Vicky Cruz
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
In a fast moving society we lead increasingly stressful and pressured lives which affect our health, relationships and work. This is when it's good to talk.
As a Gestalt therapist I value the uniqueness of you as an individual and encourage the acceptance of who you are. I believe you are your own expert and therefore I won't be providing you with answers, but I will assist you to find your own by heightening your awareness of your self and your own natural ability to heal. By paying close attention to the body, as well as to thoughts and feelings, a Gestalt therapist focuses on the 'how' I am relating and 'what' I'm experiencing NOW.
Most of us hold a self-perception that the real 'me' is mental and therefore neglect their somatic and physical experience. In Gestalt therapy we can use this information as a valuable resource to explore our attitudes, work and relationships; all of which have physical and emotional effects on us.
Sometimes we may feel stuck or frustrated in our habitual ways of being, or we experience a crisis in our lives that is overwhelming. This is when people seek help and come to therapy. Confronting and solving problems can be a painful process, which most of us attempt to avoid. This avoidance inevitably causes more pain and prevents us from fulfilling our true potential. Counselling and Psychotherapy provide the necessary conditions and support to make significant breakthroughs, by offering a safe and confidential space to explore present and past difficulties. This is a process of self-discovery and change. Taking the first step towards Counselling and Psychotherapy provides the opportunity to enhance your general well-being and foster better understanding of yourself, which will enable you to be more choiceful and empowered.
With the support of a professional practitioner, who is an objective third party, the therapist-client relationship can develop, providing the essential ingredients towards psychotherapeutic growth and change.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a Bachelor of Education degree and 18 years experience in the educational field. I studied Holistic Massage with Sarah Thomas in 1987 and was awarded a Diploma in Anatomy, Physiology and Body Massage. I have since trained in Thai Yoga Massage with Kira Balaskas.
Education in its broader sense has always been a fascination for me, which led me to specialise in Gestalt Psychotherapy in 2000, at the Metanoia Institute, London. Here I attended workshops on 'Shame and Trauma' (Lynne Jacobs) and 'Body Process' (Michael Clemmens). I completed my Diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapeutic Counselling Skills and I am a member of BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy). I broadened my expertise with a Certificate in Couples Counselling at the Metanoia Institute in 2014.
I am a member of the Stepin Asap (Advancing Stepfamily Awareness in Practice). This is an organisation that seeks to promote awareness of the blended family and the particular challenges that occur.
Currently I am employed as a psychotherapist in the NHS at the Brockwood Surgery, Brockham, Surrey and I have a small private practice in a custom built cabin in my garden in Epsom. I am about to complete a Diploma in Counselling Adolescents at the Institute of Arts and Therapy in Education and hope to expand my practice to help teenagers work creatively and imaginatively to resolve their difficulties.
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.
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Counselling Teenagers using the Arts.
The main aim of psychotherapy/counselling is to help people develop a capacity to tolerate and process emotional pain so as to better understand themselves and lead a more choiceful and meaningful life.
Young people may lack the necessary communication skills to do this.
This is where using the Arts (painting, sand-tray play, clay modelling, using puppets) can help deepen the therapeutic experience by accessing the inner world of the individual more directly and by-passing the cognition whilst simultaneously allowing them to be supported.
to be continued.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Upcoming events
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Once we have an agreement to work together, we will draw up a contract comprising of an initial 6 sessions. These will occur weekly, preferably at a regular time.
My current fees are: individual £65
couples £75 for first session 1.5 hrs and subsequent 1hr sessions
When I work
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My latest evening appointment is 7.30pm. Parking on site.
Further information
Couple Therapy
'A leopard can't change its spots'.....'you can't teach and old dog new tricks'.....'you know what all men/women are like'....
It's funny how we can become so set in our ways that phrases like these become self-fulfilling.
When our relationships are working we feel we can face anything and when misunderstandings and difficulties arise, the world can seem bleak and we can feel alone. When we try to impose change or have unrealistic expectations or become critical, resistance and disappointment can follow.
Pressures of modern life put strain on our time and resources. Inevitably, those closest to us bear the brunt of this.
This is when communication becomes the most important and at the same time, the most difficult thing to manage.
Couples Therapy can provide a safe, neutral environment to explore and discover coping strategies and understanding of each other's position; whether it's for a parting of the ways or creating a path through this minefield of emotions, to a closer bond with your partner. Making a positive ending out of a negative situation.
I believe in and have experienced that with goodwill, commitment and a willingness to learn, change IS possible.
Leopards and old dogs, take note!
