Laura Talanti

How I Work

People come to therapy for a wide range of reasons, whether in response to a specific life event, particular difficulty or a longer-standing issue. You might be so used to coping and keeping things in that you even wonder if the things that are bothering you are bad enough to come to therapy. Perhaps the people around you think your life looks good on the outside, but you know inside you can feel panicked, lost and exhausted? Maybe you find you often end up overthinking situations from your day or having strong reactions that don’t always make sense to you?

If this feels familiar, therapy might be helpful.

Starting therapy, whether for the first time or if you are returning to it, can raise questions about what kind of therapy might be helpful and how to find the right therapist. Below I outline how I work, so you can decide whether my approach feels like a good fit. That said, I believe therapy is above all about finding the right fit – a therapist you feel you can learn to trust (even if it takes time) and whose approach makes sense to you.

I work psychodynamically, using a psychoanalytically based approach. This focuses on helping you become more aware of underlying patterns in your feelings, thoughts, and ways of relating, many of which operate outside conscious awareness. By understanding these patterns, people often find they are able to relate to themselves and others with more ease and less anxiety. Above all, it’s a particular way of listening – of me listening to you – but as the work progresses, helping you learn to listen to yourself in a particular way too, so that your thoughts and feelings become less overwhelming and make more sense.

If you are looking for a therapist who gives you lots of worksheets, teaches you techniques and sets homework, I’m probably not the therapist for you. If, however, you are looking for someone who is experienced in and interested in longer term, relational work that helps you with in-depth understanding and change, then I might be the right fit.

The therapeutic relationship

Therapy provides a confidential space to speak openly about aspects of your experience that may not feel possible to share with anyone else in your life. Talking with a therapist is different from talking with friends or family; the focus is on understanding your inner world rather than offering advice or solutions.  Many people find it’s really helpful to talk to someone outside of their daily life who isn’t caught up in the family or friend-group dynamics, and who won’t be burdened by listening, and won’t shift the focus onto their own problems.

A central feature of my work is that it is relational. Many of the difficulties people bring to therapy are connected to how they relate to others. Over time, similar patterns may emerge within the therapeutic relationship itself. When this happens, it allows us to understand these patterns in a direct and contained way in this unique setting. It can ultimately open up new ways of relating that you can take with you to your other relationships. This process does tend to take time which is why this type of therapy is not something that can be done in a few weeks.

Psychodynamic therapists are sometimes described as neutral and you might be thinking of a caricature of someone who sits there looking at you and occasionally says “hmm”. While I aim to keep the focus on you, I am not a silent therapist! I take an active role and will offer reflections, questions, and gentle challenges where I think they may be helpful. I also know it can take time to learn to make the therapy session feel like a space where you can really speak freely and will help you if it feels difficult, especially in the beginning.

I also believe it is important for therapists to have engaged in their own therapy to be able to work with others safely; while I won't share about my own experiences beyond this in order to not get in the way of your process, I feel it is important to share that I have been in long-term psychoanalytic therapy and understand what this process feels like. 

What I can help with

I know people don’t fit into neat categories but it feels helpful to share there are some areas I have specific experience of working with and have taken an interest in learning more about. These include:

• Anxiety, including social anxiety
• Relationship difficulties, dating, and loneliness
• Attachment issues, complex family dynamics, and childhood relational trauma
• Low self-esteem (often manifests in feeling you are “not good enough”, or having issues with confidence at work or in social situations)
• Neurodivergence, particularly late diagnosis of ADHD/autism in adulthood (and the many feelings this can bring up)
• Loss and bereavement
• Depression, sadness, and suicidal thoughts
• Self-harm
• Boarding school history (if you went to boarding school, it may have impacted you in various ways even if you have not yet considered the link between boarding school and your difficulties now as an adult)
• Life transitions and specific life stages (e.g. the time before your 30th or 40th birthday and the specific pressures and challenges that are around)
   

Practicalities

I mainly offer long-term therapy. This is because I know my approach tends to best suit those who are looking to commit to an ongoing, in-depth process, or know they need longer term support. That said, if you are new to therapy or unsure if this way of working might be right for you, we’ll start with one or two sessions and there is no ongoing commitment until we both decide to embark on longer term, open-ended therapy.

Sessions are usually weekly, and sometimes twice weekly, which allows us to work at more depth. Sessions last 50 minutes and take place at a regular time each week. I do not offer fortnightly or ad hoc sessions. I have some limited flexibility for shift workers and those who want to commit to regular therapy but can’t commit to the exact same time each week.

My approach is LGBTQ+ affirming and neuro-affirming. I work in a non-medicalised way: diagnoses can inform our understanding, but my primary focus is on you as an individual and your experience of living. 

I work face-to-face in Shoreditch, East London, and also offer remote sessions via Zoom. I work with individual adults (18+) only (not couples, families or children).

My room is in a small and private building that is also home to other small businesses (some photos of my room below). Please note that it is up three flights of stairs and there is no lift.

Next steps

I offer a free 15-minute phone call to discuss what you’re looking for and whether my way of working might be suitable. If we decide to meet for an initial session or two, I treat these as an introductory period, allowing you to experience what working together is like before deciding whether to continue longer term. 

You can contact me via email at contact@lauratalantitherapy.com or use the contact form here. If you haven’t received a response within 48 hours, please check your spam folder.

Challenges of young adulthood/emerging adulthood (Millennials/Gen-Z); Your twenties can be a time of change and new challenges in both your personal and professional life, and this might make you feel anxious and overwhelmed. 

Boarding School background; you might have have found yourself here because of problems in your relationships or other emotional struggles and haven't necessarily connected it to your experience of Boarding School. Many ex-boarders find they had to find ways to survive the experience and disruption to early family attachments, and these issues can emerge later on in life. 

My fee for an initial consultation and ongoing weekly sessions is £80 per 50-minute session. I understand everyone's circumstances are different and also offer a very limited number of lower fee spaces on a sliding scale; if you are interested in weekly therapy and genuinely couldn't afford my full fee, please get in touch and we can have a chat about a fee you could reasonably afford. 

I generally suggest starting with a free 15 minute phone conversation before arranging an appointment to give us a chance to talk about how my way of working could help you, and to cover some practicalities. There is also space for any questions you might have for me before booking in for a full session. 

I am registered as an approved therapist with AXA, Aviva, BUPA and WPA. If you have health insurance cover with any of these providers, it's usually possible to use that cover to fund at least some sessions. Please let me know if you would like to use your insurance cover.

I mainly work in English but can also offer therapy in my native language, Finnish.

I aim to respond to all enquiries within 1 working day. Emails can occasionally end up in spam folders - please check there if you have not heard back from me after contacting me.