counselling with several young people individually, encouraging them to express their feelings and work towards healthier coping strategies.
As a former journalist Yvonne realised her interest in hearing people’s stories while working on local papers where she met people from all stratas of society and cultural/educational backgrounds. Accordingly she is aware of the struggles - whether in the workplace, home, relationships or elsewhere - experienced by many people. She also specialises in depression, worry and managing stress. She has a BA (Hons) in which she studied world religions and history of art and has a keen interest in theatre.
