Fiona Desai
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I provide a safe and private space where you can press 'pause' and talk with me in confidence about the distress you may be experiencing, without fear of being met with judgment, disapproval, or rejection. This environment provides the conditions for you to feel fully heard and understood, and work toward your emotional growth in a way that is comfortable for you.
Over the years, I have noticed that at some point in our lives it feels difficult to to be actively heard and seen. We all experience distressing life events that impact us in various ways. We can feel lost, anxious, hurt, depressed, scared, angry, empty, guilty, or full of shame, which may leave us feeling negative about ourselves.
Sometimes we can navigate our way through with the help of family and friends, but this may not always be possible. At other times, it can feel like we have one to talk to, or no one who really listens and understands us and our circumstances. Whatever the situation, it can be very helpful to talk things through with a therapist who will remain objective and not make judgments about you.
Counselling can feel overwhelming, but I believe it takes strength and bravery to ask for professional support from a stranger, especially if it’s your first time.
Choosing a therapist who is right for you
Just as important as finding a therapist that has the right training and qualifications, is finding someone you feel is a good fit for you. Experience has shown me that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is essential for effective therapy and in my practice, this relationship sits at the heart of the therapy.
To support this, I offer the first session free of charge, with no obligation, to see how I might be able to help and if we are a good fit.
Before Becoming a Therapist...
Prior to training and practicing as a psychotherapist, I worked for 25-years in the private sector, specifically advertising and strategic communications, initially in the UK and then the US, where I lived for many years. While the advertising industry reinforced my interest in psychology and the relationship between emotions and behaviour, it provided me with experience on the emotional, personal, and 'imposter' toll working in a corporate environment can sometimes take.
Living outside of the UK – my country of birth - for many years has also provided me with some insight on the toll a sense of ‘otherness’ can take.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BA (HONS) Psychology
- British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) Accredited Higher Professional Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling
- BACP Registered Member
- Caris Islington Adult Bereavement/Loss Counsellor
- One in Four: Addiction, Attachment & Relational Trauma
I work with a diverse range of clients and some of the areas I have experience working with include:
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Addiction and addictive tendencies
- Anticipatory grief and loss
- Bereavement
- Depression and low mood
- Dissociation and disconnection - self, others, society
- Domestic abuse/coercive control
- Emergence of repetitive patterns of thought/behaviour
- Grief and loss
- Impact of bullying
- Impact of historical stressors and trauma on present
- Imposter syndrome
- Low self-esteem and self-confidence
- Recovery from addiction
- Shame-based experiences, identity
- Spiralling anxious/negative thinking
Living Loss
While I have extensive experience working with grief and loss in the context of bereavement, I am increasingly working with loss in the context of significant life-changes, or what I refer to as 'living losses.' Every change in our lives and circumstances inevitably leaves a sense of loss in its wake, and can leave us feeling fragile or questioning ourselves as we grieve what has been lost and adjust to the change. It might be the loss of a future we thought we were going to have, the loss of a job, a relationship, of youth, and its important to remember we can grieve the loss of things we never had the opportunity to have. Whatever changes and losses you maybe facing, we can work through them together.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 per session
Free initial in-person or online session
Additional information
Individual Therapy: £75 per 50-minute session
What to expect in our first session
I offer the first session free of charge, with no obligation. This will be an assessment and will give us the opportunity to get to know each other and explore your reasons for coming to therapy.
Frequency
- If we agree to continue we will choose a consistent day and time to meet.
- In terms of frequency, once a week is recommended but this can be discussed depending on your need.
- I work with an open-ended process so there is no fixed number of sessions. Some of my clients have been with me for several years, while others have gained what they need in shorter term work between 12-24 sessions.
- As our relationship and work evolves, we will have regular reviews to check-in and monitor our progress.
Where
- I offer face-to-face counselling at my consulting rooms in East Dulwich, and I offer online sessions for clients who may prefer this.
- Please contact me if you have any further questions or you would like to make arrangements for counselling.
Please contact me if you have any further questions or you would like to make arrangements for an initial session.
When I work
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