Catherine van Maanen


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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello there!
I'm Catherine, but I go by Cat and I'm an integrative therapist and registered member of the BACP. As a human, I have experienced difficulty, struggle and pain. As a therapist, I have gained understanding and skills to share with clients in how to re-establish a relationship with themselves and their ultimate goals for their future.
If you have felt like an outcast, alone or chronically misunderstood, I am here to provide a safe space for you to share your secrets without judgement, be yourself completely and to feel held and therapeutically supported.
My approach to therapy is creative, fresh and dynamic. I work collaboratively with clients and tailor my approach to meet their specific needs and to meet who they are as a person. My core integration is humanistic and relational psychodynamic. I also draw on attachment theory to help me to understand where you have been and how you relate to those around you (including yourself!), whilst still acknowledging that you are the expert on you and giving you the space to explore in the way you want to. I also encourage integrating the somatic bodily experience and mind in my exploration as I believe this is crucial to our holistic understanding of ourselves and I keep updating my practice as new understanding evolves.
I am down-to-earth and a little bit of a grandma at heart ... I believe that the relationship between therapist and client should be nourishing in a similar way to the desired impacts of a Werthers original from said grandmothers!
In other words, I provide an empathetic, warm, comforting and non-judgemental space to process and hold your lived experiences and to provide a space to be fully yourself, to share your secrets safely, to challenge you along the way, and to help you on your lifelong journey to self-understanding and a life worth living.
I practice online, and in-person at Cherry Tree Therapy Centre in Buckhurst Hill: 2, Station Parade, Buckhurst Hill IG9 6EU and Studio 31 in Holborn.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications
- Qualified member of the BACP.
- MAPsychotherapy and Counselling, Regent's University London (year 3, Integrative pathway). Year 2 equivalent of PGDip in Psychotherapy and Counselling, Regent's University London. Year 1 equivalent of PGCert Psychotherapy and Counselling, Regent's University London.
- Foundation Certificate in Psychotherapy and Counselling from Regent's University London.
Experience
I have experience working with long-term clients experiencing compulsions, anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, eating disorders, sudden bereavement and loss, difficult thoughts, reflecting on challenging behaviours, lifestyle changes, sexuality and identity in particular. My own experience with neurodivergence has helped me to understand the stigma that can still be found in both the medical industry as well as in our interpersonal relationships.
Other notable experience:
- 2 years of training in Existential, Psychodynamic and Humanistic therapy at Regent's University London.
- CPD completed on 'Working with Suicidality in the Helping Professions' with The Training ComPenDium.
- Experience working with clients of all genders 18+.
- Experience working within a holistic therapy centre.
- On the Trusted Therapist Directory for Donor Conceived UK (DCUK)
Please do visit my website for more in depth information on how I work as well as more about the topics I cover.
Member organisations

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
Identity in general
I am also a donor-conceived person and aware of the stigmas and some particular areas of struggle here.
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 - £75.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I use a sliding scale system to allow for more accessibility.
I do not have any low-income spaces available.
Sessions held in Buckhurst Hill: £50-£65
Sessions held in Holborn: £65-£75
Online sessions vary.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with me if you have any queries!
When I work
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I work from Holborn (online and in person) on Tuesday mornings and early afternoons and Buckhurst Hill (online and in person) on Tuesday evening, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Further information
LGBTQIA+
Insured by Holistic Insurance Services.
Registered with the ICO (Information Commissioner's office).
Listed on the BACP registry.
I work online UK wide and face to face in Essex and East London.