Welcome to the
therapylondon.net website!
You will find general information about counselling and
psychotherapy, and details about the way I work, which I hope will be helpful
to you if you are considering therapy.
What
counselling and psychotherapy will offer
At times in our
lives we experience distressing events and feelings that appear to have no end
or solution in sight. Sometimes we are clear that our feelings are caused by
particular circumstances, such as bereavement, stress at work or a relationship
breaking up, but at other times we have no idea what is making us feel as we
do.
The aim of
counselling and psychotherapy is to help people to clarify their thoughts and
feelings so that they can arrive at their own decisions.
Counselling
and psychotherapy will offer:
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Counselling takes place in
a private and confidential setting. The counsellor or therapist, who should be
fully qualified, works with the person, or client. The aim is to explore the
client’s difficulty – which might be a specific problem or a sense of losing
direction or purpose.
Clients are
encouraged to explore various aspects of their lives and the feelings around
them. The counsellor will listen to the client in a non-judgemental way,
encouraging the client to be freely open in a way that is rarely possible with
friends or family. Bottled up feelings such as anger, grief and anxiety can
become very intense and cause great pain. The pain can be reduced through the
opportunity to express it in a place where the aim is also to understand the
cause.
Counsellors
encourage the expression of feelings and, as a result of their training, will
be able to accept them without becoming burdened by them.
Therapy often
entails dipping below the surface and talking about things we feel
uncomfortable about, and tend to push aside in everyday life. Although
disturbing, it can be a great relief to air half-buried feelings. Some of these
ideas and feelings are buried because we feel they are too silly or crazy to
express in everyday life. However, they are acceptable in a counselling setting
and it is important to express them, if we are to gain a better understanding
of ourselves.
Counselling is intended to help people to explore different ways of
looking at their lives more effectively, and hence, the more you feel able to talk
about, the more you will find counselling helpful.

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How
many sessions would I need?
There is no
“average” time for therapy to last, as everyone is different. While sometimes a
single session can give sufficient help, often clients feel they need to meet
the counsellor for several sessions in order to begin to work at the problem.
As a guideline,
an “exploratory period” of six sessions can allow the client to explore how
they feel about counselling or therapy, and is sufficient for some problems.
More complex issues would need a longer period of time. Sometimes it isn’t
possible to know how many sessions you need until you try.
The first appointment
is an opportunity for both the client and the therapist to see if they feel
they could work together. If they decide that they would like to continue, they
can discuss suitable times for meetings. The therapy usually takes place on the
same day and at the same time, each week. Sometimes more than one session a
week can be helpful. Each session usually lasts for fifty minutes or one hour.

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It is very important
to find the right counsellor or therapist for you. It can help to make a
checklist of what you are looking for. First of all, it is very important to
find someone who is fully qualified. Letters after the name can be misleading,
and might only mean membership of an organisation that allows almost anyone to
join!
It is important
to ask what the qualifications mean. Ideally, the person you choose should be
accredited or registered with either the British Association for Counselling
and Psychotherapy, (BACP), or with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
(UKCP). You will find links to both of these organisations below.
The BACP website
is especially good, and provides information about counselling and
psychotherapy.
Beyond this, it
is essential to find someone that you feel you can trust. You might want to
telephone several different therapists and talk with each one before you decide
to make an appointment. See how you feel when you talk to them. Most therapists
use answer-phones, but if you leave a message, they should phone you back
within the next few hours, and you can then ask them about the way they work.
For example, you might want to ask how long they have been qualified, where and
for how long they trained, and what fees they charge.

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Fees for
counselling and therapy do vary. If you are on a low income, it is often
possible to find free or low cost therapy. Your doctor will be able to advise
you on this, and can sometimes arrange for you to see a counsellor on the NHS.
Alternatively,
there are several organisations that provide low cost counselling, and these
are listed in the yellow pages. There are often specific organisations that
will be able to help, for example, Cruse offers free support and counselling to
the bereaved. If you are having difficulty in finding low cost counselling,
telephone therapylondon on 0208 856 6666, as it might be possible to suggest a
local organisation who will be of help.
Counsellors and
psychotherapists who work privately charge in the region of £35 - £50 for each
session of individual therapy. Some therapists will see you for a lower fee if
you are on a low income, if they have spaces available. If you are genuinely on
a low income, and can attend during the day, when there are more times
available, many therapists will agree to see you for a lower fee, whenever they
can.
Unfortunately,
the public perception of private therapists is that they charge very high fees,
but bear in mind that that a fully qualified therapist will have trained for
several years, having to pay fees throughout for training and personal therapy.
When working professionally, a therapist has to pay for professional
supervision, membership fees and indemnity insurance. A good therapist will
constantly be aware of the need to update skills with continuing professional
development and further training. This should ensure that the therapist works
safely and ethically.

It is difficult to define this, but
psychotherapy often works at a deeper level than counselling. A counsellor will
usually train for an average of three years, while a psychotherapist usually
trains for at least five years. A counsellor usually has to have at least 40
hours of personal therapy as part of training, while a psychotherapist has to
have several years of personal therapy, sometimes more than once a week. This
means that the psychotherapist has worked intensively to understand their own
problems, which in turn, helps them to have a greater understanding of others.
Counselling can
be very helpful for a range of problems, but is often of shorter duration than
psychotherapy. The more extensive training enables the psychotherapist to offer
a deep level of understanding to their clients, usually over a longer period of
time
At times in our lives we experience
distressing events and feelings that appear to have no end or solution in
sight. Sometimes we are clear that our feelings are caused by particular
circumstances, such as bereavement, stress at work or a relationship breaking
up, but at other times we have no idea what is making us feel as we do.
The aim of counselling and psychotherapy is
to help people to clarify their thoughts and feelings so that they can arrive
at their own decisions.

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therapylondon
Counsellor and Psychotherapist Anna
Alward

I am a UKCP registered psychotherapist and
an individual member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. My training includes an MA degree and
post-graduate diploma from Goldsmiths College, University of London. I have
also obtained an advanced diploma in psychotherapy from Regent’s College and a
certificate in psychotherapy supervision from The Society of Analytical
Psychology.
Over the last ten
years I have gathered wide experience that includes working as a
psychotherapist for the NHS. I am also an accredited counsellor with Cruse
Bereavement Care, for which I have worked as a volunteer with adults and
children. I have also worked with a range of other counselling organisations,
for example, with adult survivors of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
I am qualified to
work with you on any issue, including anxiety and depression, panic attacks,
stress management and relationship problems.
I enjoy working
trans-culturally. I am also interested in analytical psychology and have
facilitated workshops in Dreams and Creative Writing.
How I work:
I use a
combination of cognitive, humanistic and psychodynamic theories. My approach is
tailored to the needs of each individual. I also sometimes work using creative
therapies such as Art and Music
This can be for
short term or long term work.
If you are
interested in counselling or psychotherapy, the first step would be to arrange
a time for an appointment. There is a charge for this first appointment, but
there is no obligation to attend any further appointments unless you decide
that you want to do this.
Daytime and
evening appointments can be arranged, whenever there is availability.
I have worked as
a stress management consultant and life coach for over ten years.
Based on
cognitive-behavioural techniques, life coaching can help you to tackle
self-defeating thinking and replace it with a problem-solving outlook. It can
be especially useful at times of transition in life, or when you are feeling
disillusioned and stressed out at work. Life Coaching can make the difference between
a potential “burn out” and an opportunity to review your goals in life and
boost your career prospects.
Hypnosis is
probably the kindest and most gentle form of personal therapy available. While
in hypnosis, you will be able to hear every word that is said to you, and
everything that is going on around you. Hypnosis cannot make you do anything
you don’t want to do, but can be very successfully used for a variety of
different problems.
Hypnotherapy is
particularly useful for relaxation and stress management and for boosting
confidence. Many people also find it helpful for a range of problems including
sleeplessness, giving up smoking and improving self esteem.
Although one
session of hypnotherapy can be of benefit, it works best when regularly
practised. I have produced some hypnotherapy CDs that are available for you to
purchase.
If you would like
to learn self-hypnosis, which is a creative way of helping yourself, this can
be achieved in just three sessions.
It is not always
possible to attend face-to-face sessions, for example, if you are physically
disabled, or if you live outside of the UK. If this is the case, it is possible to
arrange for Life Coaching and counselling sessions using Skype online
VOIP. Although working online is of
course very different to working face to face, I have found that it can be
helpful.
I offer group or
individual supervision to counsellors and psychotherapists, either in individual
sessions, or as part of a group. I aim to work creatively, using my experience
as an integrative psychotherapist, and my training at the Society of Analytical
Psychology, to inform my work.
It can sometimes
be difficult to decide what kind of therapy would be most useful. If you are
interested in having therapy but are unsure about how to proceed, please
telephone for further information.
People come into
therapy for so many different reasons, and everyone is different! So it can be
helpful to do some research before deciding what would be right for you.
I am based in
South East London, at Shooters Hill, SE18.
Telephone 0208
856 6666
Or email: anna.alward’at’lineone.net
Shooters Hill is
in the London Borough of Greenwich, a short distance away from Plumstead,
Charlton, Lewisham, Eltham, Woolwich and Blackheath. It is also close to
Welling and other towns in South East Kent.
Bus stops for the
89, 244, 122, 161 and 486 routes are nearby.
The nearest
railway stations are Welling, Eltham, Charlton and Blackheath.
From North
Greenwich Tube station, the 486 bus takes approximately 30 minutes.
If travelling by
car, there are convenient parking arrangements.

The room has been
designed to be a confidential setting, and is warm and comfortable.
When
you contact me to arrange an appointment, I will provide full details of the
address and travel arrangements, and will send you a map.
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BACP www.bacp.co.uk 0870 443 5252
British
Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
UKCP www.psychotherapy.org.uk 0207 014 9955
United
Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
MIND www.mind.org.uk 0208 519 2122
RELATE www.relate.org.uk 01788 573241
HELPLINES
Saneline 0845 7678000
Samaritans 08457 909090
Womens
Aid Helpline 08457 023468
Childline 0800 1111
Parentline 0808 800 2222
OTHER
USEFUL ORGANISATIONS
Young
Minds 0800 0182138
Teenage
Information Network 0207 403 2444
Gingerbread
(support
for lone parents) www.gingerbread.org.uk
NAFSIYAT
(Intercultural
therapy Centre) 0207
686 8666
Cruse
Bereavement Care 0870 167 1677
SAMM
(support
after murder and manslaughter) 0207
735 3838
Depression
Alliance 0845 123 2320
NAPS
(Support
for Pre Menstrual Syndrome) www.pms.org.uk
SADA
(Support
for Seasonal Affective Depression) www.sada.org.uk
Alcoholics
Anonymous 08000 380480
Narcotics
Anonymous www.ukna.org.uk
RADAR
(Association
for Disability & Rehabilitation) www.radar.org.uk
Cancer
Support www.cancerbacup.org.uk
BASRT (for sexual and relationship therapy) 0208 543 2727
Pink
Therapy www.pinktherapy.com
(private organisation
for sexual minority clients)
Terrence
Higgins Trust www.tht.org.uk
NHS
Direct 0845 4647
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2006-2007 www.therapylondon.net