Hello. I’m Annie, a psychologist, existentially-minded cognitive behavioural psychotherapist and supervisor. I have over 30 years of experience in the field of adult mental health and have worked in NHS, charity sector and criminal justice settings. My primary trainings are in cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, and attachment-based therapies, but I have also completed CPD trainings in compassion-focused, psychoanalytic, Gestalt, transactional analysis, existential and person-centred counselling approaches, as well as training in working with long-term health conditions. 

I have worked in primary, secondary and specialist mental health settings, so I have experience of dealing with conditions of all varieties of severity and complexity. All that said, I think the most important element in psychotherapy is the relationship between client and therapist. To that end, I work to provide a warm and safe supportive space in which you can explore the issues of concern to you, understand them better and work out how to move forward when you are ready to do so. I am passionate about helping people discover their own sense of purpose, working out how to live an authentic, full, meaningful life, as well as tackling the factors which are contributing to the persistence of overwhelming distress.

In addition to addressing any debilitating symptoms you may be experiencing, I aim to facilitate curiosity in our ways of being in the world and the barriers we may experience, including the ones we create within ourselves as well as the challenges we may face entirely not of our own making. These may include others’ behaviour towards us and features of the society and era in which we find ourselves. I believe it is important to recognise that our challenges do not happen in isolation but, rather, exist in a wider context and how we choose to engage with and respond to that context can be the key to moving forward.

I work with adults (18+) on an individual basis. You may be dissatisfied with your life in some way and be seeking to address stuckness or regain your appetite for life, inspiration, creativity or sense of purpose. You may be suffering from stress, anxiety, shame, low self-esteem, intrusive thoughts or rumination, sadness, isolation, depression or feeling haunted by problems from your past experiences. Or you may be experiencing all these challenges to some extent. 

Our work together may involve some or all of the following elements, depending on where you’re ‘at’ and what you are looking for: 

Exploration of your personal history, past issues and their relationship with your present life.

Clarification of values (what matters to you in life) and goals.

Analysis of existing mood difficulties and what is maintaining them.

Developing strategies to reduce debilitating distress and overcome barriers to change.

Identify life changes and develop a plan for future wellbeing. 

My approach involves us working together, rather than you being a passive recipient of my thoughts, reflections, knowledge and observations. While I have knowledge of a wide range of mental health disorders and am trained in evidence-based treatments for these, I do not have a strong affinity with medical models of most disorders, with a few exceptions (for example, those stemming from hormonal and chemical imbalances, or those linked to neurological damage). 

My approach is that therapy is a collaboration and a relationship between two individuals with one (the therapist) working with the other in the service of the other’s objectives that they bring to the therapy for help with, rather than something done to the client. Accordingly, at the start of our work together I will spend time gaining an understanding of what has brought you to therapy and how you would like things to be different. I will share my thoughts on what approaches I may be able to offer you and seek your views on which may be a good match for how you would like us to work together. If I do not think I am a suitable match for you I will tell you so and offer alternative suggestions. 

I offer weekly in-person slots at the Brixton Practice on Wednesdays from 7am to 2pm and on Fridays from 8am to 1pm. I have other weekly online slots available throughout the week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Please contact me for my current availability.