Isabella Whitaker

Hello, I'm Isabella, an integrative therapist offering online and face to face therapy in Central and South West London. Seeking help can feel scary and daunting so I commend you on making it this far. In therapy, I will hold a supportive space for you to explore your pain, feel heard and seen, and find a way to start living again.   My practice is based on the philosophy that every person has the capacity to grow and to find meaning in life no matter what they are facing or have been through.

Do you find yourself feeling low, lethargic, or unenthusiastic about your life and future? Maybe you’re repeating stuck patterns of behaviour or finding yourself easily overwhelmed. The first step towards change is choosing to do something differently. Perhaps seeking therapy is your first step. Facing your pain can be scary, but it’s not something you have to do alone.

Therapy offers support through difficult periods and can help you become aware of and break out of old patterns. It can help empower you to make informed choices from a considered place, encouraging a more authentic existence. 

 
My Practice
I specialise in working with anxiety, trauma, depression, relationships, family issues, low self-esteem, and sex and intimacy issues. I aim to create a warm and nurturing space in which you can explore your feelings and develop a greater sense of self-understanding and self-acceptance. I welcome neurodivergent individuals with ADHD and/or Autism. LGBTQ+ safe space.

As a relational therapist, I will use our therapeutic relationship to reflect on how we are relating to one another in the moment. This helps us to understand your patterns of relating to others. Therapy will help you develop new ways of relating to others that are more in line with your authentic self. Setting you free from harmful patterns that you find yourself stuck in. 

Working with Trauma
My approach to working with trauma is based on modern scientific understanding of the relationship between trauma and the body. By incorporating the body in therapy, we are able to understand how your emotional pain manifests physically. The physical symptoms of trauma can be debilitating and bringing awareness to these feelings can make them feel less scary. My primary motivation is to keep you feeling safe at all times.

Another part of recovering from trauma is to find meaning in what can feel like a meaningless situation. This will involve some exploration around how to live meaningfully despite what you have been through. Trauma can destroy one’s sense of self and meaning in life, and cause feelings of isolation, loneliness, and despair. We will explore how the trauma has affected and continues to affect you. We will also search for a way for you to live meaningfully and with purpose.

Mindfulness and Breath in Therapy
As a trained Yoga, Breathwork, and Meditation teacher, I have an in depth understanding of the body and how it can be influenced by mindfulness and breath. As humans we live through our bodies, not as a separate entity to them. Disruptions in well-being can occur when the body and mind are not working together as one. By directly manipulating the nervous system through mindfulness and breath, we can bring ourselves back into a state of harmony, free from overwhelm. Calming breathing techniques are particularly useful for anxiety and an energising breath is useful for stuckness and depression. These techniques are an optional part of the therapy. The choice is yours.

Are you ready to start fully living? Reach out to me today via email or through counselling directory. It would be my privilege to go on your therapeutic journey with you.

£65 for online therapy.

£80 for face to face therapy.

I offer concessions for those on low incomes. Please contact me if you wish to discuss this.

I offer prospective clients a free 30-minute initial consultation. This allows you to get a feel for whether I might be the right therapist for you, and for me to better understand what brings you to therapy and whether I feel I can help you.