Counselling and Psychotherapy in Southwark, London SE1
BACP & UKCP registered counsellor and psychotherapist
I am an experienced UKCP registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist and BACP registered psychodynamic counsellor in Southwark, London SE1, providing face to face long term, time limited and open ended therapy to adult individuals. I am qualified to provide counselling & psychotherapy for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists.
My consulting room is in Union Street, Southwark, SE1 very near Southwark Tube station and a short walk from, London Bridge, Waterloo & Blackfriars Tube stations and easy to reach from the boroughs of Lambeth, Westminster and Central London.
Counselling and psychotherapy in a safe, comfortable and private setting.
I work with people from all walks of life and backgrounds who come to me for help with a wide range of issues and I regularly help people with anxiety, depression, phobia, compulsive behaviour, relationship difficulties, eating disorders, panic attacks, grief, loss and bereavement, trauma, problems with self esteem and confidence, sexuality and identity.
However, there may not be a particular reason for wanting to see a counsellor or psychotherapist. You may have been feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of life or that life's disappointments have left you feeling lost, empty and unfulfilled. It may reach a point where you know that something needs to change but you are at a loss as to know how to make this happen. Talking to someone who is not a family member or friend can free you to be more honest about thoughts and feelings. It can help you to change your life through the process of coming to understand yourself and the choices you've made. Therapy can focus on unhelpful relationship patterns which may have persisted throughout your life. With more clarity, you can move forward more purposefully and make much better choices for yourself based on what has real meaning for you. In this way you can lead your life more fully.
As a fully qualified counsellor, I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and as a fully qualified psychoanalytic psychotherapist, I am a registered member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. I am also a member of the Guild of Psychotherapists My work is in accordance with their ethical frameworks.
I have spent a number of years working in areas of personal interest which include both issues around sexual orientation and gender identity, and eating disorders. I opted to attend a training run by Gendered Intelligence to help me work more competently with Trans, Gender Diverse and Questioning People. I spent four years working in private eating disorders clinic in Central London. Currently, I am keen to better educate myself around racial injustice, prejudice and marginalisation and have been attending seminars run by the race and culture committee at the Guild of Psychotherapists on "Decolonising Psychoanalysis."
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate"
Carl Gustav Jung
I work psychodynamically which means the therapeutic relationship between us is used to gain insight into unconscious (out of awareness) relationship patterns that have evolved since childhood. Memories and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns.
Qualifications
I completed a four-year training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Guild of Psychotherapists in London and am registered with the UKCP as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. I have six years post qualification experience and I offer more intensive therapy of up to four times weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling from the University of Brighton and am registered with the BACP as a counsellor. I have thirteen years post qualifying experience in counselling.
I have completed an introductory course at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust on psychotherapy with couples.
I have four years' experience working as an associate therapist in an eating disorders clinic in Central London, with people who faced difficulties with disordered eating including obesity, overeating, bulimia, binge eating, emotional eating and anorexia.
I have worked in the NHS as an honorary psychotherapist at Croydon Integrated Psychological Therapy Service (CIPTS) SLAM NHS for one year.
I have five years' experience at the Albany Trust in South London as a counsellor and psychotherapist, working with individuals who are experiencing difficulty with gender, identity and sexuality.
I have also worked at Age UK Camden as a lead BME counsellor, Hammersmith & Fulham Mind as a counsellor and at the Guild of Psychotherapists' low-cost therapy clinic as a psychotherapist.
I attend regular supervision, and am committed to continuing my professional development which includes attending trainings events, conferences and regular reading. I have been in private practice for eleven years offering counselling and psychotherapy and am based in Southwark, South London.
Other qualifications include MA in History and BA (hons) History from University College London (UCL).
Fees
An initial consultation costs £75. My fee scale ranges from £80 - £100. This will be based on the time of the session and your financial situation. I offer some reduced cost places during the day time. I am registered with AXA PPP Healthcare, Vitality Health, WPA and Aviva insurance companies.
About Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling and psychotherapy provide a safe, personal space to explore irrational or self defeating patterns at the root of ongoing unhappiness. They require a willingness to invest in the time needed for in depth understanding and a commitment to change through the process of the therapeutic relationship. If you are dealing with a recent issue which is causing you distress such as a relationship break up, bereavement or job loss, sessions would be once weekly at the same time each week, lasting for 50 minutes. However, many people have more deep rooted issues which may have stemmed from childhood and will benefit from a much deeper exploration, and in these cases, people may come for more than one session per week. This can allow for greater depth of understanding and insight into the issues being faced, allowing for more thought about how experiences and relationships from the past might be affecting current situations. Aspects of the self that may have previously been out of awareness can be revealed, bringing insight, a sense of relief and a much better understanding of how and why you function in the way that you do. You are then in a stronger position to make better choices for yourself.
What happens next...
Whether you wish to come for counselling or more intensive psychotherapy, we would initially meet for a 50 minute consultation. This will allow you the space to talk about what is troubling you, and to get a feel for the way I work and it will allow me to assess whether this modality of therapy will work for you. It is usual to have a further consultation before deciding if we can work together. If you decided you wanted to go ahead, we would discuss the frequency of sessions based on what would be beneficial for you. We then agree on a set time/s each week. You are under no obligation to remain in therapy for a set time period. All sessions are 50 minutes in length including the initial consultations.
If I do not feel I can offer you the help that you need I will try to signpost you to an alternative service/therapist.
Location
My counselling and psychotherapy practice in Southwark, London SE1 is a 3-minute walk from Southwark Tube Station, a 10 minute walk from London Bridge Station, a 7- minute walk from Blackfriars tube and mainline station and an 8-minute walk from Waterloo tube and mainline station. It can also be easily reached from Lambeth, Westminster and London Bridge. I give the exact address and directions when we have arranged an initial consultation. If you are looking for counselling or psychotherapy in Southwark, London SE1 then please get in touch.
Get in touch
Please feel free to get in touch either by phone 07861 678845 or by filling in the form here.
Privacy Policy
Data Protection and Confidentiality
If you decide to have regular therapy sessions with me then I record your name, address, phone number, GP details and any medication you are prescribed in the form I ask you to fill out at the beginning of the therapy. I store this and a signed copy of my framework for counselling and psychotherapy in hard copy in a secure environment inaccessible to anyone else. Your personal contact information is securely deleted after we finish our work together at the point where I judge I no longer need this information for any ongoing work with you.
Your basic contact information (name, number, email address) is stored electronically in such a way that it can be accessed, only in the event of my being incapacitated and unable to contact you myself, by a named responsible person (my Clinical Executor). This person would use this information to contact you to inform you of my incapacity and then dispose of it securely if I were unable to continue to work with you.
Your invoices will be generated electronically and stored as such.
I do not share any personal information about you with any person or organisation, unless I am required by law to do so, either via a sub poena/police instruction or because the law otherwise requires.
For reasons of security and confidentiality, I will not keep electronic records of our sessions linked to your personal data. Any notes I may write down are reflective and are to help me work usefully with you. My work is supervised in order to support me providing the best service I can to you. Your information is anonymised and any notes used for the purposes of supervision are never stored or linked to your name and personal information.
Email Policy
Whilst not unsecured, and whilst I take all reasonable steps to ensure email security, my gmail programme is not currently securely encrypted. This means that email communications between us may be vulnerable to viruses and human error. I cannot guarantee that information you send me by email is completely secure. It is therefore best to use email just for routine arrangements, such as appointment times. If you are concerned about the confidentiality of emails, please contact me by telephone or in person instead of using email.
Sessions by Video Conferencing
In some cases I offer sessions via video conferencing. I make efforts to use video conferencing software that is sufficiently encrypted, though none of these systems are completely secure. If we have sessions in this way, it will usually involve you downloading software to your device/s.
If you have an initial session with me but do not decide to have ongoing therapy sessions with me, then any emails or contact information, including the automated emails I received through my website from you, are deleted and no information about you is kept.
If you have any questions about the way I handle your personal information, please feel free to discuss this with me.