In this section you will find other OTS members who work locally, as indicated in the 'location' section of their entry.
Cath Arakelian
Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
Offering: Individual face to face weekly therapy
Availability: Tue/Wed 1pm - 9pm
Fees: £65, 50-min sessions
Frequency: Weekly
Location: Summertown, Oxford
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I offer once-weekly in-person psychodynamic psychotherapy either open-ended or time-limited ( 12 weeks). I also offer one-off consultations. To get started I propose you attend for up to three sessions to see if I am the right therapist for you.
Psychodynamic therapy has proven effective in managing pervasive conditions such as depression or anxiety. It can be invaluable for people feeling stuck who want to understand themselves better and bring about lasting changes in their life, work and relationships.
Having worked previously in the field of dementia, I have a special interest in treating people facing the challenges of later life. I also have some experience in treating people with symptoms linked to disordered eating, trauma, addiction, and gender and sexuality issues.
Background:
My interest in therapy started 20 years ago in 2002 when I was mentoring refugee doctors re-qualifying to practice in the UK. At that time I was given training in a goal-oriented model, Egan's Skilled Helper, which is a focused approach suited to life coaching. In 2007 I trained with the Alzheimer's Society and worked for 8 years with caregivers and people living with dementia using a person-centred approach to support older couples in living well with life-changing illness. I became very interested in the psychological dynamic between couples and obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Couples Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from Tavistock Relationships. This was not a clinical training.
I started my own in-depth therapy at this time and became passionate about how our past developmental life shapes our present relationships, how the unconscious works and many other aspects of psychoanalytical thinking. I saw for myself what transformations can be achieved through talking therapy to let go of self-sabotaging habits and limiting beliefs. The psychodynamic approach, based on psychoanalytical principles, felt powerful and transformative. In 2015 I began the long road to becoming a qualified psychodynamic psychotherapist. I completed this training at the British Psychotherapy Foundation in 2023 and am registered with the British Psychoanalytical Council.
Training & Qualifications:
Tavistock Relationships PG Cert Individual and Couples Psychodynamic Psychotherapy ( non-clinical ) 2018
BPF Clinical Qualification in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (2023)
Registered Bodies & Organisational Positions:
British Psychoanalytical Council Reg:26716
British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF) - Full Member
Foundation for Psychology and Counselling ( FPC) - Full Member
The Squiggle Foundation - Full Member
Silvia Siret
Life Coach & Family Constellations Facilitator
Offering: 1-1 & group self-development, in German or English
Availability: Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm
Fees: £50 - £75 per session, up to 90 minutes
Frequency: Weekly/Fortnightly
Location: Kennington / online
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I specialise in supporting your journey towards growth and healing. My approach is trauma informed, and I bring rich experience in working with family and relational issues using the powerful Family Constellations method. Family Constellations is about exploring the complex patterns and influences within family and relationship dynamics. By understanding these systemic factors, we can unlock profound healing and transformation. Additionally, I have experience in addressing psycho-somatic health issues, acknowledging the interconnectedness of the mind and body. In my practice, I create a safe and non-judgmental space for you to explore challenges, discover strengths, and make meaningful changes. Whether you're seeking life coaching, Family Constellations, trauma-informed support, or resolution for relationship and family issues, I'm here to accompany you on this transformative journey. I'm excited to connect with you and support your path towards growth, healing, and empowerment. Together, we can create a brighter and more fulfilling future.
Background:
I was born in Germany in 1966 and emigrated to the UK in 2005. In my third marriage (since 2008) I have found contentment and happiness, not only for myself, but also for my two children. Together with my lovely husband and his three children, we have created a harmonious patchwork family.
In 1996 I started my healing journey, as I had four painful separations behind me, my parental rights for my first child taken away, and in fact many broken relationships; first and foremost the one with myself. I know what rock bottom feels like.
Slowly but surely I rebuilt my life, understood more and more about the roots of my issues, found my place in the world, and grew my self confidence.
In 2006 I started teaching mindfulness/meditation and offered my first Family Constellations workshop in Oxfordshire, while working in daytime admin jobs. These workshops have been going well ever since, and I feel proud to have become a very skilled facilitator of this powerful work.
Since 2007 I have been deepening my counselling and family constellations skills, and in 2015 I took the plunge and became a full-time, self-employed Life Coach. Since 2020 I have been furthering my practice by seeing clients one-to-one on a regular basis, which I am finding hugely fulfilling.
With trauma awareness and presence, as well as a holistic stance towards wellbeing, I offer guidance and companionship to those who feel ready for creating positive change.
Training & Qualifications:
Training
Group Facilitation, Life Coaching, Self-Development; Mindfulness, with Klaus Frey, Baden-Baden, Germany;
Family Constellations facilitation with internationally acclaimed teachers;
Shadow Work, with Nir Esterman (Israel);
Bio-energetic Bodywork with Joern Moerck (Denmark);
Ongoing further education at OTS-Oxford Therapy Centre and with internationally acclaimed Family Constellations teachers.
Qualifications:
Counselling Level 3, at Oxford College;
Registered Bodies & Organisational Positions:
OTS Member;
ISCA Member (International Systemic Constellations Association);
Founder and Director OxISC (Oxfordshire Initiative for Systems Constellations - Community Organisation)
Donna Brunstrom
Counsellor
Offering: One-to-one therapy
Availability: Monday - Friday
Fees: £65 - 75, 50-min sessions
Frequency: Weekly/Fortnightly
Location: Milton, South Oxford
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I offer a safe, supportive and confidential environment in which you can explore personal and professional issues face-to-face, on either a short or long-term basis. I have experience working with a wide range of clients in terms of age, culture and personal or professional background. I have worked with people experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, loss, eating disorders, parenting, identity and emotional difficulties. I believe that we are all unique and my approach reflects this. I use an “integrative” approach, which means that I draw upon a variety of resources and methods so that I can tailor the therapy to each person and their circumstances. Perhaps even more important is how well we relate to each other as individuals - and I will happily refer you to a different counsellor if that seems better for you. I understand that it takes a lot of courage to share personal matters and difficulties with a complete stranger, so I will always go at your pace as we explore what’s going on in your life, in a way that is safe, confidential and without judgement.
Background:
My interests have always centred on human behaviour and helping others. Prior to becoming a therapist, my first degree led me to various corporate roles in London and Sydney: but my outlook changed when I had children and I worked for a while in adult education before retraining as a teacher. I have taught in both primary and secondary schools and have been in the UK for many years, although I still call Australia home.
Training & Qualifications:
I am a fully qualified counsellor. I trained at the Banbury Academy Centre where I gained a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. I am a member of the Oxford Therapy Centre (OTS), a co-operative of counsellors and therapists from a wide range of therapeutic orientations, where I also I participate in further professional development. In addition, I have completed a one year course at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (OMC), as a teacher of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The OMC, in partnership with the University of Oxford, are at the forefront of Mindfulness research and training. Besides being a member of the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists), I have a degree in Commerce, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and an enhanced DBS certificate in order to work with children.
Registered Bodies:
BACP Member
OTS member
Lynne Humphreys
Therapeutic Counsellor
Offering: Individual adults (18+) therapy
Availability: Tuesday to Friday, days & eve
Fees: £55 (50-minute sessions)
Frequency: Weekly
Location: Eynsham and on line
Also at: OTS-Witney Therapy Centre
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
From my experience of having counselling at different stages of my life - being ‘the client’ - I discovered that therapy can be a profound and deeply transformative process. It brought meaning, self-wisdom and vitality into my life. I believe that the relationship between client and therapist is one of the most powerful and effective ways to experience emotional healing, psychological wellbeing and personal growth. This is one of the reasons that I trained as a counsellor.
You and the challenges you’re facing are unique. I offer you a place of safety and empathy to unpack it all. As an integrative therapist, I work alongside you to create a bespoke personal therapy which addresses your needs and hopes. I draw on different ways to explore emotions and self-awareness helping you to uncover how you relate to yourself, how you relate to your past and how you form relationships and relate to those around you.
This may involve: Timelines, Attachment theory, Younger Self dialogue, Body Awareness and Breathwork, Creative Experiment, Visualization, Dreamwork and Storytelling.
Background:
After an undergraduate degree in Psychology and English, I developed a career in book publishing - commissioning authors and managing international educational publishing programmes. I’ve lived and worked in various countries either in education or the publishing sector. The creativity of story and illustration from my publishing work influences my therapy practice – offering clients creative ways to explore emotions and understand themselves more fully.
Training & Qualifications:
Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (CPCAB, Banbury)
Diploma Intercultural and Theological Studies (OU)
BA Hons Psychology & English (Oxford Brookes)
Registered Bodies & Organisational Positions:
Member BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy)
Member of British Psychological Society GMBPsS
Member of OTS
Sacha Barlow
Integrative Psychotherapist
Offering: Counselling for individuals and couples
Availability: Mon-Fri, 9.30am - 3.00pm
Fees: £65 (Couples £80) (Low fee £55)
Frequency: Weekly
Location: Summertown / Cutteslowe Park, North Oxford
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I truly believe that when two people sit down to a good conversation something just changes. The single most important factor in your therapy is that you find someone you get along with who understands your concerns. I have completed a number of therapy trainings from different approaches, and focus on the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship offering non judgement support and constructive steps towards your goals where appropriate.
I work with people who arrive because of anxiety, depression, fertility issues, loss, relationship issues, post natal depression, abuse, loss of direction in life, as well as those living in difficult circumstances or recovering from illness. I also help people dealing with a specific fear such as that of public speaking or fear of success. I will work to help you find the best path to a rewarding life without having to engage in long term therapy if that is not your goal.
Please Note: My well trained and medium sized dog sits in sessions usually sleeping.
Background:
My initial career was as a classical musician and later as a specialist teacher. In my early twenties I experienced the enormous positive impact therapy can offer and thus I began my own therapy training. I also have an interest in nutrition and holistic health.
I have worked in a large number of settings in the NHS in addition to private practice. I am currently an associate counsellor for various Employee Assistance Providers and accept Aviva Health insurance. I was fully qualified with an MA in counselling and psychotherapy in 2000.
Training:
Regent’s College MA in Psychotherapy and Counselling
CCPE Diploma in integrative Supervision of counsellors
London Marriage Guidance couples training
Place2Be post qualification Diploma working with children
Registered Bodies:
UKCP Reg'd
BACP Accred.
Adult and child DBS.
Fleur Western
Integrative Psychotherapist
Offering: Weekly one-to-one therapy, couples therapy
Availability: Various times through the week
Fees: £75 per hour session
Frequency: Weekly
Location: North Oxford
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
As an Integrative Psychotherapist, I am familiar with a range of therapy styles and approaches and therefore we can work out a style of therapy that is right for you. How we work together is very much about you as an individual and what you need from me as your therapist.
Integrative Psychotherapy is less of a technique and more of a philosophy or approach. The English Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Integrative’ as meaning: “Combining two or more things to form an effective unit or system.” Integrative Psychotherapists therefore, have a holistic view of a person, seeing you as comprised of many ‘parts’ that form your ‘system’. So my interest as a therapist is in all the different aspects of your ‘self’: your feelings, thoughts, physical body and that indefinable part of self we refer to as ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’. I am also interested in how all those different aspects of your ‘self’ interact with the other people in your life, both past and present. Integrative Psychotherapy could therefore, be described as an exploration - a journey around your ‘self’.
Background:
Prior to training as a therapist, I worked as a Management Development Specialist, supporting managers and leaders in both the public and private sectors in order to improve their leadership and communication skills and get the best out of their teams.
Training & Qualifications:
I am a qualified Integrative Psychotherapist, having trained at the Minster Centre in London and have been working with clients for several years.
Registered Bodies:
I work for Care First, an Employee Assistance Provider as an Associate Counsellor. I am an approved Psychotherapist for Oxford University and receive student referrals from their doctoral course in Clinical Psychology. I am co-chair of Oxford Psychotherapy Society.
BACP – accredited member
UKCP registered
OTS Member
Erika Vincze
Psychosynthesis (Integrative) Counsellor
Offering: Weekly one-to-one therapy
Availability: Monday-Friday inc.
Fees: £70 per hour session
Frequency: Weekly
Location: Botley, Oxford
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
My approach is integrative. I work in a transpersonal context with each individual as a completely unique person with unique life-path and challenges. I believe all of us experience difficult patches and challenges in our lives that might require the guidance and support of a counsellor.
Background:
Beside my work in private practice I also work with survivors of sexual abuse at the Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre.
Training & Qualifications:
Diploma in Psychosynthesis Counselling
I have attended a course on the Application of Mindfulness in Clinical Practice which I also use in my work.
Registered Bodies:
OTS Member
BACP Member
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Sarah Payler
Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
Offering: One-to-one therapy
Availability: Tuesday & Wednesday, pm and eve
Fees: £50
Frequency: Once/twice weekly
Location:Charlbury (various times in the week)
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
As a psychotherapist and counsellor I am able to offer you a confidential, calm and reflective setting where we can start to make sense of the feelings and thoughts that trouble or concern you. It’s a place where you can explore your hopes and your fears, a time when you can be listened to and understood.
I practise a form of therapy called Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. This therapy is a journey of self-discovery and self-understanding that can bring relief from distress and help you make long lasting and positive change in your life. Drawing on the theories of psychoanalysis and neuroscience it explores how the problems you are struggling with in the present may connect to your past experiences; it looks at the unconscious feelings and thoughts that lie behind your present suffering.
We can find out what is going on for you through our relationship together. As we talk together we’ll start to discover and understand the unhelpful automatic reactions and unconscious patterns which may be undermining your psychological well being. Emotional wounds can be healed and a capacity for change developed. This can free you to resolve your difficulties and find fresh way of approaching life.
I find my work as a therapist exciting and I love to meet different challenges and people from diverse backgrounds. I work across a wide range of issues but also have a particular interest in working with those who struggle with anxiety, depression, identity, intimacy and connection. My background as a musician means that I have a first hand understanding of the specific issues and difficulties faced by those who work in the performing arts.
Background:
I originally trained as a classical musician and spent many years performing professionally with orchestras in the UK and abroad. Alongside this I taught both individuals and groups instructing a number of string ensembles. Having become interested in therapy through my experience in education, I trained for five years at WPF, a specialist psychodynamic therapy institute in London. I have now practised for a number of years with a range of adults treating many psychological and emotional problems.
Institutions that I have worked for include: Westminster Pastoral Foundation, Oxford Women’s Counselling Centre and Cruse Bereavement Care. I currently work in private practice and am an assessor at OWCC.
Training & Qualifications:
Post Graduate Diploma at Masters level in Psychodynamic Theory and Practice (WPF)
Certificate in Counselling Skills (WPF)
Post Graduate Alumna of The Royal College of Music
Registered Bodies:
British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC)
Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling (FPC).
Member of OTS
Clare Bay
Gestalt Psychotherapeutic Counsellor
Offering: Weekly one-to-one therapy
Availability: Various through week
Fees: £65 ph (2 bursary places)
Frequency: Weekly
Locations: Chipping Norton & On-line
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I tailor the way that I work to each individual. Some of the potential ways to grow in awareness and explore what is affecting us are: Body Awareness, Creative Experiment, Mindful Meditation, Authentic Dialogue and Relationship, Aromatherapy and Dreamwork. By reflecting on where we are, where we'd like to be and what is affecting us. We can then loosen up patterns of thought that have become stuck and can identify areas that need meaningful change.
Background:
I have been involved in the Arts for many years and there is the option to use Art therapy tools within sessions.
Training & Qualifications:
I trained at the Metanoia Institute, have a BA Hons in Youth and Community Work and Applied Theology, a Post Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Studies, and have undergone specialist training in sexual violence
Registered Bodies:
OTS Member
Member of BACP
Lucy Cavendish
Integrative Counsellor
Offering: One-to-one therapy
Availability: Various throughout week
Fees: £80 (£75 min), couples-£120
Frequency: Weekly / Fortnightly
Location: On line
Also at: Henley on Thames, London & Chiltern Valley.
Click Here To contact me
Approach & Specialist Areas:
I am a qualified counsellor working with adults, adolescents and couples. During my work as a counsellor - and as a human being living in this planet right now - I have come to believe that there are just times when we need support and understanding from someone other than our close friends and family. It does not necessarily mean we are in crisis; it may be that we need a confidential space in which to talk, to be heard, understood and not judged.
Counselling offers a safe, contained space within which to explore, to move in to a better, deeper and more accepting relationship with yourself and others through the support of a trained counsellor such as myself who will be beside you and with you as feelings, thoughts and emotions come up.
Integrative counselling and my approach is all about listening, thinking, working together in the room with what is going on outside the room but also inside the room. I work a lot with the feelings in the room. Integrated counselling means I have trained in psychoanalytic counselling as espoused by Freud, Jung et al as well as using a person-centred approach which means I deal with the day-to-day and immediate problems and challenges and look at what is happening for you now. I am aware that going in to counselling can feel momentous and many people feel nervous, worried and shy. My role is to help you through difficult times and to allay your fears and concerns and also to help maybe make tiny shifts so that things that appear maybe uncomfortable and insoluble become something that can be shared and worked through. It can be an illuminating journey we take together.
I offer an all-round therapeutic approach and my areas of expertise are anxiety, depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, gender identity, panic attacks, mild psychotic incidents, suicide ideation, couples, adolescents, anger issues and support for couples at every level of their relationship including better endings. I have many clients post-separation and divorce who feel they need support when everything else seems difficult and tricky. I have also seen couples who wish to deepen their relationship through counselling - a Love MOT as it were. I have also helped families who are struggling with a range of issues, especially often when their children reach the teenage years. Sometimes adolescents prefer counselling by themselves, sometimes with their families to work through what systems are in place that might need looking at.
Background:
I am also a writer who has spent the last two decades interviewing people and, in a working capacity, I have met a range of people and travelling the globe which, I believe, has helped me be a better and more broad-minded therapist who has lived a life. I worked for many years as a journalist and broadcaster writing for The Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian and Observer and many women’s magazines. I have regularly appeared on the BBC and ITV and done talks on Radio 4. I decided to re-train as a therapist six years ago and now combine writing, public speaking and counselling.
Over the past three years I have been working as a counsellor with 11-plus clients at a youth counselling centre and I also work with adult clients and couples. I run a Talking to Teens set of workshops with a range of parents who come together to talk about their issues with teens.
I have just started exploring body-centred therapy which helps people access their deep feelings through their body and how they express themselves in and through their body. I have also been looking at psychodramas as a form of group therapy. I have been part of Pesso Boyden workshops which is a body-based therapy and have also qualified as a Couples Counsellor.
I have spent two years working at the Oxford Women’s Counselling Centre (OWCC)
Training & Qualifications:
Level 2, 3 & 4 Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling from the Mary Ward Centre in London.
Certificate in Introduction in Couples Counselling and have taken an Advanced Couples Counselling diploma.
2 years studying psychoanalytic therapy and psychodrama with Andrew Wallas
Registered Bodies:
OTS Member
BACP Member