City Road Therapy – Professional face-to-face & online Therapy in London
Services
we offer
Here is a summary of the services available at City Road Therapy. Scroll down to for further information on the groups we work with, online therapy and the alternative approaches.
- We see individuals, couples, children, teenagers and families.
- We’re open Monday to Saturday from early until late (sessions need to be arranged with the therapist directly). We don’t offer a drop in service nor are we a crisis centre.
- We offer therapy both online therapy as well as face to face.
- Several therapists offer sessions in a second language; currently sessions can be offered in Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French and Bengali.
- Lower cost sessions are available – especially during the pandemic.
- Interested in a different approach? We have therapists who work with art, drama and movement therapy; therapists who practice mindfulness; and, one or two life coaches if you’re looking for an alternative to talking therapy.
- Help finding a therapist is also available if you’re not sure where to start, you’re busy or if you need support finding a good match.
Therapy for individuals
Therapy is a safe and confidential space to come for professional support where you can talk about you, your life and any issues that might be causing you to have difficult thoughts or feelings.
Our therapists are highly skilled and will accept you the way you are. They will never judge you or your situation. All therapists are trained to help you to understand yourself more clearly and identify new possibilities in the way you approach your life.
With the exception of Rosie Chester, all our therapists see individual adults (18+).
How will therapy make me feel?
Therapy is a personal process. People often find it a huge relief to have some time for support and self-exploration set aside each week.
It can sometimes feel painful to talk about the difficult aspects of your life, but our therapists will be able to support you through any difficult periods and go at your own pace. They will help you identify ways you can support yourself so you feel more resilient and potent in your life.
Therapy for couples
Successful relationships require work on all sides. Some therapists explain this by saying that there are three parts to a relationship – you, me and us. Our couples counsellors can help make the ‘us’ a more harmonious place for couples.
Some of the common reasons why you might seek couples counselling include:
- You want help engaging with each other after experiencing a traumatic event
- One of you wants to end the relationship
- You feel that you repeat the same cycle of conflict
- You aren’t showing or receiving sufficient care and affection
- You have clashing values or cultural backgrounds
- One person feels aggrieved by the other’s behaviour
- You want to improve the way you function as a couple.
As an independent third party, our relationship therapists will support and challenge you to work better together. Therapy can reveal buried feelings and behaviours, and lead to a more in-depth understanding of your impact on each other and new ways of relating.
Therapy for children
Just like adults, children can find life very difficult at times. If they are having persistent difficulties with their mood or behaviour, then your child may find it useful to speak to a psychotherapist.
Our therapists can help your child with the following problems: shyness, anger, temper tantrums, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and confidence, grief, self-harm, communication problems, family break-ups, social exclusion, bedwetting, sleeping difficulties, and food issues and eating disorders.
Therapy can develop a child’s confidence and communication skills. Our therapists can help them understand and cope with difficult feelings so they can form better relationships with others and feel more content in themselves.
Therapy for teenagers
Teenagers can suffer at times, either due to a particular life event or as a result of ongoing stresses. As a teen, you have to deal with the psychological and biological changes that happen during these years. You’ll face challenges ranging from exams, deadlines and decisions about the future, to social pressures and temptations. These factors can feel vast and overwhelming and result in high levels of stress, depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem and confidence. Pressures during the teenage years can also lead to self-harming, food and eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse or relationship difficulties.
Many teenagers have difficulty finding the right words to describe what they are experiencing. You may experience ‘brain freeze’ or ‘flight or fight’ responses.
A number of our therapists specialise in working with teenagers. They can help you express yourself and understand your experience away from outside pressures. They can support you to manage and cope with feelings and decisions, and to communicate and relate more easily and skilfully, so you feel calmer and better able to navigate your life.
The teenage years can also be a worrying time if you’re a parent. You may also wish to seek support, either through individual therapy for yourself or alongside your child. Teenagers tend to be more open to receiving counselling as a family once they’ve had some time in individual therapy.
Therapy for families
Family therapy (also known as family and systemic psychotherapy) can be very useful in helping with a range of emotional and relationship difficulties that individuals, couples and families commonly experience.
Family therapy can promote understanding and collaboration in relationships and amongst family members to bring about positive change. Research shows that family therapy can be useful in addressing difficulties at all stages of family life, including concerns about couple relationships, children, teens and relationships amongst adult family members. Our family therapists are sensitive to diverse family structures, relationships, beliefs and cultures. They will fully respect your individual and family’s experience, and aim to build on existing strengths.
If you think you and your family might benefit from this type of therapy, our family therapists can organise sessions for individuals, couples, or with the family as a whole.
Booking online therapy
Online therapy has been around for years, but since the pandemic it’s really taken off. In the same way businesses are learning to work remotely, therapy has also adapted and improved online. Online sessions can be a useful alternative to face to face therapy if you have a busy life, if you are unable to leave your home because of family commitments or health or mobility issues. It may just be a good option because the prospect of beginning online therapy feels more comfortable to you over seeing someone face to face.
Whatever the reason, all of our therapists offer online therapy .
Online therapy versus face to face therapy sessions
Whether or not to opt for face to face or online therapy is a personal choice. Both options have their place. Neither is better than the other with regards to quality or success – studies have shown that well managed online therapy can be just as effective as therapy in person. Both approaches offer a non-judgemental, confidential, safe space for clients looking for therapy.
The ease and flexibility of online therapy makes it a really popular option. All you really need is:
• A good wifi connection
• A device to talk on
• A quiet, uninterrupted space
• A secure platform such as Skype or Zoom but find out first what your therapist works with and discuss options with them.
Face to face sessions work for many because of the human connection that takes place between the therapist and client. Some feel it’s better to discuss the issues that bring them to therapy in a space separated from their living, working lives. Some just want to ditch the screens and talk face to face.
We have put in place a number of safety measures during the pandemic to ensure our rooms at City Road are safe so therapists can see clients.
If you’re not sure what’s right for you, speak to the therapist you’re looking to book sessions with. You might be considering online but feel concerned that your therapist will seem disconnected from you or, the opposite, that they feel too close. Do share any concerns prior to beginning therapy.
Remember, however you decide to have therapy, the most important thing is that your therapist feels safe to talk to and that you feel able to explore thoughts and feelings with them as you choose.
Therapy using mindfulness-based approaches
Life is so busy for many of us that often we rush around and don’t stop to notice the world around us, or even notice our thoughts and feelings.
Practising mindfulness means becoming more aware of each moment, as it happens, and can be useful for engaging with the whole of oneself, ‘mind, body & soul’.
Some of our therapists practice mindfulness for themselves and increasingly use the integrative, mind-body approach to mindfulness in their therapy sessions to help you:
- Slow down and be ‘in the moment’
- Listen in a more profound, direct way to what is happening inside and outside of yourself, moment by moment
- Benefit from a ‘healing’ effect, even when you are not speaking to your therapist.
Therapists who work with mindfulness in their private practice: Rob Finley and Markus Wehrhahn.
Therapy using creative techniques: art, drama and movement
Some therapies, such as art therapy or drama therapy, incorporate creative techniques that can support you to organise and express your emotional experience. It’s not always easy to find the words to express yourself, but these therapies can help you identify and communicate emotions that may otherwise be difficult to verbalise.
You do not need to have experience or skill in art or drama to participate in or benefit from this type of therapy. Arts and drama therapy are more about the emotions you express and feel throughout the process.
Therapy using creative techniques can benefit people who find themselves stuck in their head. Expressive work can support you to find new viewpoints and solutions to make a significant change in your life.
Therapy using the arts could involve postcards, paint, sand-trays, movement or writing, though always as an invitation rather than an obligation when your therapist thinks it may support your work together.
A number of our therapists are highly trained in using the arts, or drama and movement within therapy.
Therapists who work with creative techniques as part of their private practice: Kay Buchan, Eva Steinlechner, Ana Erra, Jo Gaskell, Jamie Kelly, Ellie Spruell, and Marianna Vogt.
Executive and life coaching
Executive and life coaching are not the same as psychotherapy (therapy). A therapist will explore the underlying causes of any emotional issues and help you if you’re feeling emotionally distressed. A life or executive coach will focus more on the future. They will work with you to help you set and work towards personal development goals.
Life coaches and executive coaches are not qualified to diagnose or treat trauma or health-related problems (unless they specify this in their personal profiles). However, if a coach feels you need more emotional or mental health support they can refer you to see a counsellor, psychotherapist or GP.
Executive coaching
If you are a professional looking for a better way of working and living, executive coaching can help tilt the balance towards a life that has more meaning, fulfilment and success.
An executive coach can work with you in depth to help you:
- Find the time to tune in to or reconnect with your goals, dreams and wishes
- Identify what you long to have more (or less) of in your life
- Harness your energy to change tack and get on track.
Life coaching
If you know you want to make certain changes in your life and are looking for tools to help you do this, you may find life coaching helpful.
You may be looking to:
- Make changes in your current life trajectory
- Change or adapt your career
- Redefine your ‘self’ and how you think about your potential
- Create a better work/life balance
- Develop strategies to fulfil specific personal or professional goals.
Our coaches will aim to empower you to make and meet personal and/or professional goals.
Kathleen Sullivan’s practice is dedicated specifically to coaching. Lola Marquez also offers coaching as part of her private practices.
Looking for a therapist but not sure where to start? We can help
If you want to find a therapist but you don't know where to begin, you’re too busy or you’d just appreciate some guidance, we can help you refine the search.
Tell us more about what you're looking for and give us an idea of days and times of day you would, ideally, like to see someone. (As well as evening, we are open for early and mid morning sessions, afternoon and weekends.) We will do our best to match your preferences and we will send contact details of City Road therapists for you to consider. Occasionally we will offer alternatives if we can't provide an exact match, as many of our therapists run busy private practices. We will respond to your request for an 'email response' on the next working day.
Please be aware that City Road Therapy is not a crisis service. If you do need immediate support, please contact the Samaritans who offer a 24 hour support line. You can call them for free on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
Because our building is a period property, we are sorry to say that the space is not wheelchair friendly.
If you don't want to complete the form you can contact us directly by emailing consultations.cityroadtherapy@gmail.com