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I currently have availability Monday to Thursday early evening and during the daytime.

I'm guessing life is difficult at the moment, or maybe it's more that you want to understand yourself better, or perhaps you're not living as full a life as you would like to?

How can I help?

I'm Paula, a counsellor based in Crouch End, north London, offering face to face and online therapy to adults on an individual basis. My approach is warm, open, empathic, non-judgemental, and grounded in Gestalt training.

My aim is to help you to help yourself, believing as I do that you have the wisdom to know what's needed in relation to your situation, which will allow you to make choices that will support you more sustainably. Therefore I won't be giving advice, instead I will support you to find your own way forward, by helping you become more aware of how you operate in the world.

Gestalt is a therapy which encourages exploration of how we experience the world, and how experiences from the past as well as the present, have an impact on this. It focuses mainly on our process - what is happening in the here and now.  All facets of ourselves are equally important in this approach, including body, emotions and spirit, as well as mind, and so we will pay attention to what they are all saying in order to increase awareness. The relationship between therapist and client is crucial for many reasons as how you relate to me gives insight into your relationship with the rest of the world. Understanding who we are and where we are can help bring about acceptance and change.

Who am I?

I am in my early sixties, a wife and a mother, with a background in the arts. I enjoy drawing, writing and making, and have a particular interest in the creative process. I am also deeply interested in the potential for creative transformation implicit in both the therapeutic and artistic journeys. 

What can I help with?

• Grief and loss
• Issues relating to creativity
• Feeling anxious
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Relationship issues
• Feeling low, sad or depressed
• Feeling stuck
• Feeling disconnected
• Low self-esteem

What happens when you first contact me?

Once I hear from you we can arrange to have a short phone conversation (maximum 20 minutes, free of charge), which will be more of a finding-out opportunity rather than a counselling session. The next stage is to have an exploratory session, which will provide an opportunity for us to decide the kind of help that is needed and if I am the right person to offer it. This is a mutual assessment session, lasting no more than 50 minutes, charged at the current rate of £60. Not only is it important for me to have a sense of what you need from therapy but it is also important for you to feel you have found the right person to help you.