Olga Gelfman-Gratwick

Where do you start with addressing your problems and how do you know how to choose the right therapist? The most important factor is the relationship with the therapist we choose. We have to feel safe and confident that we are in good hands in which we can share most private thoughts and feelings.

I have 20 years therapeutic experience of working with individuals who have experienced a wide array of relationship/sexual issues, depression, anxiety  and work related difficulties. I am a clinical supervisor and  also taught psychotherapy students at Bowlby Center (Center for Attachment based Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy) in London.

My Approach:

What is psychoanalysis ?

Psychoanalysis is an intensive form of talking therapy designed to get at the source of emotional problems and change them fundamentally . It's not only about the relief of symptoms of tension . It's about knowing knowing fully our upsetting impulses and conflicts - and mastering them .Its about recognising and modifying the way the early relationships affected our current relationships. Understanding at this level is what fosters growth and personality change . 

What is psychotherapy ?

Psychotherapy may be dynamic or cognitive-behavioural in approach . Dynamic psychotherapy applies psychoanalysis to the individual treatment of those who want relief through understanding but who do not seek radical change. Cognitive behavioural therapy is short term, directive, and focused on changing your thoughts.

My approach in psychotherapy is informed by attachment theory and research, relational psychoanalysis,  object relation theories, the literature on trauma, affect regulation, reflective functioning and developmental neurobiology. 

What does the term "object relations" mean?

Object relations is the brand of psychoanalysis I practice and supervise. It is a very human approach to psychological sufferings. This theory stems from the study of relationships, beginning with the foundational infant-parent relationship. We are born with the ability to relate to our mother and other family members. As babies we are totally depend on our parent for nurturing. We need to feel that we are matter to them. 

Taking in and coping with frustrating experiences sets up personality patterns that should mature at each developmental stage, but sometime they get stuck instead of shifting to the new challenges. So children and adults can feel held back, frightened, inadequate, anxious, sad, lost and lonely. Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy reach in, unlock the logjams left over from the early years and open the personality to the new learning and new relationships.

My journey

I was born and grow up in Moscow, Russia, where I graduated from Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. Soon afterwords I moved to the UK and trained as a therapist. I began my four years professional training as a psychotherapist in the Center for attachment based psychoanalytical psychotherapy. Since then I have become a Mother to two beautiful children, who are teenagers now. I have developed a particular interest in child-parent relationships and childhood traumas.

People come to counselling and psychotherapy for many reasons from being rocked by a significant life event, to a general sense of dissatisfaction and distress with life that they are struggling to make sense of. Working with me will give you an opportunity to gain more insight and awareness into yourself, your situation and the way you relate to others. I will help you to make your own decisions and to take more control over your life.

I continue to learn from life and the clients with whom I have worked.

• Parent-child conflict
• Child development issues
• Rape
• Dissociation

I operate a sliding scale of between £70 and £100. The fee decided upon is dependent on such factors as the frequency of sessions, whether client needs weekend  appointment.