About me
Nicole Castellani
Registered Psychotherapist
Personal Statement
Hello, my name is Nicole and I am counsellor and psychotherapist with over twenty years experience. I work holistically, taking into account all the dimensions that makes us human. Stress and pain can cause us to shut down some of our aspects causing anxiety, depression and confusion. My way of working has you at the heart of it and my aim is to help you develop the qualities that you need in order to face your life's challenges, past and present.
Many people struggle trying to make sense of themselves within changing life stages or face environmental or cultural changes and challenges. Talking therapies can provide space and time to examine troubling concerns with the hope of developing a better understanding of yourself in order to achieve a productive life and a better relationship with others.
Finding a therapist can feel daunting and overwhelming especially when you are dealing with many pressures in daily life. I offer a confidential and safe place where you can explore and express your thoughts and feelings and the challenges that you face. These may encompass general daily life difficulties or more complex and difficult situations.
My approach is integrative and holistic. I practice and trained in different modalities. What is important is that we have a shared journey together which is shaped by your needs. I tend to see what approaches works best for you.
I promote empathy and unconditional positive regard, believing that each client possesses the inner strength to overcome their challenges. I will encourage you to develop the qualities that they need in order to face those challenges.
I sometimes use CBT as I feel that it will help to deal with daily life issues and it will help to develop strategies to deal with current difficulties. CBT can help challenge negative thinking patterns and can reframe some of those thoughts and behaviours into a healthy road map.
I also work with a psychodynamic framework as it can uncover the influences of early life and family conditioning offering a new blue print for understanding patterns rooted in the past.
I love to work in a more creative way using mindfulness, visualisations, art therapy, dreams and imagery as it can reveal parts of yourself that are not yet known to you.
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Training, qualifications & experience
- 1994 Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy From the CCPE
- 1998 Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the CCPE
- 2009 Certificate in Creative Group Work from IATE
- 2012 Diploma in Psychosexual Health from The Centre of Psychosexual Health
- 2013 Certificate in CBT
- 2015 Post Graduate Diploma in Attachment based Therapy from The Wimbledon Guild
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.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
- Addiction specialist
- Psychosexual specialist
- Sexual trauma
- Domestic abuse
- Anxiety
- Depression
- ADHD
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
My fees are £70.00 a session.
Sessions are for 50 minutes.
I sometimes have a space for low cost therapy so do enquire.
When I work
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I work days and evenings, I am flexible around appointments. I am currently offering Zoom and Teams sessions as well as seeing clients face to face.
Further information
I CAN HELP YOU WITH :
DEPRESSION
Depression is a deep unpleasant feeling of emptiness and despair that can last a long time. The feeling can make it very difficult to function in every day life as you have been use to doing. There are things that you once enjoyed and people around you that you once loved that no longer interest you. The symptoms of depression may cause extreme tiredness and exhaustion. You may ask yourself if you can cope with your life.
There are many factors that contribute to depression: Loneliness, loss, recent stressful experiences, painful childhood experiences, unprocessed anger, trauma and abuse, unemployment, lack of support, financial strain, alcohol and drug abuse.
I can help you to work through the roots and the causes of your depression helping you to understand why you feel the way you do and what you can do feel better and to stay healthy. The process of therapy will also help you to see how you can stop your depression from coming back. I have been working successfully with depression for many years.
LOW SELF ESTEEM
Self esteem is the ability to value ourselves. The value you place on yourself will often reflect how others value you. You may feel unheard or taken for granted, you may also be unable to express the anger and frustration that is accumulating in you and this in turn may lead you to resentments and you giving up on things. Talking through this will help you to make lasting changes.
ANXIETY
Are you feeling down, does life get on top of you? Are you fed up with the same old problems repeating themselves in your life? Do you want to make changes but are unsure how?
There are many people who experience anxiety and panic from time to time. Most people can relate to feeling tense, uncertain and even fearful. Perhaps this may be the thought of sitting an exam, going to hospital, starting a new job, being made redundant, feeling lonely or being single. These worries can affect your sleep, your appetite, your ability to concentrate. If you worry more than others it could be because of your personality, current circumstances, or past childhood experiences.
If these feelings are overwhelming you then therapy can help. I have been working with stress, anxiety and depression for the past 20 years.
With your cooperation I can help you get your life back to normal. Together we can challenge your negative self beliefs, and encourage you to follow your dreams. I can help you to understand and manage your anxiety. I can help you to confront and tolerate your fears, by understanding where the anxiety originates from and help create a new perspective on things. Relaxation and mindfulness techniques can help you to relax and to break the cycle. Together we can look at your negative thinking patterns and reframe them in a more positive and healthy framework for better living. This can lead to a more positive future. Therapy will help and support you to make that change happen.
If you feel that now is the time to look at how you want to change you may need to look at the idea that you are unique and special. The most important step is to embrace who you are and to begin to accept yourself.
Therapy can help you to get to know the real you, to gain confidence, to empower yourself and to take the first step to making changes and to transform the attitude you have towards yourself.
LIFE CRISIS
A "life crisis" can be an opportunity for a breakthrough. It can be about bereavement, a divorce, a separation or the loss of a job. It can threaten to break us down emotionally, physically and mentally.
Therapy can offer support, help you to grieve and to bring new qualities in your life to help you deal with such crisis. I will help you to have an overview of the situation in order to see what is asked of you. I will help you to incorporate some personal changes in your life so that the process of healing can begin.
RELATIONSHIPS
Person to person relating is one of the most central motivation that people have and it can bring many individuals and couples to seek therapy. How we relate to others is central in how we relate to ourselves. Previous relationships are important as is our relationship to our family of origin as it informs current relationships.
I like to create a safe place where the dynamics of the relationship can be explored and understood worked through and improved.
I may also draw on the dynamics that are happening in the "here and now" within the therapeutic relationship in order to shed light on difficulties and to help clients understand themselves better.
Relationships can be shattering, uplifting, beautiful, deceitful and painful- they are the basis for growth. They test our ability to feel, to care, to share, to be free and to find meaning in our lives
ADDICTIONS
I worked in a residential treatment centre for addiction for 16 years. This has helped me to understand dependency and the root of its causes. My belief is that addiction is an adoptive response to unwanted negative feelings and also a search for a resolution or an escape from an emotional wound.
I can help you to examine the problems that it has been causing in your life, by looking at past and present difficulties. Our goal working together , would be to restore you to healthy functioning and enable you to have healthy and fulfilling relationships. I will help you to gain a better understanding of yourself and help you to develop some coping strategies to maintain sobriety.
PSYCHOSEXUAL ISSUES
My advanced psychosexual training promotes a holistic way of working with people who are experiencing sexual difficulties in their life or those who think and feel that they may have a sexual dysfunction. My background in addiction has also led me to work with sexual addiction and gambling and gaming.
I will help you to understand your sexuality exploring with you your sexual issues in terms of their meaning and potential, helping you to make the right choices and helping you to develop a good sexual self esteem.
EATING DISORDERS
I work with clients who have disorderly eating issues and body image issues. I can encourage and help clients to change their relationship with food and their relationship with themselves
An eating disorder can have a huge impact on your life, disrupting your relationships, your work and your social life. It can affect your day to day life. These issues can often stem from childhood trauma, from having being criticised for your body shape and weight. Substance misuse and depression can often lead to an eating disorder.
I can look at how your personality and experiences in life have influenced your thoughts, feelings, relationships and behaviours. I can help you to achieve healthy eating and to have a better relationship with yourself by improving your self esteem and confidence.
SURVIVING SEXUAL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE
I have for many years worked with survivors of sexual abuse both individually and running survivors groups.
Abuse may have been experienced as an adult or as a child. Those who have experienced abuse or sexual violence whether physical, sexual, emotional or mental often feel guilty and shameful and think that it is their fault. They often keep their abuse a secret. And in order to do this they often distance themselves a part from others and by doing so affect every part of their lives.
My aim in the therapy is to listen and to support you. It is also to examine the assumptions that you may have about yourself as a result of the abuse. I will support you to shed some of that guilt shame, blame worthlessness and depression.
