Andrea Blair
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am an art psychotherapist offering both individual short or open-ended therapy for adolescent and adult clients in South East London. I am DBS checked.
I bring warmth, honesty and creativity to my therapeutic work and believe that the most healing part of therapy is the relationship created with you during this process.
I offer the space to share difficult feelings in a safe and supportive atmosphere without judgement.
As an integrative therapist I draw on a range of psychological approaches to be able to tailor the therapy to your needs which may change and develop as the therapy progresses.
A session is likely to involve a conversation that encourages curiosity in any aspects of your self that you might struggle to express and where appropriate makes use of the arts, creativity and the imagination to support this journey.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a Masters degree in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy from the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education and a B.Ed. (Hons) degree.
I am an approved Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor, I have a Diploma in Counselling Children & Adolescents and a Certificate in CBT Skills.
I have worked as a psychotherapist for Oxleas NHS Trust (The Woman's Service and The Bracton Centre) and a SE London based charity providing individual psychotherapy.
Before training to be a psychotherapist I worked in the education sector for over 25 years as a Senior SEN Advisory Teacher, class teacher, Dyslexia tutor and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator working with students with pastoral and additional educational needs (Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyspraxia etc).
I am registered as an Art Psychotherapist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and am a member of the UK Council For Psychotherapy (UKCP).
I am also a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) and abide by their 
code of ethics.
http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/therapists/in/1c9733/london-south-east/london/andrea-blair
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Autistic Spectrum Psychotherapy
In addition to offering psychotherapy to neurotypicals, I specialise in working with neurodivergent young people and adults who are on the autism spectrum, primarily who are 'high functioning' or have Asperger syndrome. This involves providing person-centred support and guidance around understanding and managing behaviours and helping you to develop new ways to help build your confidence and self-esteem.
Supervision
I believe that supervision is an art form taking place within a professional relationship; a working alliance between supervisor and supervisee.
As an established Integrative Arts Psychotherapist, with further training in Creative Supervision, I use creative and action methods and technique to allow us to explore, understand and problem solve in a different way.
This use of creative approaches enables imaginative enquiry into the therapeutic relationship and facilitates your emerging style as a supervisee. The value of supervision comes from having a safe and supportive environment in which you can build on your own skills and insights as a practitioner, and in which you can reflect on any aspect of your profession and your client relationships. The ultimate aim of supervision being to enable you to enhance the service you offer to clients, and to safeguard and enhance your own well-being and that of your client whilst doing it.
I hold a Diploma in Creative Approaches to Supervision from The London Centre for Psychodrama.
My core model is integrative through the use of the arts with a psychodynamic relational structure, and I am able to work with a number of theoretical models in the belief that supervision is a co-created and consultative activity and thus flexible to the needs of both parties.
I offer individual and group consultation, supervision and reflective practice for trainees, qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, allied mental health practitioners, social care and education staff who work in school settings with children and young people - SENCos, Mentors, Pastoral Leaders.
My fees for supervision are £75 per 50 minute session.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
I am an approved Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor (Mental Health First Aid England)
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fee is £70/session.
Sessions are usually held weekly at the same time and last for 50 minutes.
An initial session would involve us meeting to discover what difficulties you are facing and will give you the opportunity to experience my way of working and whether it feels right for you.
When I work
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Further information
People enter therapy for many reasons, and my aim is to build a warm, supportive and objective relationship in which you can feel able to share the difficult feelings and anxieties that might be holding you back in your life.
Why use the arts?
Sometimes it can be difficult to articulate what might be the problem; to find the right words to express what you need to say or even remember. The arts offer a way of being able to process feelings in a safe and contained way.
There is absolutely no requirement to be artistic to benefit from this way of working, and I will fully support you in finding confidence in using the materials available and respect your decision to decline. Sometimes using imagination alone is enough.
I have a very open approach to what might be of benefit and would encourage you to bring along poetry, literature, paintings and music to our sessions for us to look at together if they have meaning for you.
For any further questions you might have about therapy with me please phone or send me an email and I will respond as soon as possible. Any information you give will be held in the strictest confidence.
I look forward to meeting you.
