About me
I’m a relational psychodynamic therapist based in Bethnal Green, East London.
I bring a curiosity in understanding how past experience influences the person that you are today, and provide a warm, accepting and collaborative space where we can work together to make sense of the questions or issues that you might bring to therapy.
At its heart, therapy is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, the ways in which you relate to yourself and others, and the patterns in your life which seem to repeat themselves.
Whilst therapy never promises easy answers, this greater understanding often leads to change – to help you to cope with the parts of life which feel the most overwhelming, to find more authentic ways of living, and to feel more agency, meaning and hope for what comes next.
I have worked with clients on a broad range of issues and experience, including depression, anxiety, gender & sexuality, childhood trauma & abuse, difficulty with relationships, experience of domestic violence, challenges with sex or intimacy & bereavement. Or perhaps you feel lost, confused or overwhelmed – and we can start together there.
You can read more on my website at www.sambriggspsychotherapy.com.
My approach
My approach is warm, welcoming and collaborative, and centres on listening attentively to understanding you, your world and your experience as a unique individual. I aim to create a space where you can speak honestly, openly and without judgement. I believe that lasting change in therapy comes from you, and rarely from a quick or easy fix – but together we can try to make that change possible.
My psychodynamic training means I bring an interest in your past experiences, starting from those earlier in life and in childhood, as well as understanding the ways in which you might instinctively repeat patterns or certain ways of relating to yourself or others. By bringing these unconscious processes into the open and understanding them more clearly, we might find a new way of being for you.
I believe that therapy should be a place where everyone feels welcome. I hope to provide a space where you can explore some of the most private, honest & vulnerable parts of yourself, in a setting that you feel you can trust to be open-minded, non-judgemental and confidential. We can work with any labels that you might bring to the extent that they are meaningful for you, in the way that you define them.
I am committed to an ethical, inclusive and politically-minded practice. I will always be attentive to understanding your identity and experience in context. Our work will give space and respect to the ways that social, cultural and political contexts and systems have a very real impact in shaping or limiting our identity, and how we live in the world. This might include experiences of classism, racism or racialisation, queerphobia, transphobia, ableism or any kind of oppression, marginalisation or violence.
My work with queer and trans people is affirming. In working with gender, sexuality and relationship diversity, I recognise those identities and experiences as vital without assuming that they will form the core of our work.
About me
Since I completed my first degree in English Literature, I’ve always lived and worked in East London.
Before training as a psychotherapist, I worked in the music industry for many years – first as a journalist, and then with artists on their live touring. I then joined an international child protection charity to promote fundraising shows, series and festivals to raise money to protect, educate and advocate for the rights of children affected by war & conflict around the world. This work included launching a series to highlight the specific challenges faced by girls and young women in conflict zones, and events advocating for greater awareness, understanding and action around mental health support for artists and those working in the music industry.
In addition to working privately, my therapeutic experience includes working in community mental health services, working with people experiencing homelessness or precarious housing & many years voluntary experience in suicide prevention.
I have always been interested in people, their stories, and the radical possibilities that might come from understanding ourselves and others with more hope, empathy and care. My research, writing and practice is inspired by queer, feminist & decolonial writers and theorists that I believe help us to do so.
Training, qualifications & experience
My training was at Goldsmiths, University of London, where I completed a PGDip Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Counselling.
Before this, I completed a Graduate Certificate in Humanistic & Psychodynamic Counselling at Goldsmiths and an introductory course at Birkbeck.
In addition to working privately, my therapeutic experience includes working in community mental health services, working with people experiencing homelessness or precarious housing & many years voluntary experience in suicide prevention.
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer an extended initial 75 minute session for us to meet each other, for me to understand a little about you and what you would like to get from therapy, and for you to decide if you feel like I am a good fit for what you are looking for in a therapist. I charge a reduced fee of £50 for this initial session, regardless of if we continue working together.
I also hold a limited number of low-cost spaces for people who are on a low-income or are unwaged. I do not have a set fee for these spaces – as part of our first meeting, we will discuss and agree a session rate that is affordable and sustainable for us both.
