Our counselling services
Strides Highbury Counselling Centre
HCC offers longer-term (one year) psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling to people who are looking to speak about a wide range of emotional issues, such as anxiety, depression, loss, and other distressing life events. We provide a confidential and non-judgemental space to speak with a trained professional.
Some of our clients come to deal with a very specific issue that is creating emotional distress in their lives, others want to understand a troubling past experience, or change the quality of their relationships with their family and friends. We help our clients understand and change emotional patterns so that they can look forward to a better future.
Our clinic does not operate on a symptom-based and symptom-reduction model; such therapies (such as CBT, psycho-education and mindfulness) can be accessed through primary care and statutory services, and may be helpful for people looking for more structured interventions, and in some cases for those dealing with an acute crisis.
In contrast to the symptom-focused models, the psychoanalytic/psychodynamic and integrative therapies offered at HCC aim to help each client explore the roots and nature of their concerns within the context of their life and unique individual personal history.
Having psychotherapy at HCC will be different for each person, and particular to their engagement with the therapeutic process and the relationship with their therapist.
The therapy contracts offered involve weekly sessions with the same therapist, lasting up to one year. This is a commitment on the side of the therapist and HCC, while each client can chose to end the work earlier when they decide it is suitable for them to do so.
The majority of the people we work with tend to make use of the full year offered, and in some cases there is the possibility to extend the contract further, depending on what is suitable for each person, and considering the resources of the service at that time.
Fees and practicalities
We work with people of diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and we operate on a sliding-scale scheme, in order to make our service accessible to people who would not otherwise be able to afford professional counselling and psychotherapy services.
Your fee will be agreed with you at your initial assessment appointment, and we aim to match our fees to our clients’ financial circumstances. The minimum fee is £20 per weekly therapy session.
Our team
Our therapists work with HCC on an honorary basis as part of their professional clinical training. Our therapists are in the latter stages of well-regarded post-graduate and doctoral clinical trainings. All of our Counsellors and Psychotherapists, whether in-training or qualified, are registered with the relevant professional accrediting body (such as UKCP, BACP, BPS, BPC, NCS) affiliated with their course/qualification, and receive regular in-house supervision.
All of our HCC supervisors are Psychodynamic Psychotherapists and Psychoanalysts who are registered/accredited with the UKCP, the BACP, and/or the BPC.
Our Head of Counselling, Dr Kalli Nikolopoulou, is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, and is BPS and HCPC registered.
Our Clinical Manager, Hannah Joll, is a UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist, and currently undertaking further post-graduate training in Psychoanalysis.
Our Service Manager, Joanne Tan, is a BACP Accredited Psychodynamic Therapist.
Contact
For any inquiries relating to the HCC clinic you can email us at hcc@wlm.org.uk or call us at 020 3148 5331.
For any clinical concerns you may have relating to your therapy with HCC you can contact the Clinical Manager directly at hannah.joll@wlm.org.uk