| Certified By: | UKCP |
| From: | Room 617, Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street London, United Kingdom (UK) |
| Type of session: | Via Skype, Secure Video Call, Secure Text Chat, Via Phone |
| Also speaks: | English |
| Specialty: | Addiction, Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Development disorders, Grief, Identity, Obsessive compulsive disorders, Relationships, Self - Esteem, Stress |
| Target Age Group: | Adult |
| Therapist Since: | 26/02/2009 |
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
During my professional training, over a 6 year period, I obtained a Post Graduate Diploma and Masters Degree at The Gestalt Centre London, accredited by the London Metropolitan University. I am now an accredited psychotherapist by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and adhere to their code of ethics. I also have a Diploma in Supervision, completed in 2015.
Since training, I have worked within the NHS as a counsellor in GP surgeries and in a psychiatric hospital. I have worked as a psychotherapist at the Priory Hospital with individual clients and running therapy and psycho-educational groups for adults and adolescents on issues such as self-esteem, assertiveness and depression.
believe psychotherapy is essentially a creative process between therapist and client as I help you to find a new perspective on your life. Prior to my professional training, I worked as a designer and creative director within the advertising industry and have found this creative and artistic background an important resource as a psychotherapist.
My experience of working under the pressures of the commercial and corporate sectors in a number of different roles and of having traveled widely, have proved invaluable in my work with individuals and groups. This depth of life experience and cultural understanding is an important aspect of psychotherapy which demands an open and tolerant attitude towards a diversity of cultures, views and beliefs.
My interest in understanding how people think and behave has led to a number of written contributions to publications such as Psychologies magazine and the website, Big White Wall. I have also contributed to a number of articles featured in national newspapers which can be seen on the ‘Media/other projects’ page of this site. In January 2016 my work was featured in a TV programme about Facebook addiction called ‘On Friendship’.
HOW I WORK
I incorporate different techniques and theories tailored to suit the unique situation of each client or couple. These approaches include gestalt therapy, with its focus on the present; CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy) to identify and challenge distorted thoughts and perspectives and psychodynamic therapy which examines the past and how it has shaped us. Mindfulness, visualisations, role plays and creative experiments are offered to enliven the process with experiential learning providing tools to use outside the sessions. This integrative approach enables the flexibility to work with many different issues and concerns.
I have run my psychotherapy practice in central London for 12 years. Alongside this practice I am supervisor at an NHS service. I also a run a weekly men’s group.
I have worked as a counsellor at a GP practice and a group and individual therapist at the Priory North London.
Whether you are seeking brief, solution-focused or longer term therapy, I offer a flexible approach drawing from different models, tailored specifically to your needs and based on what we agree together will be most effective for you.
The first meeting
During our initial consultation we will discuss what has prompted you to contact me; the issue as you see it and any past or current background information you are willing to share at this point. I will talk through my ideas for a treatment plan with you, which, if you continue, will be shaped by us both over coming sessions. You will have a chance to ask me any questions about how I work or voice any concerns so that you can decide whether I am someone with whom you feel comfortable to share personal thoughts and feelings.
A flexible model
The next few sessions may include an exploration of your early life to help understand problematic or limiting ways of thinking and behaving with the ultimate goal of achieving greater self acceptance. This is likely to be part of a longer term therapy which for some will remain open-ended until it feels as if some resolution has been reached. For those seeking short-term therapy, lasting for around 6-12 sessions, a more solution-focused, structured approach will be appropriate, incorporating specific tasks and homework between sessions.
During our first few sessions we will discuss whether brief or longer term therapy will be more appropriate for you and spend some time clarifying exactly what it is you hope to achieve from therapy. Whatever we decide, my approach will draw from a variety of models supporting growth and change, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), systemic and constellations approaches, existential and psychodynamic psychotherapy in addition to gestalt, my core approach.
Gestalt therapy
I am trained in an approach called gestalt therapy which places an emphasis on working in the ‘here and now’. This means that although the events that are being focused on may have happened in the past, they are impacting your life in the present. I see my role as getting to know you and supporting you towards a greater understanding of yourself in a confidential and safe environment. As a gestalt therapist I take a holistic perspective, helping you to see more clearly the fixed patterns and beliefs that prevent you from leading a satisfying and creative life in mind, body and spirit. Gestalt therapy also places an emphasis on the presence of the therapist not as simply a listener who reflects back to the client what they are understanding about him/her, but as someone actively engaged in a dialogue, sharing thoughts and feelings in response to what is happening in the sessions both verbally and non-verbally, to support growth and change in the client.
