Catherine Allen

I am a qualified and accredited Counsellor and also EMDR therapist. I have a passion for supporting and facilitating others in finding more meaning and contentment within their lives or to just be there with you and your anxiety, depression, pain, sadness or discomfort.

I have an extensive and varied experience of working with issues to do with the human condition. I have a vast amount of experience in working with Trauma and little t trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, self esteem, self worth and drug and alcohol addiction.

I have written my profile based on my experience of working with clients, which I hope will be helpful to you.

In the current situation many people are experiencing existential crisis to include, loss of identity, meaning and purpose. With a vast reduction in activities that could provide distraction away from ourselves, causes us to feel a sense of loss. Currently, we are faced with ourselves in a way that has not been known before, this can call parts of our lives into question, and can be accompany by immense fear, depression, loss, dread or self loathing.

Generally, when people are seeking therapy it is usually because something in their lives is causing some sort of discomfort, confusion or distress. Anxiety is currently the most common cause of an unhappy, stressful life, others are depression, relationship difficulties, perpetual patterns of events or feelings that repeat themselves over and over again, bullying, addictions, work related stress, a general sense of lack of fulfilment, anger, OCD the list goes on.

I understand that seeking support can ignite a number of negative messages such “I am weak” or “I should be able to do this myself” or “what will others think”, "will I be believed". Other reasons that can make it difficult to make that first step could be that you do not consider that your problems are as bad or as big as other people and therefore you do not have the right to seek support, these messages, whilst they may feel real to you are simply not true, everyone deserves the opportunity to be heard, valued and accepted. Problems are relevant to the individual and if you are not experiencing your life in a way that is satisfying for you, or need to tell your story or be witnessed, you have every right to have that support. Seeking emotional and psychological support is no different to calling the doctor when you are feeling physically unwell or calling the chiropractor when your back is sore.

You are unique and there is no one else exactly like you in the world, which is why having a therapist with a number of Skills can help to meet your individual needs. Therapy is a way of taking care of you, giving yourself the space, which in turn will help you to make sense of the things that you may be experiencing.

Many of us don’t understand why we think, feel and behave the way that we do or think that the world thinks and feels the same way that you do and it can be a shock to find out that they don't.

Much of our distress can be caused by the stories we tell ourselves about others or events that happen. Psycho-education will help you to gain a better understanding of these things, and this alone can be a relief and will promote positive change. Having a space that is just for you where the therapist is available, accepting, non-judgemental and present will support you when you are struggling and you do not have to be alone with this.

Whilst there are many tools that a therapist has, the most significant indicator of successful therapy is the therapeutic relationship. Finding the right therapist for you can be daunting, you may go with a picture, or what is written, or how the therapist sounds on the telephone, or how they respond to your email. When you start therapy consider “do I feel comfortable?”, do I feel safe? heard? accepted? can I be myself? If you don’t feel these things, find a therapist where you do, therapy is the one relationship where you do not need to consider the feelings of the other person, just yourself. Having said this most of our experience of others is not what is spoken but what is unspoken and is subconscious. Therapy can be and is life changing so finding the right person for you is paramount.

You can expect me to be curious and interested in you, and to work with you at your own pace.

If you are seeking and EMDR Therapy you may already have an idea of what it is, if you don’t here is a brief explanation. EMDR is a tool that is used to help “unfreeze” previous memories and experiences. These experiences can be trauma/PTSD related or issues such as phobias or self confidence.

Location of therapy 

Bromley  - £60.00

London Bridge - £80.00