Dr Christine Hemsley

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Individuals & couples. Specialism; Trauma
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

London, EC1A 2EJ
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

As a highly qualified and experienced Counselling Psychologist, I work with couples and  individuals from 16 years old through to the older population. Working near St Paul's London , I also offer skype consultations. Although I work with a wide variety of psychological distress, my special interests are trauma work and the challenges and difficulties encountered in relationships. I have worked with these and other difficulties in different modalities and techniques.

As well as working privately, I am also employed as a Teaching Fellow at The University of Surrey, working on the Counselling Psychology Doctoral Programme.  I have also been a clinician supervisor for this University which means that I supervised the clinical work of trainees on the doctoral program. I was also employed on a full time lecturing basis at The University of Surrey on the same Doctoral programme.I have worked extensively in the NHS with a wide variety of difficulties and levels of distress. The latter four years were spent working in a specialized service for those encountering Personality Disorders. The adults I worked with were suffering from more enduring difficulties associated with Personality Disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder and Avoidant personality Disorder.

I aim to offer a service that will meet your individual needs whether it is longer or short term therapy. I am trained to Doctoral level in a variety of therapeutic models such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) including mindfulness based models, Psychodynamic and Person Centred Therapy. I have combined my Doctoral level of understanding of these models with rigorous past and ongoing experience that allows me to work with you in a way that suits your particular needs. I aim to work with my clients in a safe and supportive environment that is not based on assumptions about you or your difficulty. My work is supported by my own professional development.

As an ongoing interest, I also read and assess papers submitted for publication in professional journals. In addition I have had 3 articles published in such journals on the topics of trauma, professional development and also the NICE guidelines


What will my service offer you?

I recognize that deciding to seek psychological can be daunting and so I strive to provide a safe, non-judgemental, flexible and collaborative environment. Having allowed the assessment session to explore what life is like for you at the moment, without trying to label it or tell you how you should feel, we can then makes decisions about the next steps together. I can offer you what I feel is the best way forward and a time scale for the work. At this point we can consider if this feels like the best option for you. With this collaborative approach established, we can then work towards your goals of therapy or change if you are ready to do so.

Frequently asked questions

  • What if I am unsure or nervous about therapy.Could I talk to you before booking an appointment? I am very happy to talk to you on the telephone and answer any questions that you have. You may not be sure if your difficulties are suitable for me to work with. We can discuss this on the telephone if you would like to.
  • What is an assessment? As I have described above it is the stage where we consider together what life is like for you at the moment and what changes you would like to make. This is also the phase where we discuss the best way forward for you. This may take one session and sometimes more if necessary.
  • How long does therapy last? Therapy can be as short as 4 to 6 weeks or longer depending on the difficulties that you are experiencing, the type of therapy undertaken and your desired outcome for the work. Therapy is most successful when a person is able to complete the work.
  • Is the information I give you about myself confidential? The information that you share with me will be kept confidential and not shared with another. There are times however when a Psychologist is required by law to share information. This would include a disclosure that there is potential harm to themselves or another person. In this case, I would endeavour to discuss this with you before such action would be taken and only disclose information that is needed to keep a person safe.
  • What happens if I am not sure that I need therapy once I have seen you? Sometimes people are  not sure if now is the right time to engage in the work of therapy. We can discuss this in the assessment and what might be a suitable way forward for you whether now or in the future. There will be no pressure for you to come to therapy if you do not feel ready. However, if you would like to proceed I will support that decision too.

I am bound by the Code of Ethics of the British Psychological Society and I am HCPC Registered.

Training, qualifications & experience

CPsychol (British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist)

PsychD in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (University of Surrey)

MSc in Applied Psychology. (University of Surrey)

BSc in Health Studies (Oxford Brookes University)

Visiting lecturer at The University of Surrey (Doctoral Level)

External Examiner at the University of Surrey (Doctoral Level)

Full time lecturer on the Doctoral Programme at The University of Surrey

Clinical;Supervisor For the Counselling Psychology Doctoral Programme

Dip Psych (Open University)

Advanced Diploma in Couples Therapy (NAOS)

EMDR Levels 1,2, and 3 (Trauma work)

DBT Training ( NHS in-house training) (This training supports working with more complex trauma)

In the NHS working in the personality disorder pathway-assessment and treatment

NHS Primary care working with more transient psychological difficulties.

NHS Secondary care working with more enduring psychological difficulties

Working privately and in the NHS with couples and families.

Training and supervision of other health professionals within the NHS

Review of papers for professional publication (ongoing)

Quality assurance in the NHS

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

HCPC
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.

They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.

Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.

Other areas of counselling I deal with

I have now completed level 1, 2 and 3 of the EMDR training. This has added to the interventions I can offer for trauma work which is a special interest for me.

Fees

£120.00 per session

Health Insurance/EAP

  • Aviva
  • Axa Health
  • BUPA
  • Health Assured
  • Saga
  • WPA

Additional information

I charge £120/session in my work with individuals.  For couples work I charge £135/session. If a session is cancelled 48 hours before the session is due, I charge a full fee.  No other charges apply


I accept credit and debit cards, cheques and cash adn bank transfers.

When I work

I am available Wednesday during the day and evenings at Snow Hill, EC1A 2EJ. I also offer Zoom sessions on a Thursday

Further information

As a registered psychologist, I am bound by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) code of ethics.

The House Consultation Rooms, 1 Snow Hill Court, London, EC1A 2EJ

Type of session

In person
Online

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Older adults
Couples
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Supervision

In person

Within my NHS work I supervise other mental health professionals and psychologists.

View supervision profile

Dr Christine Hemsley
Dr Christine Hemsley