East Finchley Consulting

I am a man in my sixties with a range of life experience, some of which led me to my own therapeutic experience and then to train as a Psychotherapist. I have been seeing people as a therapist for twenty years as of 2019 and I have worked privately throughout, intially as a 1-2-1 therapist but subsequently also as a group therapist. In my early years I engaged with people who had enduring mental health issues as a counselling coordinator of a NHS/social services run secondary care service. At the time I was also involved in private practice and since leaving the NHS/Social services this is what I do. In my practice I have been engaging with many people from all walks of life with a range of concerns and challenges in life. Additionally, since 2007 I was a tutor at the Minster Centre, one of the pre-eminent, and historically earliest, trainings for Integrative counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. There I have filled the roles of Head of Year for both students entering the training and those who are in their final year of thier MA/ advanced diploma. I retired from active tutoring in September 2018 but I continue as a clinical Supervisor to finalists trainees in thier work with a range of clients. I also provide clinical Supervision to qualified therapists in private practice.

I feel that my whole life is relevant to what I bring to the engagement with my clients and perhaps because of this I feel that although knowledge of the therapy process gained both from having been a client myself as well as the training and experience I have had over time is important; in the end the quality of the relationship between us is perhaps the most important aspect and predictor of whether this experience will be of help to you. Interestingly this is also supported by research into what benefits clients the most and in many respects it is not the theory being "applied" or the nature of the presenting issue that is a predictor or therapeutic success (although these are of course potentially important factors) but the tenor and quality of "our" relationship over the time that we have. A trusting and engaged relationship provides the opportunity to explore those aspects of your life which have brought you to therapy. You will be providing yourself, through our engagement, the environment to create an understanding of yourself which is hard to achieve in other circumstances. Through therapy there is the possibility of arriving at a greater understanding of why we are the way we are also why we find ourselves in situations that can distress us and how we may change this.

The therapeutic engagement is in part listening, understanding, reflecting, challenging, and working together to unravel thoughts and feelings that can often feel stuck or in a muddle. It can also be a place for looking at immediate issues in a new light

I engage in 1-2-1 psychotherapy and counselling, long term, open ended and Short Term. I also facilitate Therapy Groups.

If you would like to have an initial discussion on the phone to explore whether I would be a suitable therapist for you and also to find out more please do contact me.