About me
I am a qualified relational humanistic psychotherapist, which means my priority is nurturing a genuine, trusting, and safe connection with you. Therapy with me is about creating a space that holds you - one that feels real, warm, and human. My work is grounded in my humanistic values of empathy, attunement, and presence. At the core, I believe the most important thing is that we’re just two people meeting and connecting as humans. You’re invited to share your whole self in a validating environment - even those parts you might carry shame about. Shame begins to lose its grip when it’s spoken aloud, so let’s meet what’s been hidden, side by side.
I’m committed to offering a therapeutic space that is welcoming, inclusive, and affirms all identities, neurotypes, and ways of being. I am dedicated to anti-oppressive practice and work with an awareness of how social systems such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and sexism impact wellbeing and lived experience. I work in a way that celebrates neurodivergence, deeply valuing the richness and diversity of minds and experiences you bring. However you show up, I’ll meet you with openness, respect, care, and cultural humility.
While I enjoy working with people across all life stages, I have a particular passion for supporting young adults. I really do understand how confusing, stressful, and emotionally demanding this phase of life can be. It’s often a time filled with uncertainty, transitions, and pressure to figure everything out all at once - your career, your relationships, your independence, your identity, to name just a few.
Add to that the constant comparisons and competitiveness fuelled by social media, academic or career stress, and the sense that everyone else seems to be coping just fine (even if they’re not)... it can be a lot.
You’re not alone if you’re experiencing fear of failure or a sense of not being good enough - the rise in socially-prescribed perfectionism among young adults is a very real and challenging thing. Chasing your worth is exhausting. But that feeling doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it’s part of a wider cultural narrative.
Together, we can begin to untangle those messages, understand where they come from, and start rewriting the story in a way that’s actually yours.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified psychotherapist with an MSc in Humanistic Psychotherapy from the Metanoia Institute - a leading specialist institution for the training of psychotherapists, psychologists, and counsellors. I have completed a substantial number of Continuing Professional Development activities to ensure my skills and knowledge remain current and well-informed.
I have accumulated a substantial breadth of professional experience over six years, working with a wide-ranging and diverse client base across various therapeutic settings. These include private practice, community-based projects, women’s refuge services, trauma-focused organisations, crisis charities, and the NHS. This has equipped me to engage thoughtfully and sensitively with a broad spectrum of psychological and emotional difficulties.
I am a registered and accredited member of BACP and UKCP and abide by their code of ethics. My work is fully insured and professionally supervised in accordance with their guidelines.
Member organisations
school 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.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Perfectionism and Fear of failure
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£100.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
To make things easier, I usually invoice monthly, so you don’t have to worry about remembering to pay before the session each week.
When I work
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Further information
Therapy is a space where you don’t have to do it alone.
I really believe in the power of a meaningful and authentic bond between myself and the people I work with, and I will give precedence to the quality of the relationship we build together. I’ll bring my full presence to our time together, and I invite you to do the same, in your own way and at your own pace.
This is a collaborative journey - we are a team. I believe you are the expert in your own experience, and my role isn’t to hand you quick answers or fixes. I’m here to support you in discovering your own insights and choices. And trust me, they’re in there somewhere – together, we’ll gently uncover them.
The space is yours to shape, and you decide how we use our time. At the same time, I’ll always stay attuned to what you need. I’m flexible and responsive in how I work - whether that means bringing an occasional more directive and challenging quality to the process, or simply offering a place to breathe, reflect, and explore while I sit alongside you.
Some aims of therapy:
- To process and heal old wounds, make space for what hurts, and begin to reconnect with the world around you
- To deepen your awareness and understanding of yourself - with kindness, curiosity and compassion
- To make sense of your experiences and how they’ve shaped the way you move through life
- To notice and gently untangle patterns that no longer serve you, creating space for more conscious, flexible, and resilient ways of being
- To reflect on the choices available to you, and explore what moving forward might look like
- To reconnect with parts of yourself that may have been pushed aside – helping you feel more whole, more grounded, and more you.
How Change Happens:
- Change is a gradual process, where you can enjoy the journey of becoming.
- Every small step matters and deserves to be celebrated. It’s not about an instant miracle cure but about moving forward in a way that feels real and lasting.
- Lasting change comes through self-acceptance, not by pushing yourself to be someone else or trying to ‘fix’ who you are.
- You have an inner healer – therapy helps clear the path for it and bridges the gap between who you think you should be and who you truly are
- Research consistently shows that the most important factor in meaningful change is the therapeutic relationship – and that’s where I come in.
If you want to find out more head to my website: https://www.bellawhittakertherapy.com
Pop me an email and we can arrange a free 20 minute zoom meet to see if we'd be a good fit. Sometimes my emails can land in the junk folder - please make sure to check if you have not received a response!
