About me
About the service
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
Supporting Children and Young People Through Life's Challenges
Modern life brings many challenges for children and young people, often leading to struggles with anxiety, depression, and other mental health difficulties. As awareness of these issues grows, so does the need for effective and compassionate support.
My name is Malgorzata Krzywanska. I am a child and adolescent psychotherapist with over 14 years of experience working in organisational and private settings. As an accredited member of the BACP, I am bound to work in accordance with the Ethical Framework and Professional Codes to ensure the highest standard of care.
My Journey into Psychotherapy
My passion for psychotherapy began while working as a probation officer in Poland. That experience showed me firsthand how early life experiences shape our future. I wanted to help young people make meaningful, lasting changes. I realised that early therapeutic support can profoundly impact our development and our well-being.
My work
Therapy offers children something often hard to find in everyday life — a consistent, safe, and non-judgemental space where they can simply be themselves. For many children, especially those who struggle to express their feelings, emotions can feel confusing, overwhelming, or even frightening. Therapy helps to gently make sense of these experiences.
When a child feels listened to and understood, it can have a powerful impact on their sense of self. They begin to recognise that their feelings matter, that they are not alone in what they are experiencing, and that their inner world can be explored safely. This process supports the development of emotional awareness, helping children to gradually name, understand, and manage their feelings.
Therapy is also important because it can uncover underlying difficulties that may not always be visible on the surface. Behaviour, withdrawal, or changes in mood are often ways children communicate distress. By working at a deeper level, therapy can help address the root of these difficulties rather than just the outward signs.
Over time, this leads to stronger emotional resilience. Children become better able to cope with challenges, regulate their emotions, and build healthier relationships with others. They develop a greater sense of confidence and security within themselves, which supports not only their well-being now, but also their growth into adolescence and adulthood.
Ultimately, therapy is not just about addressing problems — it is about helping children feel seen, understood, and supported as they grow.
SPECIAL NEEDS :
My therapeutic experience includes working with children and adolescents with special educational needs within both educational and support settings. I have supported children affected by early years trauma and learning difficulties, helping them to develop emotional regulation, confidence, communication skills, and a greater sense of safety within relationships and learning environments. My approach focuses on creating a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental space where young people can feel understood, valued, and supported in their emotional development.
Alongside this, I have experience offering therapeutic and emotional support within secondary school settings, working sensitively with young people facing anxiety, behavioural challenges, low self-esteem, family difficulties, and developmental transitions.
My approach is grounded in creating a safe, consistent, and non-judgmental space where each child or young person can feel understood and supported at their own pace.
TALKING & DRAWING
Introducing a new therapeutic programme aimed at working subconsciously with younger children and children with learning difficulties through drawing. This approach offers a gentle and accessible way to engage children who may struggle to recognise or verbalise their emotions, have limited language skills, or experience difficulties expressing their inner world.
Through creative expression, children are able to project their thoughts, feelings and experiences onto paper in a safe and non-threatening way. Drawing becomes a bridge between their internal experiences and the therapeutic space, allowing for exploration, understanding, and emotional processing without the pressure of finding the " right " words.
This method supports emotional regulation, builds self-awareness, and fosters a sense of safety and trust. It is particularly beneficial for children who may feel overwhelmed by direct questioning or traditional talk-based therapy, offering instead a developmentally appropriate and engaging pathway into therapeutic work.
Collaboration with Parents
While therapy remains a confidential space, I believe in a collaborative approach with parents. Every few weeks, I offer a reflection session to discuss progress and explore ways to support the child outside of therapy.
Supporting Adults
I am also working with individual adults in a face-to-face setting, helping to navigate through emotional difficulties.
Areas I Can Help With:
Anxiety & Depression
Loss & Grief
Trauma& PTSD
Developmental Issues
Self-esteem & Identity
Self-harm & Emotional Distress
Transitions
Shame
Stress
Abuse
Social/Emotional Withdrawal
Suicidal Thoughts
Body Dysmorphia Disorder
ADD, ADHD, OCD
Family Transitions ( Divorce, Separation)
Displacement & Difference
Loss
BUPA approved
AVIVA approved
WPA approved
Training, qualifications & experience
My name is Malgorzata Krzywanska, and I am a qualified child and adolescent psychotherapist. I graduated from Birkbeck College, UCL in 2011 with an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents. I am also an accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
As a professional, I am developing knowledge and mastering my skills through attending various psychotherapeutic workshops and symposiums as part of CPD.
I am also in training to be a Clinical Supervisor.
My main interest revolves around issues related to child development, issues related to adoption, child depression, abuse and many more. I am passionate about my work and value my clients in their endeavour toward mental well-being.
In the past, I worked in both organisational and private settings around London, supporting children and young people in schools and counselling services.
Currently, I work in one of London's secondary schools as a part of the counselling service team. I have also been running a private practice since 2012.
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.
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I specialise in child and adolescent therapy, based on both play and talkative therapy. Working with children and young people requires different approach, often seen as less invasive and very creative. It means that when working with children and young people I use variety of resources through which a child in a safe way can work on unfolding repressed anxieties and fears. My experience in working with children and young people has taught me that early therapeutic intervention may really make a quick change in child's life that is then maintain in adulthood.
In my experience I have worked with children as young as 6 years of age. I found it astonishing how play therapy can support development and allow to resolve lots of problems that children may have.
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
- Assessment session - £70
- Therapeutic session - £70
- Student's fee - £30
- Family consultation - £60
It is important to note that family consultations do not carry therapeutic functions. It is designed to help families recognize their problems and, with the therapist’s help, think about how to tackle them within a safe, supportive, and professional environment.
When I work
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Further information
Currently, I offer face-to-face sessions as well as home visits on weekdays and Saturdays.
Please note, that work with younger children is much more sufficient when face to face. It is determined by the specific way of working with children, where the therapeutic work is performed through play, using very specific toys and activities.
I am BUPA approved
