Robyn O'Connell

Hello, pleased to meet you. The first thing to say is that I am a Clinical Psychologist, registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). As a Clinical Psychologist, I am trained to a doctoral level to deliver researched and evidence-based therapy from a variety of therapeutic models. This allows me to tailor therapy to your individual needs.

How is a Clinical Psychologist different?

Clinical Psychologists train to a doctoral level in a range of therapies, including CBT and DBT.  This allows us to tailor therapy to your specific needs, no manuals! A particular skill for Clinical Psychologists is our training in understanding what is going on for you and why. By being aware of why we are struggling, we can then make steps to overcome those difficulties.  Counsellors and Psychotherapists are also qualified therapeutic practitioners but are generally trained in one therapeutic model and not to doctoral level. Psychiatrists are also doctors but they work with people experiencing mental health difficulties using medications to help manage these difficulties rather than talking therapies.

Why do people choose to have therapy?

People look into therapy for a variety of reasons including psychological, emotional, personal or relational difficulties. I am passionate about understanding each person as an individual and tailoring therapy to their unique needs. I have trained in a breadth of psychological models, which allows me to adapt therapy appropriately by selecting the aspects that will be most helpful to you.

My Values

At the core of my approach is holding the people I work with in mind with compassion and kindness. I provide a safe, confidential space, where people are met with warmth and understanding. I think it’s important to understand clients within their wider social and cultural context. I work collaboratively with clients, empowering them to identify and achieve their goals and develop lifelong skills to carry with them long after therapy has finished. I am passionate about promoting wellness and a healthy mind-body connection.

What to expect from your therapy sessions

I work to provide a safe, contained and confidential space on a weekly basis in which you can share the difficulties you want to work on, at a pace, you feel comfortable, so we can work together towards understanding and change in the direction of your values.

The first session is the assessment and will be slightly longer than a normal session at 90 minutes. This is to give enough time to explore what you have come to therapy for, what you have tried in the past, what helped and what didn't help. At the end of this session, I will try and make some recommendations around what may be most helpful for you. Following our meeting, I'll summarise our conversation in a letter which I will email to you.

After the assessment session, the sessions will be 50-55 minutes. Each person I work with is very different so it is difficult to predict how many sessions will be needed. From a personal therapeutic perspective, my aim is only to work with a person for as long as it is helpful and to empower the person to leave therapy with the skills they need.

Taking the next steps

Looking for a therapist can feel a bit overwhelming and confusing. I hope the information above will help to answer some of your questions but if you would like to know more, please contact me in confidence via our team at Avenue Therapies by email or phone (020 7112 8834) and we will do our best to get you the help you need.