Chi-Tung Chow
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Does your stress, worries and fears inhibit your sleeping at night or cause you to have trouble getting out of bed in the morning to face the new day? Do you lack confidence, which holds you back from performing at your optimum, or perhaps makes it difficult to form relationships with others? Do you feel like anger and resentment are weighing you down and you do not know how to deal with it? Or do you just need someone to listen to you because there is so much chaos in life that is overwhelming to handle alone? Seeking psychodynamic therapy would be a great way to manage these issues and improve both your mental and physical health.
I am Chi-Tung (Ava) Chow and I am a BACP registered Psychodynamic Psychotherapist & Counsellor. Psychodynamic therapy offers a safe, therapeutic environment for you to work through your issues and difficulties. I can understand that seeking therapy can be very daunting, but the therapeutic space will be very welcoming and non-judgmental. As a very empathetic and compassionate therapist, I will work with you to explore your unconscious processes (which consist of your repressed thoughts, early experiences and past relationships). Together, as a therapeutic dyad, we will work to support you in becoming more aware of how your past influences your present; this will help reframe your thoughts and feelings, and also help rework your previous relationships/experiences. By navigating through these tough thoughts and feelings, you will be able to alleviate the weight on your shoulders. Once you become more self-aware, you will have greater control of your own emotions and thoughts - meaning you will find liberation in breaking those unconscious negative thought patterns and cycles that affect you on a daily basis.
I work with a wide range of issues ranging from low self-esteem, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, ASD, trauma/transgenerational trauma, anger management, relationship problems, abuse and many more. I have a special interest in issues related to race, culture and identity.
Training, qualifications & experience
I completed my Master’s (MA in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy) at the University of Essex and passed with a distinction. I am a registered member of BACP (MBACP).
As part of my Master’s course, I completed my clinical training at a local primary school for two academic years where I worked with a variety of clients from different backgrounds and age ranges. Alongside offering one-to-one therapy to my clients, I have also worked with my client’s class teachers and the senior management team in order to ensure I provided the best support I possibly could for both my clients and the school. Furthermore, there were also times when I was able to provide some parent work, this enabled me to support the parents with issues that had occurred outside of school. Through this experience, I was wholeheartedly grateful to have been able to contribute to my client’s support network and help them improve in all areas of life.
Before my Master’s, I had studied BA Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex and graduated with first-class honours. This bachelor’s degree really helped me build my understanding of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theories, and as a result, I was able to develop a very strong foundational knowledge that was crucial in helping me thrive in my master’s course and training.
Since I was in high school, I have always enjoyed doing volunteer work. I would frequently go to my local hospital and spend time with patients who were lonely, scared and upset. I sat by them and listened to them compassionately; I always tried my best to put their mind at ease and made sure they felt like they were being heard during their difficult times.
While I was doing my bachelor’s, I also thoroughly enjoyed doing some volunteer work at a primary school. During my time at this school, I was able to work closely with children across different year groups with contrasting levels of ability. I developed the skill of closely observing and analysing how each of their personalities affected the way they integrated with their peers and how they performed in lessons. This experience became particularly useful later on when I was doing my clinical training because I also had to do some classroom/playground observations.
With the experience and skills that I have developed over the years, I hope to provide a safe and secure therapy experience that will enable you to explore your unconscious mind with the aim of encouraging long-lasting changes in your life.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
Further information
I can provide psychodynamic therapy in English and Cantonese.
I offer a free 30-minute initial consultation and assessment session - this can be either through a phone call or a video call. I will begin the consultation by explaining the psychodynamic therapy framework, it will then be followed with a series of questions to enable me to gain a deeper understanding of your current issues and difficulties. I will also aim to answer any questions you have about psychodynamic therapy.
The cost of each individual session will range from £60-£80.
The duration of each therapy session is 50-minutes; the sessions will be weekly and will take place on the same day each week at the same time. This is to maintain a sense of consistency within the therapeutic relationship and space. I will further explain this in the initial consultation.
Please do not hesitate to text, call or email me if you are interested or have any enquiries.
