Dr Natalie Raiher

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I am a Chartered Counselling Psychologist with extensive experience in providing expert psychological therapy to people who seek relief from anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and other problems with living. I am a specialist in working with the anxiety and burnout caused by perfectionism and habits of living that are geared towards pleasing and appeasing others, and over-controlling ourselves and the world. 

How I work

Experiences of distress, loss and change can impact us in different ways. They might cause us to adopt coping mechanisms that help in the short-term but create greater difficulties down the line. I therefore work with both the symptoms of distress as well as the reasons they have come about, such as traumatic incidents, losses, and struggles with identity and transition. 

I support people to understand uncomfortable emotions, thoughts and behaviours and I also provide practical tools to make these more bearable and transform the relationship we have with distress. We are wired to avoid distress but ultimately, it is this avoidance that exacerbates it. I use trauma-informed and mindfulness based resources to help clients develop a greater capacity to notice and tolerate uncomfortable emotions and sensations and to be able to step outside of them. 

Alongside new skills, increased insight into why things are like they are helps us to have more choice over how we interact with others and how we deal with difficult situations. Understanding why 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. We cannot rewrite history but we can transform our relationship to it, and live more fully and freely in the present. 

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 and interests of each client. I work primarily from a psychodynamic and relational base and integrate tools from mindfulness, CBT, trauma-informed approaches and compassion-focussed therapy as needed. 

I offer a confidential and creative space to adults and young adults to help them experiment, heal and grow. I wholeheartedly believe that there is always something to be gained from adversity and I support my clients to develop their strengths and build on their resources so that they might experience greater vitality, coherence and movement in their lives.  

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
Stress and burnout
Low self-confidence
Depression and unhappiness
Relationship difficulties
Eating and body problems 
Change, adjustment and loss
Fertility problems, IVF and miscarriage
Gender and sexuality exploration
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. 

Climbing

I also have a particular interest in mental resources for climbers. I am a climber and have found that perfectionism and fear of failure are rife among this group of athletes, amateur and elite alike. I work to help people re-engage with their joy of the sport and to reduce the rigidity they hold themselves to. Similarly, climbing can sometimes involve injury and trauma. I use my clinical experience of trauma work to help people with fear in climbing. I work with trauma-informed tools to help people to get back on the wall or simply back to life after a fall or injury. 

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Distress Tolerance and Emotional Regulation

I do have a limited number of concessionary slots available. Please email to enquire. 

I am also a recognised provider for most major private health insurers and I am happy to accept payment through these schemes.

People usually see me for a regular, weekly session but this can vary. I am happy to discuss frequency in terms of what feels most helpful for you at the time.