Where I practice

I am a professionally trained and experienced counsellor. I offer individual counselling in comfortable rooms conveniently located 10 minutes walk from Balham Underground and Mainline Station. I also have a practice in the City.

Contact me

To make an appointment for an initial consultation or to discuss any questions or concerns you may have you can contact me by phone or email leaving your name, telephone number and a suitable time for me to call you back . All enquiries will be treated with the strictest confidence and only I collect messages.

Tel: 07868 018123
Email: deborah@centrallondon-counselling.co.uk

Location

Hydethorpe Road
Balham
London SW12

Hydethorpe Road is a 10 minute walk from Balham tube (Northern line) and Balham and Streatham Hill main line stations into Victoria or London Bridge.
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Are you looking for a counsellor or psychotherapist in SW London?

If you have found your way to my site you probably want to talk with someone about what is troubling you. Taking that first step is not easy - it can be hard to know who to trust. I am a fully qualified and experienced therapist based in Balham, SW London.

You may already have talked to family and friends and be asking yourself what difference talking to a counsellor like me would make. What I can say is that I have been carefully trained to work alongside you in a confidential and safe space so that together we can explore and understand your difficulties.

Some reasons people seek counselling:

  • depression and low self-esteem – maybe you feel lost, empty, depressed, or have self-harmed or had suicidal thoughts. Perhaps you've got baby blues
  • loss - you may have experienced bereavement, divorce or redundancy
  • relationship difficulties – maybe you keep repeating the same relationship, have difficulties finding and sustaining relationships, or find yourself in conflict with others
  • stress- perhaps you’re suffering from anxiety and feeling panicky
  • you may be having difficulties at work
  • trauma – perhaps you've suffered a shocking experience, been abused
  • identity issues - you may want to have a clearer sense of who you are or to talk about your sexuality. You may have been in care sometime during your life

Will it work?

While there can be no guarantee that therapy will help, the latest research, The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Therapy (pdf) by J Shedler, shows that it probably will. The research found that psychodynamic therapy is effective not only in relieving symptoms of, eg depression and anxiety, during treatment but that people continue to improve once therapy has ended.

What next?

Once you make contact we will arrange one or two initial meetings to explore your needs and expectations and whether therapy might be useful to you. If we decide to work together I will offer you a regular 50 minute appointment at the same time on the same day each week. If, however, you or I feel I am not the right therapist for you I will refer you to someone who might be. The relationship with your therapist is the most important aspect of any therapy. My fee for ongoing sessions is between £70 and £80 to be discussed and agreed when we meet. I have a limited number of places for people on reduced incomes.

My qualifications and experience

I trained at WPF Therapy, a leading counselling and psychotherapy training organisation in the UK, which is accredited by both BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) and United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. I hold a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Studies and am a member of BACP and The Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling (FPC). I am bound by the ethics of the BACP and the FPC and committed to ongoing professional development including regular clinical supervision. I have full-cover professional indemnity insurance.

I addition to working in private practice I teach counselling and therapy at WPF Therapy and work in the voluntary sector running workshops on therapeutic parenting for parents and carers of fostered and adopted children.