About me
Do you find yourself pulling away just as things start to feel close? Maybe there's a quiet sense of shame you can't quite name, or a feeling of being disconnected from others, or from yourself, even when life looks fine from the outside. Perhaps anxiety has become something you've just learned to live with, or there's grief or loss that feels stuck, unresolved, or heavier than you expected.
If any of this sounds familiar, I want you to know you're not broken, and you're not alone. These patterns almost always make sense once we understand where they came from.
I'm Gemma, a BACP-registered integrative counsellor specialising in anxiety and relational/attachment trauma. I work with adults navigating anxiety, grief, and disconnection patterns that often trace back to early relational wounds still shaping how safe you feel with others, and in your own body, today.
Becoming a counsellor has been rooted in my own personal experience. Growing up as an immigrant in Spain gave me an early, lived sense of what it means to navigate difference and hold multiple cultures at once. I grew up on insecure foundations, which have shaped my understanding of relational wounds long before I had the language for it. This isn't just something I understand professionally; it's something I continue to live and carry with me, and the journey I took continues to influence how I work today.
I began my career in mental health supporting families affected by domestic abuse and emotional difficulties, then trained and worked as a counsellor with Mind. I now run a private practice in Wimbledon (SW19) and Clapham (SW4), offering both short and long-term therapy for adults 18+, in person or online — wherever you're based.
If any of this resonates, I'd love to hear from you. Head to my website and click on the bookings link to book a free initial chat with me.
Training, qualifications & experience
Rather than applying one fixed method, I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches and tailor them to you, paying close attention to your relational patterns, the defences that once protected you, and the connection between mind and body, which is central to real, lasting change.
At the heart of the work is the relationship between us. I hold that space with empathy, warmth, and consistency, so you can show up exactly as you are, not as who you think you need to be. From there, we make sense of your past together, understand how it shapes the way you relate to the world now, and start shifting you out of survival mode and toward a life with more meaning, connection, and joy.
I can help if you recognise:
- Anxiety that intensifies in relationships
- Grief or loss that feels stuck, unresolved, or heavier than you expected
- Health anxiety — a nervous system on constant alert, scanning your body for signs something's wrong
- Panic, social anxiety, or a general sense of unease
- A persistent sense of shame or "not being enough"
- Difficulty trusting people, or trusting good things when they happen
- A pattern of disconnecting from others, your body, or your own emotions
- Family struggles
- Parenting struggles
- A relationship under strain — communication breakdown/conflict
- Separation or divorce
- An affair — whether you're rebuilding trust or trying to understand what happened and why
- The sense that you're coping, but not really living
- Struggles in the workplace
- Difficulties coping with stress or anxiety at work
Professional Qualifications and Training
- BSc Hons Degree in Psychology at Trinity & All Saints College
- CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Attachment Focused Psychotherapy
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Integrative Counselling at Spurgeon’s College
- CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Integrative Counselling at Spurgeon’s College
- Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Regents College
- Registered member with the BACP 408735 MBACP
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
£70.00 per session
Additional information
There is current availability for in-person and online sessions.
If this resonates, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out for a free initial conversation, no obligation, to see if I'm the right counsellor for you.
Complimentary intro call (approx. 20 minutes)
£70 per session (50 minutes) — same rate from your first session onwards
When I work
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