Paula Breen

I have been practising as a therapist for 17 years and have run my busy private practice for over 10 years.  In that time, I have worked with a wide variety of clients, who come with a broad range of experiences and issues including anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, bereavement and loss, as well as family and relationship difficulties. 

Previous clients have experienced me as approachable, warm and non-judgmental. I listen with careful attention and respect about what concerns you - this can often enable you to explore your life with a new perspective.  Previous clients have expressed the sense of being “accompanied” in looking at their difficulties - I am on your side, yet not caught up in the difficulties themselves.  I aim to offer a space that feels comfortable, safe and contained.

Additionally, I have worked with very quiet (some have been near silent) and highly reflective clients and would encourage that if this is you, that you trust your intuition in choosing your therapist.

How it works

We work together at a pace and a level that suits you. In this way, we can uncover, discover and often re-discover more of who you really are; understand the purpose behind the problems or crisis that you are currently experiencing, and explore the options that begin to present themselves.

Sometimes you might wish to explore very practical matters to improve the quality of your life.

Sometimes you might wish to work at a deeper level to understand your inner world.

Both ways are possible and both could have a transforming impact on your life.

Short term counselling usually lasts between 6 and 12 sessions.  Medium and long term work last for 6 months and longer.  It can depend on what you wish to resolve or develop in your life.

Coming to therapy for the first time?

Sometimes to even begin to tell your story is the most daunting and terrifying task of all, and counselling might seem an impossible task to undertake. Some excellent work can be done to help ease the pain of (and to understand the meaning behind) your very difficult feelings, but it is important that you feel safe enough to start the work in the first place.

It can be very healing to tell your story to someone who will listen carefully and who holds the intention of understanding and accepting you just where you are today. It is from this place that the work of self-discovery starts and from here that movement or change can begin to happen.

You might even be very familiar with telling your story but it seems to make no difference to the uncomfortable, often painful feelings you experience; your "familiar story" only serves to hide what it is that really needs to be said and needs to be understood from a deeper place within.

Getting in touch

If any (or all) of this applies to you, do please write me an e:mail.  It will help you to see if it feels right to work with me.  We can meet for one session with absolutely no obligation to continue.  From this first session, you will get a first-hand sense of how I work and will almost definitely have learned more about your situation than before we started and you will have a good sense of whether it feels helpful.

Additionally, I have experience of working with

• individuals who experience themselves as being a highly sensitive person (HSP)
• individuals with family members in the prison system
• parents who find parenting a personal trial and
• those with chronic physical pain.

Individuals: £80 in SW20 and £120 in London W1.

First session: The first session will last 50 minutes. It is a chance to talk about the reasons that bring you to counselling. It is also, an opportunity for you to check out what it's like talking with me and to ask any questions you have. Any answers I offer, questions I ask about your story, any reflections I share and chat that we have, are likely to help you decide if what I say resonates with you. You might notice that your own story even begins to make a little bit more sense to you and we would build from there.  It is not a 50 minute clinical assessment.  For all of these reasons, all my sessions are charged at the agreed rate from the outset.

Concession rate places: I always provide a limited number of concession rate places for people who genuinely cannot afford to pay my full fee. 

Health Insurance cover: I am registered with AXA, Aviva, Cigna and WPA Health Insurance companies. You can check with them to see if you are eligible for Counselling or Psychotherapy through your policy. This needs to be done in advance, as insurance companies will not backdate any payment to you retrospectively.

Harley Street/ Cavendish Square London W1G:   Sessions are available in person from May 2022 in the West End. The beautiful room is 2 minutes walk from John Lewis Oxford Street or 6 minutes walk from Selfridges.

Raynes Park SW20: My practice is a 10 minute walk from Raynes Park railway station and 7 minutes from Wimbledon Chase Thameslink station.

Bus numbers 152, 163, 164 and K5 stop close by.

Bus numbers 57, 131 and 200 stop at Raynes Park railway station.

Metered parking is nearby and usually plentiful costing £3.00 per hour and free after 6.30pm.