Dr Hannah King

I understand that beginning therapy can feel nerve-wracking and exposing. As your Psychologist, you can expect a warm, caring approach to creating a safe and reflective relationship. I offer brief, focused therapy to build coping skills and overcome specific problems, or more in-depth work to build insight and release ingrained ways of being that are no longer helpful to you.

Working together.

I specialise in working with trauma responses*, for example, following an accident, attack or abuse, including in childhood. I regularly support people with relationship difficulties, low mood or feeling sad, depression, loneliness and anxiety (including panic attacks, all types of OCD, generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety and health anxiety), anger, shame and bereavement. I work with sexual difficulties where these have arisen from trauma or abuse. I often support people struggling with dissociation, and those who feel stuck in a rut.

I have an interest in supporting people who are re-evaluating who they are and what they want from life, and am passionate about enabling people to tune into their values to live more personally meaningful, fulfilling lives.

Together, and at your pace, we can explore your experiences in a supportive, non-judgemental way to make sense of the problems you are struggling with. I would be happy to talk through your hopes for therapy, and any questions you may have.

I offer a free initial consultation over the telephone, for up to 20 minutes. This allows us to get a sense of the problems and briefly think through what would likely be a helpful next step - please get in touch here to arrange this.

*Normal human responses to traumatic situations are often given diagnostic labels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD, or Attachment Disorder. I am able to diagnose if this feels helpful, but equally happy to work without labels.

Difficulties I often help people with:

• Feeling on-edge, panicky, stressed, breathless or afraid
• Feeling upset, angry or hurt in relationships. Arguments, drama or break-ups with friends or partners, or being caught up in family issues.
• Feeling sad, lonely and down
• Memories you can't seem to leave in the past; going over and over things that happened, or finding that everything is a trigger for unwanted and distressing remembering
• Wondering whether difficulties you experienced as a child could still be affecting you. This might be abuse or trauma, or things that seemed 'normal' at the time that you've started to question. 
• Having escaped abusive, toxic or unhealthy relationships including narcissism or bullying - wanting to heal and choose future relationships that are nourishing and respectful
• Struggling to connect with your emotions or intellectualising emotions rather than feeling them (despite, perhaps, years of therapy). 
• Negative thoughts about yourself; self-criticism, low self-confidence or low self-esteem.
• Feeling like you're somehow broken and destined to fail; humiliation, shame, guilt, and self-criticism.

Perhaps it's hard to say what's wrong, or why, but you've lost your spark and direction, each day is just going through the motions and you know there must be more to life than this.

People who have experienced trauma, difficult childhoods, or mental health issues often say they feel confused about why life seems so much harder for them than others. Knowing that you need to change can be very frustrating when your best efforts keep landing you back in the same place. Maybe you know what you should be doing, but, in the heat of the moment, you keep reverting to old, unhelpful patterns that keep you stuck. 

I always begin working by getting a thorough understanding of what's been going on for you, and making sense of this together in a compassionate, psychologically informed way. This often means that by the end of the first session, my clients share that they have a better understanding of themselves; one that feels less shameful and more hopeful. This understanding can pave the way for making effective, long-term changes for the better. 

Please contact me to discuss how we might work together for a more positive future. 

I also offer bespoke training in a wide range of topics, for audiences from primary-age children to university students and professionals. Consultation is available to organisations, please get in touch for more information on this.

I offer a free initial consultation over the telephone, for up to 20 minutes. 

I have opened new clinic hours for June 2024 so have availability for new clients.

I work with people from age 16 upwards. 

I charge £120 for a 55-60 minute appointment for self-funding clients . I see all therapy and supervision clients online (Zoom or Skype). I accept WPA, Cigna and Bupa insurance (£130 per 55-60 minute appointment due to invoicing costs)

Fees for training and consultation vary, and packages can be offered. Please contact me to discuss. 

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic I started working solely online. I was initially concerned that this would interrupt the therapeutic process, but, like many others, I discovered that it works so well I have decided to continue. Clients have shared that, despite initial hesitation, they find meeting online is very convenient and that logging in from the familiarity of home has allowed them to feel safer and so be more open. This finding is backed up by recent research studies showing that therapy online can be as effective than face-to-face (and sometimes more so). If you're unsure, please feel free to contact me for a chat.