Dr Natalie Raiher Chartered Psychologist CPsychol AFBPsS West Hampstead NW6

About me

As a Chartered Psychologist, I have extensive experience in providing expert psychological therapy to people who seek relief from anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and other problems with living.

How I work

I work with a wide range of difficulties including anxiety and depression, stress and burnout, self-esteem and relationship problems, eating disorders and trauma. I am a specialist in working with anxiety and other emotional states that are difficult to understand and calm.

I support people both to understand uncomfortable emotions, thoughts and behaviours, and also with practical tools to make these more bearable. Tools and skills can help people to feel more stable in a crisis and to have more confidence in managing overwhelming emotions and distressing thoughts.

Greater understanding and insight helps us to have more choice over how we interact with others and how we deal with difficult situations: it helps us to let go of beliefs and habits that may no longer be serving us and find new, healthier and more flexible ways to live our lives. Research shows that the combination of insight and new skills creates the greatest potential for meaningful change.

I do not believe in a one size fits all approach, and so I integrate a variety of approaches to tailor each course of therapy to the specific needs of each client. Some of the approaches I use include CBT, DBT, psychodynamic psychotherapy and mindfulness.

For some people, their goals are explicit and might be met in a short-term therapy. Other people prefer to come for longer especially when difficulties are longstanding and hard to make sense of at first. I therefore provide both short and long-term therapy. Quite often people are unsure of whether psychological therapy is for them. If this is the case, an initial consultation can be useful in clarifying how I might be able to help. There is no obligation to commit to a course of therapy.

What I can help with

Psychological therapy encompasses a broad range of approaches and tools and as such, can help with many different problems. I have extensive experience in working with:

• Anxiety, panic and phobias
• Stress and burnout
• Low self-confidence
• Depression and unhappiness
• Intrusive, repetitive thoughts and OCD
• Relationship difficulties
• Self-harm
• Personality disorders
• Eating problems and disorders
• Change, adjustment and loss
• Fertility and pregnancy
• Physical illness
• Bereavement and grief

This is not an exhaustive list. Sometimes people don’t know what they want to work on but are aware that something doesn’t feel right and they want relief. In that case, I tailor the course of therapy to help them understand what it is that doesn’t feel right, and what they might do about it.