Dr Jack Closs - Clinical Psychologist

About me

Welcome!

About me

The first thing to say is that I am a Counselling Psychologist, registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). As a Counselling Psychologist, I am trained to a doctoral level to deliver researched and evidence-based therapy from a variety of therapeutic models. This allows me to tailor therapy to your individual needs.

How is a Counselling Psychologist different?

Counselling Psychologists train to a doctoral level in a range of therapies, including CBT and more relationship-focus therapies, which allows them to tailor therapy. We develop particular skills in making sense of individual difficulties, which help us then tailor therapy to the person.  Counsellors and Psychotherapists are also qualified therapeutic practitioners but are generally trained in one therapeutic model and do not always offer skills. Psychiatrists are also doctors but they work with people experiencing mental health difficulties using medications to help manage these difficulties rather than talking therapies.

My Experience

I have worked in mental healthcare since 2010. Pre-training I worked in an NHS mental health hospital as a support worker, as a charity mental health helpline worker, and in mental health research settings. Whilst training, I gained experience in using psychological therapies across a broad range of NHS mental health services, with adults, adolescents and families. I have worked both in outpatient and inpatient settings. I have worked as a counselling psychologist in the NHS primarily as a therapist, offering CBT, CAT, and MBT (see below for acronyms), to adults with anxiety, mood, trauma, and personality related difficulties.

My Values

As a Counselling Psychologist, as well as learning multiple psychotherapeutic approaches, my training was based on the importance of understanding an individual’s unique experience, and on how this can be explored in a therapeutic relationship. Although there are many things that shape who we are as individuals, it is, I believe, our relationships, both with ourselves and others, that often influence us most profoundly. By developing our awareness of these relationships, we can develop valuable and compassionate self-understanding. I aim for my clients to be able to use this understanding to help them to find ways of improving the quality of their lives.

The Models I Work With

I have experience of using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) and psychodynamic therapy. I tailor my therapeutic approach according to what the client wants to work on, integrating different approaches as appropriate.

Professional Registration

Registered Practitioner Psychologist, Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), Registration Number: PYL35334.

Taking the next steps

I appreciate that looking for a therapist can feel a bit overwhelming and confusing. I hope the information above will help to answer some of your questions but if you would like to know more, please contact me in confidence via our team at Avenue Therapies by email or phone (020 7112 8834) by email (therapy@avenuetherapies.com)