Patrick van Straaten
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Do you ever feel like you're not valuable? Do you feel like life happens to you, rather than you choosing it? Do your moods and emotions feel like they come out of nowhere? Do you struggle even to work out what you want?
As painful as they can be, these are very normal thoughts, and like a lot of difficulties, they may be helped by learning more about yourself in therapy.
As your therapist, I won't judge you or tell you I don't want to hear it. You can talk about whatever you like, knowing that I'll stick around when the going is hard. Together we can work out what you’d like more or less of in your life, and build your faith in your own strengths and values, in a space where you are accepted for who you are.
Who a therapist is - what they look like, sound like, how they work - is obviously a huge part of how you will decide on them, and not every therapist is for every client. But I have worked with clients of all races, ages, and religions, and I will respect who you are and try to understand your background as you relate to it, rather than disregarding your experience or squashing you into a box of my biases and ideas.
How I work
I work with adult clients, and I believe therapy should be responsive to your needs, helping you make discoveries and find solutions yourself, rather than a cold room in which you are diagnosed and “explained” by an authority figure.
I am an integrative therapist, which means I will work with you to find the best approach to match your needs and expectations, giving you a sense of ownership and power over your therapeutic journey.
The different types of therapy can be bewildering, but I mainly use the person-centred approach, focussing on your feelings and concerns in the present; the psychodynamic approach, which looks at past experiences to see how those shaped your patterns of behaviour; and the existential approach, which tries to place your current difficulties in the broader context of finding meaning in your life.
If you are interested
Every therapist has also experienced looking for a therapist themselves, and we know it can be an intimidating job, so I offer a free 15-minute consultation to see if we're a good match, with no pressure or expectations. Please get in touch if you'd like to talk.
I am particularly looking to take on more online clients at the moment.
Training, qualifications & experience
Before private practice, I worked as a therapist with the NHS in Lambeth, seeing clients of all backgrounds and ages.
- Registered Member, BACP
- PGDip Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills
- MA (Oxon.) Classics
Member organisations
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
Climate anxiety
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Free 15-minute online consultation.
Discounted first session (£45).
Payments are made via bank transfer before each session.
When I work
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