Philip Gatter
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I mainly work in a client-centred style, which means the therapeutic relationship I form with clients is the main tool through which insight and change are achieved. I am a gay affirmative therapist, with a particular interest in gay men and lesbians. At Islington Mind I had the privilege of working with LGBT people seeking asylum here because of persecution in their countries of origin, both individually and in groups.
I work with a wide range of problems. These include anxiety and depression, sexual problems and relationship issues, substance misuse and trauma. I have worked in a psychiatric setting in the NHS and have experience with Bipolar Disorder and psychosis.
Though client-centred I have been trained to be integrative; in particular I use some CBT techniques for problems such as social anxiety, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. I may also add psychodynamic approaches where relationships are the main problem.
My focus in sessions is to listen very attentively to the client, and feed back the portrait of them which is developing for me. I might make statements which can sound challenging, but this may be a necessary part of progress in therapy.
My unique area is working with people of whatever age or cultural background who have experienced trauma because of their sexuality - in the family, at school, in adulthood, and where these experiences are accompanied by problem alcohol and drug use.
Training, qualifications & experience
I originally studied for a Foundation Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy (integrative) at Regent's College, in 2005-2006. I later proceeded to the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (integrative) at the University of East London (2007-2009).
Since then I have worked for Deptford Reach, a charity for the homeless and socially marginal, and outpatients in the Lewisham psychiatric unit of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation trust.
I also worked there in a non-clinical role training psychiatrists, which has considerably added to my knowledge of psychiatry and ability to work productively with psychiatrists. After leaving the NHS I have worked for The Metro Centre, the LGBT counselling service in Greenwich, and at Islington MInd, working between its generic and LGBT services. I worked for Islington Mind for five years until 2019.
I have over twenty years of postdoctoral experience as a researcher, and of teaching qualitative research methods as a course leader. I was originally an academic anthropologist, and I have carried this into my therapy practice through an interest in how ideas of self and identity vary between cultures. My postdoctoral research focused on identity and sexuality, and while working for the NHS I was an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry.
Prior to becoming a therapist I was an anthropologist. I bring this into my work through an understanding of how cultural values influence our understanding of ourselves.
As a BACP Accredited practitioner I now also offer supervision for trainees and qualified therapists, for whom I charge the same fees as clients.
Member organisations
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.
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
In the crisis of Covid I am prioritising work with traumatic experiences of frontline workers: Police, Fire, and NHS services.
Work place mentoring - for dealing with interpersonal problems that can't be solved by the manager-employee relationship (coaching qualification from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Clinical supervision for trainee and qualified counsellors and psychotherapists.
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 - £70.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
In addition to regular fees I have three places for trainee therapists and those on low incomes, for which I charge £40. I'm available Mondays-Fridays.
I am happy to do brief therapy (6 weeks) or work with a client for much longer, it really depends on the nature of the problems.
For currently available appointment times, both online and face-to-face please email or call me.
When I work
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Available times include online and face-to-face sessions.
Further information
Both client and therapist have holidays and other times when they aren't available My only expectation is that we give each other a week's notice. If a client cancels within 24 hours I will expect to be paid. By the same token, should I cancel at short notice I would not expect the client to pay.
My preference is to be paid by bank transfer, four weeks in advance.
What is said in the counselling room is confidential, and only under very rare circumstances would it need to be broken - I will talk about this in the first session.
