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, NCPS) 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, NCPS and/or the BPC.
Our Head of Counselling, Stamatia Lorentzou, is a psychodynamic therapist, and is NCPS accredited and BACP registered.
Hannah Joll is Clinical Manager. She is a UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist.
Our Service and Business Development Manager, Annalisa Pantella, is a BACP Registered Integrative Counsellor.

Contact
For any inquiries relating to the HCC clinic you can email us at hcc@strides.org.uk.
For any clinical concerns you may have relating to your therapy with HCC you can contact the Clinical Manager directly at hannah.joll@strides.org.uk.
I found the therapy I received from HCC extremely helpful because it enabled me to see the underlying causes of my depression, low self-esteem and lack of trust. I was able to look back on my life experiences and the way in which I respond to them in the light of my childhood and the formative experiences that had a deep impact upon the way in which I viewed myself and others.

I was suffering from depression and very low self-esteem mainly as a result of the end of a 10 year relationship in addition to losing my father who was very dear to me. I had also retired from full time employment and feeling lost, with very little trust in friends or others that I came into contact with an addition to having very minimal trust in my own convictions.

I really do feel that the therapy I received will help me to copy with future difficulties because I now have a much deeper understanding and acceptance of myself, who I am, and my experiences throughout my life. This has helped me to understand the way in which I respond to certain experiences and the way in which I view others. I am not much more comfortable with who I am and more understanding of others which I believe will be a tremendus help when coping with future difficulties.
