Wendy Hammond Psychotherapy & Life Coaching - MA, Dipl Psych, BACP, UKCP

Profile

Please visit me at wendy-hammond.com to find out more.


Welcome. 

There are times in all our lives when moving forward in a positive, purposeful direction – or even resting with peace of mind – seems impossible. Whether you are struggling through a life changing event or feeling lost, having space to explore your thoughts and feelings can transform the darkest of chapters.

We all have an innate ability to grow and develop. It’s easy to get stuck in repeating patterns which no longer work for us though. Or be thrown well off course by an unexpected event or trauma that may have happened a long time ago. In any case, the resources for wellness are within you.

To augment the main flow of talking therapy, we may choose to use creative visualizations, art therapy, dream exploration and sandplay among other techniques – depending on what feels right to you. There are also times when something more cognitive is needed – for example, techniques and strategies for dealing with low self confidence, stress, anxiety, fear or anger.

I offer you a warm, comfortable, non-judgmental and confidential environment from which to explore.

Psychotherapy is a collaborative process that addresses personal growth as well as psychological distress.  Recent brains scans done before and after psychotherapy show that the brain plastically reorganizes itself in treatment. We all have reaction patterns that hide painful ideas, feelings and memories from conscious awareness.  By working through these patterns we turn implicit memories (the ghosts that can haunt us) into declarative memories that have a clear context.  (See Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself, Penguin Books, Chapter 9)

Since psychotherapy involves the exploration and processing of uncomfortable aspects of life, you may at times experience difficult feelings like sadness, guilt, anger and frustration along with insight and release.  It is this working through that allows long term change to take place. 

Psychotherapy commonly leads to improved relationships, healthy solutions to specific problems and significant increases in mental clarity and emotional balance.

Psychotherapy is a place to talk openly, let the emotions out, frame your experience and find yourself again.  It is a space to heal.

You may choose short-term counselling (6 - 12 sessions,) or longer term psychotherapy. I work on a full 60-minute session basis.

I am also a trained Life Coach.

Whereas psychotherapy seeks to heal, coaching can be seen as a way to optimize your life from a more stable ground.  You may very likely feel that your needs fall somewhere on the spectrum between psychotherapy and life coaching. 

If you’re interested in coaching it may be that you've found yourself at a crossroads of some kind – either by choice or circumstance.  Perhaps you are dissatisfied, stuck and tapped out or brimming with energy but just not sure where to point it.

Life coaching is about action and adventure – about bridging the gulf between whom we are and where we want to be.  Our partnership involves powerful questioning, tools and exercises to help you gain clarity, get unstuck and find joy in your life.

There will be a bit of work to do in between sessions (juicy passionate stuff – in case you just had visions of spreadsheets flitting through your mind.)

We will be

*putting our finger directly on the pulse of exactly what it is that you most desire

*dissolving fears and limiting thoughts that are not serving you.

*creating a solid foundation for your next steps

About my approach

My training is integrative, concentrating on transpersonal psychotherapy and coaching. 

The integrative part of that statement means that I’m able to draw on a wide range of approaches and wisdom – including psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural therapy, art therapy, working with dreams and creative imagination.  Each individual is different and therefore the approach needs to be just as flexible.

The transpersonal part of that statement seeks to discover the person who transcends an individual's body, age, appearance, culture etc.   My approach to therapy and coaching seeks to align a person’s life with who they really are.  When our outer world is not in alignment with our innermost selves, nothing feels right.

Dissolving barriers between who we are and where we want to be – whether that destination is a feeling of security, freedom, joy or a more meaningful career – means finding out what’s truly important to our individual self and using our innate abilities to arrive there.

When we cultivate a soul connection we

* develop not only the ability to listen to our inner voice, but the courage and confidence to act on it

* discover an appetite for life

* realize an innate wisdom unique and inextricable to ourselves

* foster resilience and integrity

* find clarity

* heal

* create a depth and breadth of energy

* have faith that life experiences – even, perhaps particularly, the painful ones – are developing unique gifts and strengths

* recognize what is authentic to us and what has been conditioned into us

* know better how to expand the pleasurable and meaningful areas of our lives and what to let go of

* feel a connection with something beyond and within us

In addition to making sure your therapist or coach has the correct credentials, it’s crucial to get a feel for how well you will be able to work together. You are very welcome to call with any questions or schedule an appointment. I work from my own premises in Chorleywood, Herts and from CCPE, Beauchamp Lodge, London W2.

I am able to offer Life Coaching services in person, or in a combination of email and phone sessions. 

For all Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. She exists for no other end. Do not resist her. 

- Henry David Thoreau

From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines.
- Walt Whitman

Training, Qualifications & Experience

MA in Transpersonal Psychotherapy
Diploma in Transpersonal Counselling and Psychotherapy

Professional Coach training

Imagework Practitioner training with Skyros Institute
*Imagework can be done with small groups as well as individuals.

Additional training in:
*Couples Counselling
*CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
*Bereavement
*Cancer
*Art Therapy
*Gestalt Therapy
*Jungian Analytical Psychology
*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Fully insured member of BACP, UKCP

Areas of counselling I deal with

• Abuse
• Affairs and Betrayals
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Bereavement
• Cancer
• Career Counselling
• Couples Counselling
• Depression
• Emotional Abuse
• Generalised Anxiety
• Infertility
• Low Self-Confidence
• Low Self-Esteem
• Panic Disorder
• Phobias
• Physical Abuse
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Postnatal Depression
• Relationship Issues
• Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Separation and Divorce
• Sexual Abuse
• Sexual Issues
• Sexuality
• Stress

Other areas of counselling I deal with

*Illness
*Life Crisis
*Relocation
*Ex-pat Life
*Loss of Direction and Meaning
*Loss of Faith
*Life Transitions
*Identity
*Spiritual
*End of Life Issues

Therapies Offered

• Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies
  - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Humanistic Therapies
  - Transpersonal Psychology

• Other Therapies
  - Integrative
  - Art Therapy/Art Psychotherapy

Fees

£60 per one hour session in Chorleywood, £75 in London.

Further Information

The consulting room in Chorleywood has parking and is very close to Junction 18 off the M25. It is a 15 minute walk from Chorleywood Station on the Metropolitan Line or the Amersham branch of the Chiltern Train Line.

The London venue is close to both Paddington train station and Warwick Avenue underground.

• Online, email or telephone counselling available
• Also registered with Life Coach Directory

Member Organisation(s)

Published Articles

• Stressed, overwhelmed and barrelling towards burnout.

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