Dr Nicole Stokoe

Nice to meet you

I understand that looking for a therapist can feel overwhelming and confusing. I hope the information below will help to answer some of your initial questions but if you would like to know more, please contact me and I can discuss therapy with you in more detail over email, on the phone or in person if this would be helpful.

The first thing to say is that I am a Clinical Psychologist. As a Clinical Psychologist I am trained to doctoral level to deliver evidence based therapy from a variety of therapeutic models including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). This allows me to tailor therapy to your individual needs by selecting aspects of therapy models that will be most helpful to you. I believe in working from an open and compassionate stance to offer a therapeutic space where you have the opportunity to explore the issues that matter to you and to work towards a meaningful and value focused life.

People look into therapy for a wide variety of reasons including psychological, emotional, personal or relational difficulties. I am passionate about understanding each person as an individual and tailoring therapy to their unique needs. I have trained in a breadth of psychological models which allows me to adapt therapy appropriately by selecting the aspects that will be most helpful to you. I have written more about the psychological models I work with below.

I value the role of the therapeutic relationship in enabling, mobilising and empowering people to move towards their full potential. The therapeutic relationship offers a collaborative space to explore and understand current difficulties from which change and new ways of being can grow. My intention as a therapist is to facilitate understanding and change that will ultimately enable you to leave the therapeutic relationship and continue on your journey through life in their valued direction.

I am also one of the founders of Avenue Therapies, a community practice of highly experienced and qualified Psychologists and Psychological Therapists. We offer clinics over a variety of locations. For more details please visit http://www.avenuetherapies.com/contact. Many of the team have attended advanced level training and have particular specialisms so, although I may not be an expert in the area you would like support with, it is likely someone within our team is. We offer a variety of different therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Schema Therapy, Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Psychodynamic Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Therapy and Systemic approaches. Was also have Occupational Therapy services and close links to local Psychiatric colleagues. All of the team at Avenue Therapies work in accordance with the guidance set by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

My Experience

I have worked in psychological services since 2001 supporting adolescents and adults to understand, manage and grow in their mental health and wellbeing. I have experience working with a broad range of personal issues and difficulties, relationship and relational problems, psychological (e.g. anxiety, stress, depression, OCD, psychosis, social anxiety, phobias) emotional (e.g. emotion dysregulation and coping with intense emotions) and physical ill health (for example living with chronic enduring physical health difficulties such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, chronic pain and Multiple Sclerosis) and existential challenges (e.g. changes in life roles, new life chapters, thinking about the future, older age and the meaning of life).

I am accredited by the BABCP and i am a registered HCPC practitioner. I currently work in the both the NHS as well as in private practice.

The Psychological Models I work with

I work with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Positive Psychology, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT). I recognise and value that each person is an individual and therefore tailor therapy to each person I work with. I achieve this by using elements of the different therapies that are best placed to support the particular difficulties each person is facing.

What I Offer

I offer both assessment and ongoing therapy.

Assessment Clinic: I run an assessment clinic once a month for people interested in having a one off assessment appointment to gain insight into their difficulties, to gain a psychological formulation & understanding around these difficulties and to receive recommendations about what will be the most helpful way forward. For example I may make recommendations about the type of approaches, therapeutic models and practitioners that may be most helpful to explore for planning your future therapeutic journey.

Therapy: I offer weekly therapy sessions on a Monday evening. Other therapists that work with Avenue Therapies are able to offer alternative appointments days and time, including weekends. The first step is to complete an assessment appointment followed by weekly therapy sessions as agreed. Please see the next section for further details.

What to expect from your therapy sessions

I work to provide a safe, contained and confidential space on a weekly basis in which you can share the difficulties you want to work on, at a pace you feel comfortable, so we can work together towards understanding and change in the direction of your values.

The first session is the assessment and will be slightly longer than a normal session at 90 minutes. This is to give enough time to explore what you have come to therapy for, what you have tried in the past, what helped and what didn't help. At the end of this session, I will try and make some recommendations around what may be most helpful for you. Following our meeting, I'll summarise our conversation in a letter which I will email to you.

After the assessment session, the sessions will be 55 minutes. Each person I work with is very different so it is difficult to predict how many sessions will be needed. From a personal therapeutic perspective, my aim is only to work with a person for as long as it is helpful and to empower the person to leave therapy with the skills they need.

How is a Clinical Psychologist different?
Clinical Psychologists train to a doctoral level in a range of therapeutic models which allows them to tailor therapy. Formulation is a particular skill of Clinical Psychologists for making sense of individual difficulties and needs and tailoring therapy from different models to the person. Counsellors and Psychotherapists are also qualified therapeutic practitioners but are generally trained in one therapeutic model and not to doctoral level. Psychiatrists are also doctors but they work with people experiencing mental health difficulties using medications to help manage these difficulties rather than talking therapies.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy informed work

I offer therapy as part of Avenue Therapies and we provide a bespoke service that is designed to meet the needs of you, the individual, our charges vary depending on the nature of the assessment and any subsequent treatment. Individual sessions range from £100 to £130 and are usually 50 minutes with time for admin at the end of the appointment. Some of our therapist do offer concessions. We are always happy to discuss costs with you and are committed to try to make Clinical Psychology and psychological therapy as accessible as possible. Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more either by email (therapy@avenuetherapies.com) or phone (02071128834) via the professional and discrete team at Avenue Therapies.

I hold my sessions in Ealing and Surrey.