Jon Martyn
About me
I strive to offer a therapeutic environment where you will feel safe to be creative and speak honestly; where difficult feelings, thoughts and experiences can be given room to be shared, felt and understood.
Clients find me approachable, non-judgemental and down to earth. I approach all my work with an open mind and see therapy as a place for shared learning.
I offer a non-directive and human approach to my therapeutic encounters, and have an interest in untying the stigma that is commonly attached to difficult emotional experiences while understanding the sometimes destructive strategies that we develop for coping with distress.
My approach is informed by psychotherapy and art as social action; and I am interested in understanding how the political, social and personal experiences affect one’s relationship with the present.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a state registered Art Psychotherapist, registered with HCPC and a member of the British Association of Art Therapists.
Prior to my private practice, I was a lecturer on the Art Psychotherapy MA at Goldsmiths College and co-founded a Therapeutic Art Studio for refugees – the New Art Studio.
For my full career history, see my LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmartyn/
Significant experience:
- I have experience working with adults who are marginalised, struggle with their identity, self harm, have destructive behaviour and suicidal thoughts.
- I have worked on women’s group therapy programmes designed for survivors of sexual and emotional abuse, which as a male therapist allowed me to assist participants in making positive connections with men, sometimes for the first time.
- I have experience in working in NHS outpatient programmes, involving helping isolated and often highly traumatised people move away from destructive coping strategies.
- Issues I have helped with in the past include: anxiety relationship issues, depression, generalised anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder/manic depression, family issues, affairs and betrayals, separation and divorce, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, gender, PTSD, trauma, anger, suicidal thoughts, self harm, recreational drug use, alcoholism, destructive coping strategies, personality disorders, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, abortion, adoption, miscarriage, child related issues, attachment disorder, stress, borderline personality disorder, Asperger’s, autism, learning disability, long term illness, HIV/AIDS, psychosis, schizophrenia, hearing voices.
Member organisations
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.
Health and Care Professions Council
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
- Cultural difference
- Migration & asylum
- Gender and sexuality
- Recreational drug use
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Starting therapy can be daunting, and I think it is important to start carefully, so that you feel safe. Please feel welcome to contact me via phone or email to arrange an initial conversation.
If this conversation goes well, we will then offer you an assessment. This gives us both the opportunity to establish the therapeutic relationship, consider risk and to think about if this is the right time for therapy. The assessment may last for more than one session, if there is a lot to discuss.
Therapy will commence after the assessment; therapy works best if we meet at the same time on a weekly basis.
Fees
Initial conversation: no fee
Assessment (1.5 hours.): £60.
Weekly therapy (1 hour): £40.
Concessions are available on request
Availability
Weekdays, before 7pm.
Further information
Why art therapy?
Art Psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy, where you will use art making as a way of understanding yourself and your relationship with others. It does not require any experience of art making & there can be as much talking as art making. In therapy, art can offer the opportunity to see, feel and sit with experiences and feelings that can be difficult to put into words.
Art therapy can be an immensely powerful experience, by being an outlet for feelings and an aid to self-understanding. Engaging with creativity can help improve self-esteem, helps to express experiences that are difficult to put into words and can enables one to engage with forgotten memories.
It can be useful to listen to other people’s experiences in therapy, and the British Association of Art Therapists have produced a series of films that give people the chance to talk about their experiences in therapy.