Sam Cotton

Hi, I’m Sam - I’ve been a psychotherapist for about eight years.  I became a therapist because I had been in therapy for years myself and it really helped, and so I wanted to support others in the same way.   

I’m 50 years old, I’ve done countless different jobs and had loads of life experience before training in psychotherapy.   I guess my style is warm, non-judgmental, empathic and honest.  I'm not afraid to challenge you when needed either.  Here’s a bit more about who I am and what I do…

I’m Scottish living in Central London, a gay man and I work with people of any gender or sexual orientation - I have a wide mix of clients, some straight, some gay, some people of colour, some white, male, female, non binary and everything in between.   With my female clients, I think I provide a certain safety that you may not feel with a straight man, with my straight male clients I think I’m helpful because of course, I’m another man, but I can often offer a more gentle approach and a wider insight than you might get from your straight male friends.  And with other gay/bi/queer men and women I have a lived experience of being in the minority, so I’ll resonate with this part of your life experience. 

I do three main things - the first is general psychotherapy, so if you need support with anxiety, fear, depression, relationship challenges - I am used to supporting others through medium-long term psychotherapy.   I use a person-centred model, which basically means I’m going to be really non-judgemental, empathic and give you lots of space to help you sort out what’s going on.   I will also challenge you when appropriate.  I integrate lots of other methods too, but that gives you an overview.

The second thing I do is that I’m an addictions specialist - I’ve worked in rehabs, I have specialist training in addiction psychology and I am very familiar with the 12-step model, having been in recovery myself for years.   However, if you don’t resonate with the 12-steps, I can also support you in other ways. 

The third thing is that I specialise in working with gay/queer/bi men men, particularly in the area of sex and relationships.   I am very aware of some of the typical challenges that we can face in gay relationships, and I'm virtually unshockable!  I enjoy working with men to help them know themselves better in relationship and to bring them closer to a more authentic expression of themselves.  I also have knowledge of the kink/BDSM/fetish scene, so if you need to talk things through, you won't feel judged, nor will you have to explain the basics to me!  I also work closely with psychosexual therapists, so I may refer you on if you have very specific sexual challenges to work through.  

Looking for a therapist can be challenging so I offer a free 20 minute session so we can get to know each other a bit and you can see how it feels, without you having to spend anything up front.  You can send me a text, What’s App, give me a call or an email to organise an intro call.  

And lastly, I only work with people who are kind, respectful, committed and have some motivation for change.    If that’s you, I look forward to hearing from you.  

£90 per session (50 minutes) for individuals

You can see me face-to-face (Kennington, London SE11) or online (Zoom).  Most clients do a mixture of both.