Charmaine Zahra
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Integrative Relational Counsellor and Psychotherapist
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About me
We all go through difficult times in life and most of the time we are able to ride the wave on our own or with support from family and friends. However, sometimes the wave can feel bigger than we can handle and we may start feeling like we're going under. That's when we may seek professional help.
I offer a nurturing space where people can feel at ease and comfortable to explore their thoughts and emotions at their own pace. I welcome all emotions and I am particularly interested in working with grief, anger and fear. My main areas of interest are bereavement, relationships, and work-related stress.
My Approach
I am an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist. This means that I combine various approaches to tailor the treatment to the person's distress and preferences. I don't work with diagnostic labels, but rather I consider the person as a whole human being who is made of different parts, the distressed part being just one of them.
My foundational approach is Person-Centred. This means that I believe in the potential of every human being and I support the client to peel the layers and expose that potential. I believe that an honest and unconditional relationship between me and the client is key in achieving this. With this I may combine CBT and psychodynamic concepts. I also work a lot with different parts, especially when there is internal conflict.
I use a collaborative approach which means that the approach I recommend is discussed with the client and tweaked accordingly. This is an ongoing process which allows the treatment to be continuously adapted depending on the client's needs.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Post-Graduate Diploma Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy - University of Roehampton
- BSc (Hons) Psychology - The Open University
Experience
I have a background in business management. This helps me relate to stress and pressures related to the work environment as well as those related to trying to juggle work with other life aspects. Eventually, I retrained starting with a degree in psychology which sparked my interest into people and relationships. After the degree, I started working in schools, where I continue teaching Emotional Literacy, Social Skills, and Anger Management. Subsequently, I continued my journey with the counselling course where I continued to nurture my interest in relationships. I worked at Wandsworth Bereavement Service where I learned how to work with various types of loss, not just those related to death.
I also work at The Awareness Centre in Tooting where I work with the person long-term and addressing a wide range of difficulties. I have a special interest in working with loss, relationships, and work-related stress among others.
Member organisations
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Fees
From £50.00 to £65.00
Free initial telephone or online session
Additional information
My fees range between £50 and £65. The fee can be agreed upon during a free initial consultation.
When I work
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