About me
My name is Marcela, and I’m a registered Art Psychotherapist (Health and Care Professions Council - HCPC, and British Association of Art Therapists -BAAT).
I specialise in developmental trauma, including trauma experienced in utero, dissociation in children and young people, and attachment-related difficulties.
I offer individual therapy for children and young people, as well as parent-child sessions that support co-regulation and emotional connection.
I support parents and carers in understanding their child’s emotional world and strengthening their capacity to co-regulate, particularly when early relational trauma has disrupted this natural process.
I provide a warm, reflective, and deeply attuned therapeutic space where children and young people can feel genuinely seen, met, and understood.
I am highly attuned to nonverbal and unspoken cues, understanding that much of what is held in early trauma and relational experience cannot always be put into words.
My approach is non-directive (child-led), psychodynamic (working with unconscious processes, symbolic meaning, and relational patterns), and trauma-informed (focusing on stabilisation, processing, and integration).
Drawing on psychoanalytic concepts, attachment theory, and an understanding of the body’s role in trauma, I support children in making sense of their inner worlds. I facilitate the emergence of unconscious material, symbolic meaning, and relational dynamics through creative and sensory-based processes.
I engage in regular clinical supervision and reflective practice to ensure a safe, ethical, and responsive therapeutic space.
Training, qualifications & experience
My experience includes working in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (NHS CAMHS), particularly in the Looked After Children (LAC) team as an Art Psychotherapist. I have also worked as a Senior Integrative Art Psychotherapist in a private therapy service supporting adopted children and their families.
My work focuses on early relational trauma, in-utero and preverbal trauma, attachment disruptions, and dissociation.
I also have extensive experience in clinical assessments, contributing to sensory, attachment, and trauma-informed formulations and reports, as well as involvement in multidisciplinary meetings and EHCP contributions.
My Qualifications:
- MA in Art Psychotherapy, Goldsmiths, University of London (2017)
- PGCert in Therapeutic Arts, IATE (accredited by University of East London, 2014)
- MA in Social Work (2001), with previous HCPC registration as a Social Worker
Additional Training and Professional Development:
- Development Dyadic Art Psychotherapy (BAAT): Integrating art, play, and sensory-based processes to strengthen co-regulation and connection between parent/carer and child
- Dissociation in Children and Adolescents: Assessment and Treatment (DCAT – BICTD in association with ESTD (the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation) and FPP (Dissociative Identity Disorder Association)
- DDP Level 1 - Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, PACE model (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy)
- CATT - Children’s Accelerated Trauma Therapy (Trauma Psychology UK)
- ACE - Adverse Childhood Experiences (APT)
- Solihull Approach - Supporting foster and adoptive parents in attachment-based care
I continue to engage in ongoing professional development, deepening my understanding of early trauma, nonverbal processes, and the therapeutic relationship.
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 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
Therapies offered
Fees
£75.00 - £90.00
Further information
I Offer:
I offer therapeutic support through creative modalities such as art, clay, the doll’s house, puppets, poetry, journaling and movement:
- 1:1 Individual Art Psychotherapy and Integrative Art Psychotherapy, incorporating expressive and therapeutic arts, therapeutic play, and nonverbal creative processes.
- Dyadic Parent-Child Psychotherapy - supporting parents and carers in strengthening their connection with their children and facilitating co-regulation through dyadic parent–child sessions.
- Families needing a space to understand their child’s internal world through a creative, relational lens.
- Parent Support and Consultations
I Work with the following Presenting Challenges:
Trauma-Related Difficulties & Distress
- Separation anxiety; regression in speech or toileting
- Night terrors, hypervigilance, and pervasive fears of threat or abandonment
- Repetitive trauma re-enactments in play and daily life
Dissociation & Somatic Responses
Unexplained physical symptoms (e.g. stomach aches, headaches)
- Outbursts, stealing, and lying
- Wetting, smearing, and food-related struggles (e.g. overeating, hoarding, avoidance)
Attachment & Developmental Challenges
- Difficulties with trust, relationships, and emotional regulation
- Struggles with safety in connection and co-regulation with caregivers
Emotional & Nonverbal Presentations of Distress
- Anxiety, panic attacks, low mood, self-harm, and emotional withdrawal
