Practicalities
Location
A practical consideration before starting therapy can be location, will there be a lot of travelling involved in order to attend sessions?
My consulting room is at 51 Avril Way, E4 9HS, in Highams Park.
Highams Park is on the Chingford to Liverpool Street train line. My consulting room is about a 10 minute walk from Highams Park station.
Buses to Highams Park include the 212, 275 and W16.
If travelling by car, there is usually parking available within the local area.
Neighbouring areas of Chingford, Walthamstow, Woodford, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton, Leyton, Epping and Waltham Abbey are all within fairly easy reach of Highams Park.
Although distance to travel is important, therapy is about relationship and finding a therapist you really feel you can work with can involve being prepared to travel. It is a big step of trust to contact someone with a view to talking openly about yourself. For this reason, a first appointment is an opportunity to get a sense of what working with me would be like.
Session rates
Another practicality can be affordability, how to afford personal therapy?
It is natural to feel anxious about spending money on yourself through personal therapy. Going for therapy can be seen as a luxury, especially at a time of austerity. However, making time for yourself can be a way of valuing yourself, of investing in your own growth and development and discovering and affirming who you really you are – yes, you really are worth it!
My fees for individual sessions in Highams Park are between £50-65
I have a small number of reduced rate spaces, as well.
You are welcome to contact me as part of a funded scheme. It is quite straightforward for me to find out the eligibility requirements for workplace schemes, healthcare policies or private insurance and I have found that my training usually meets the provider’s standards.
Time
Another practicality can be, how long will the therapy last?
We can work this out as we go along. You may want to keep the therapy brief in which case signs of improvement will become an indicator of your readiness to end.
There are times, though, when a more open-ended approach really supports personal growth and development. It can be useful for example to see the therapy as a way of making an investment in yourself, in your own personal development and growth.
Training and experience
Going to see someone is a step of trust and you may be wondering if there are ways to be confident about the reliability and integrity of the person you are going to see.
I trained as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist with AGIP, The Association for Group and Individual Psychotherapy (09.02- 12.07). This is an exceptionally demanding training which provides me with a very thorough foundation for working with people.
I also have a Diploma in Post-Traumatic Stress Counselling, Richmond Fellowship (3.00-7.00) which provides me with a solid framework for working with people who have unresolved trauma.
I also have an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy from Tower Hamlets College of Further Education (5.97-3.99) and what I particularly valued about this training was its breadth, that I learnt with such a cross-section of people of so many social backgrounds.
I am registered with the UKCP, Psychoanalytic section
I also hold BACP senior accreditation
I have worked with people who are socially marginalised since 1989, including people who are homeless, migrants under stress, and offenders. I have worked full-time as a therapist since 1998.
Connections
I am a Professional Member of AGIP: http://agip.org.uk/
The UKCP website is http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/
The BACP website is at http://www.bacp.co.uk/