Stuart Gibson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I provide focused, short-term counselling and in-depth, long-term therapy. I work online, on the phone and at comfortable consulting rooms in Farringdon. I offer dedicated support to people facing challenges and can help treat most emotional and psychological difficulties. I work with adults of all ages, cultural backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations.
The relationship between counsellor and client (or therapist and patient) is a key element of the treatment I offer. My demeanour is warm, empathic and supportive. For some people, I simply provide a much-needed opportunity to be heard and understood.
Approach
Mindful of boundaries, I offer a safe, confidential and reliable space in which people can talk openly about themselves so as to help them understand what might have contributed to their problems. Exploring emotions, thoughts, dreams, memories, behaviour and relationships can help people to change the way they respond to situations. I aim to assist this process by being curious and attentive to links and patterns.
My approach is based on the understanding that difficult experiences in the past can continue to affect the way we feel and behave in the present. Applying psychodynamic, attachment, humanistic and cognitive concepts and methods, I address both the causes and the symptoms of emotional and psychological distress.
Treatment plans
I respond to enquiries within one working day and I can usually offer a session within a week. I start with an initial consultation where the reasons for seeking help are discussed. Some background information is always useful too. This appointment gives both parties a chance to get a sense of compatibility and there is no obligation to continue working together. When an agreement is reached to move forward in principle, I recommend a treatment plan, which will either be for six sessions, sixteen sessions or open-ended therapy.
Once the specific terms have been confirmed, the work can begin, usually in the form of weekly, 50-minute sessions held at the same time and place every week. Towards the end of each course of treatment, there is an opportunity to review progress and consider either committing to a deeper treatment plan or working towards an agreed ending.
Training, qualifications & experience
Experience
Alongside my private practice, I have worked as a psychotherapist in the NHS, employed by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and the Harrow Psychotherapy Service. I have also worked as a Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist at Queenswood Medical Practice in Haringey.
I have worked as a counsellor in the charity sector for Waterloo Community Counselling and the Multi-Ethnic Counselling Service. I have provided counselling for students at London South Bank University. I also have over twenty years’ experience of working with alcoholics, addicts and their families and my approach is compatible with Twelve Step recovery.
Before my career change to Counselling and Psychotherapy, I was a senior manager in Advertising, Marketing and Media. I have since participated in several Group Relations Conferences and I am qualified to offer interpretations of organisational and group dynamics.
Training and Qualifications
I am a Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and abide by its Ethical Framework. I am registered on the Accredited Voluntary Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, approved by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
I am also a registered member of the British Psychoanalytic Council, the Association of Psychodynamic Counsellors and the Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the NHS.
I first trained at Birkbeck College, University of London and my qualifications are BACP accredited:
- MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy - incorporating Organisational Dynamics
- Post Graduate Certificate in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy - incorporating Organisational Dynamics
- Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy - incorporating Organisational Dynamics
- Certificate of Higher Education in Counselling and Counselling Skills - incorporating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Humanistic (Person-Centred) Therapy and Psychodynamic Counselling
I then trained in Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) at the Anna Freud Centre in collaboration with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
I also trained in Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) at the Anna Freud Centre in collaboration with University College London (UCL).
I attend Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events to maintain and enhance my clinical knowledge and skills.
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 British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is a professional association, representing the profession of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
The organisation is itself made up of fourteen member organisations and BPC accredits the trainings of its member organisations. An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings is then eligible for entry into the BPC's register.
BPC registrants are governed by a code of ethics, a policy of continuing professional development, a statement on confidentiality and a complaints procedure. The BPC is a Member Society of the European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector (EFPP). 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.
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
As a male counsellor and psychotherapist, I have a special interest in helping people work through issues relating to men. I have had profound therapeutic relationships with people who have had absent, abusive or negligent fathers; similarly with people who have had traumatic experiences and abusive relationships with men.
I understand the specific challenges and expectations facing men who are dealing with difficult issues such as job insecurity, relationship problems, traumatic events and drug and alcohol misuse. Men have told me they find it easier to talk honestly and openly, man to man, particularly when they need to discuss sexual matters.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Additional information
Fees vary from £70 to £85 per 50-minute session, depending on the time of day.
When I work
Weekdays and weekday evenings
Further information
I am a Central London therapist, available to meet on Zoom, Skype and FaceTime or in Zone 1. I work in the City of London.
My rooms in Snow Hill Court, London EC1 are air-conditioned. They are located in a former Victorian school house in a peaceful garden behind the Church St Sepulchre without Newgate. Near Barts Hospital and the Old Bailey, the house is close to St Paul's, Farringdon, Barbican, Blackfriars and Chancery Lane tube stations and City Thameslink, Blackfriars and Farringdon National Rail stations.
