Sarah Van Gogh
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I qualified as a counsellor in 1999, and gained my BACP-accreditation in 2001. I am also registered with the UKCP, and am a Fellow of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society. I have over 20 years of experience of working with clients from varied backgrounds on a wide range of issues, for long and short term contracts.
As well as having a private practice for clients, I supervise other counsellors and am a trainer on the counselling diploma course at the Revision Centre for Counselling & Psychotherapy in North London. I also worked for many years as a counsellor and trainer for the charity 'Survivors UK' which supports men who have experienced sexual violation, and my book about this area, "Helping Male Survivors of Sexual Violation to Recover" was published in April 2108. I co-edited and contributed to the book 'Transformation in Troubled Times' (2018).
Before training as a counsellor, I worked for ten years in the fields of community health and theatre-in-education, and I have a degree in English from Cambridge University.
In my work I offer an approach that gives clients a contained, confidential space to look back at their past experiences, explore their current situation, and look ahead to their future. My therapeutic approach is one that takes a holistic view of an individual, and includes the body, the mind, the emotions, and what could be called the soulful or creative element to life.
I currently work with individuals over the age of 18, and do not offer sessions for those under 18, couples or families.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA Honours Degree, English (1988)
Certificate in Psychoanalytic Theories in Counselling (1996)
Diploma in Integrative Psychosynthesis Counselling (1998)
Post Grad Diploma in Montessori Education (2000)
City & Guilds Certificate in Teaching in Adult Education (2009)
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 National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations.
In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
Fees
£60.00 per session
Additional information
I offer sessions that last an hour and the fee is £60.00.
Further information
My book on effectively supporting men who have experienced sexual abuse came out in April 2018, published by Jessica Kingsley.
Reviews for “Helping male survivors of sexual violation to recover – an integrative approach. Stories from therapy”:
'A powerful and engaging book...,Sarah shares the minutiae of the work so that we can truly get under the skin of male survivors and understand their experiences with compassion and clarity.' Dr Estela Welldon, Founder & Honorary Life President International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.
'Readers will be extremely moved by Sarah van Gogh's compassion for male survivors of abuse and trauma, and clinical practitioners will learn a great deal from her many years of experience.' Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Psychotherapy and Mental Health, Centre for Child Mental Health, London.
'Using a delicate sensibility but not shirking harsh realities, Sarah Van Gogh skilfully navigates neurobiology, trauma and dissociation alongside both classic and innovative therapeutic approaches. We are taken to the heart of male survivors' struggles, always respectfully, never voyeuristically, in work that gives hope for the curative power of intimate safe therapeutic relationships after profound trauma.' Graham Music, PhD, Consultant Psychotherapist, Tavistock Centre, London.
