Catherine Bechirian

About me

My aim as a therapist is to be empathic and helpful, accepting and  non-judgemental. I work collaboratively and respectfully with each person, trying to create a space within sessions that feels safe and confidential, where people can feel listened to, and comfortable enough to share any problems. Offering clients the support to explore unconsciously held ways of being, stored memories or patterns of thinking, I will encourage them to work gently towards greater understanding of themselves and their behaviours, needs and desires, and to feel hopeful and empowered. 

I qualified as an Art Psychotherapist in 2005, and am registered with the HCPC, (the Health and Care Professions Council) which is overseen by the Professional Standards Authority. (Art Psychotherapists are also known as Art Therapists, depending on the client group they work with). I have nearly twenty years’ experience of working with clients from different backgrounds and cultures, and age groups who have brought many different stories and issues to our sessions. During the early years of my therapy career I had a good and eclectic grounding working in adult NHS mental health settings, education, different charities offering counselling and psychotherapy, with looked after children, and in forensic mental health settings. For the past ten years or so, and exclusively since Covid, I've also been seeing individual adult clients in my Private Practice, who've been seeking support for various things, including distressing emotions and behaviours linked to anxiety, stress, depression, attachment issues, relationship difficulties, loss, trauma, and/or eating disorders, bereavement, life transitions, issues around ageing, suicidal thoughts, neurodiversity, hoarding, meaninglessness, and for many other reasons.

As a member of the professional bodies HCPC and BAAT, I abide by their ethical principles and code of conduct. I continue to research widely and with interest, and to attend CPD courses and talks on the many different approaches to therapy that will support me in meeting the needs of my clients. I have regular supervision to ensure I work in a way that is safe and effective. I'm DBS checked, and am fully insured for private practice.

I offer both short term and longer term therapy, and single session therapy. I also offer fortnightly sessions - especially during this present economic crisis. This is something that can be discussed during the initial phone conversation. Whatever is decided upon, it can of course be adjusted once you have started.

Why might you be looking for a therapist?

Everyone will come to a therapist with their own absolutely unique needs and story.

You may want to talk about feeling stressed or anxious, or explore feelings of low self-worth. Or you may be experiencing anger, or sadness.

You might have experienced childhood, or more recent, or even ongoing trauma, or relationship problems, or loss, and want to talk about and better understand the effects these things can have on our life, and our wellbeing.

Perhaps you feel you need some support with finding ways of working towards a change in some of your behaviours, maybe finding better ways of coping and behaving.

Or you might be seeking therapy because you're experiencing inexplicable and uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, perhaps of emptiness, meaninglessness, sadness or despair.

Bereavement, or loss of loved ones in other ways, or important life transitions can leave us struggling to find meaning or hope, and sometimes we need some support so we can get through these difficult periods of grieving.

Some of us may even have all the above happening at the same time. There are also people who feel okay and that they are functioning well, but want to understand themselves, others, or their relationships, better. 

We are all unique - some of us may not identify with any of what I've just described. But we might feel that for some reason we need someone to listen to us, perhaps support us to unpick and understand better who we are, and how we are, help us become 'unstuck'. Life experiences and responses are so complex and completely individual.
 
Online therapy

The outbreak of Covid-19 had, and continues to have, an impact on the mental health of many people and online therapy was extremely effective throughout the height of the pandemic. It enabled existing clients to feel supported and to continue working safely with their therapists, and new clients to find accessible, convenient and cost effective ways of accessing therapy, when they may never have considered the idea in the past.

As the increased accessibility that online therapy offers seems to be a really positive thing for promoting good psychological health, I have decided to continue offering online and telephone therapy. 

Why use art making or imagery in therapy?

It's certainly not obligatory to draw instead of talk in our sessions. It's an option I might suggest, along side talking, if it feels appropriate for any reason, as it's a way of working I have training in. But it's very much up to the individual. Our brains all work differently.

Sometimes we can't find the right words to express the things we feel, think, or remember. Making images or creating symbols is just another way of communicating, and can help us express, or understand better what might be difficult to put into words, can even give us a link to our unconscious minds or things we've forgotten. 

Image making can help us to reframe and reflect on experiences, reorganise our thoughts and gain personal insights. Neuroscientific studies have shown that it can activate the areas of the brain related to emotional regulation, traumatic memory and cognitive functioning.

It's absolutely not about being 'good at art', or about your skill being judged, or about a therapist analysing your images. 

Art, as well as talking, can be used in online therapy and, with some adjustments, can work in much the same way as in a face to face session. It's okay even if you just have a pen and a notebook - you don't need to have any specific art materials, unless you want to.
 

Loss, which can be associated with life transitions such as divorce, separation from loved ones, getting older, or retirement. Or changes in personal circumstances, such as moving location, changing jobs. Or a loss of something we feel we never had, leaving us feeling bereft and empty, but not knowing why.

My fee scale for a 50 minute session is between £60 and £75. I ask people to pay what they can afford within that scale, depending on their means.

Please contact me to discuss.

I offer an initial twenty minute telephone consultation, for which there is no fee.