About me
Hello.
My name is Sammy, and I am a fully qualified and experienced BACP-registered integrative counsellor running a private practice in East London.
I offer you a safe, confidential, empathetic and non-judgemental space to explore whatever you're struggling with, no matter how unmanageable, hard to grasp, confusing, irrational, unthinkable or unspeakable it may seem to you right now. Together we can shine a light on your difficulties - those familiar to you as well as those you're less acquainted with - to help you find your own unique way through them.
Perhaps what brings you to psychotherapy is more a sense that something is missing in your life, or not quite working, rather than a specific issue. It could be a desire for personal growth or simply a feeling of being stuck. Here I can support you in discovering what is currently absent for you and what might be standing in your way. I can help you find a path towards a sense of purpose, meaning and fulfilment, be that in your daily existence, in your career, in your passions, or in your familial, romantic or platonic relationships.
Ultimately it's my job as counsellor to help you become aware of the deeper, often unconscious and painful underpinnings of the things that are causing you distress and grief, or holding you back in life. It's through awareness and acceptance of what happened in the past - and may now be happening in the present - that healing and real, lasting change can occur.
Though I can help with many issues, I specialise in working with depression and (generalised) anxiety, anger, guilt and shame, relationship/attachment issues, existential concerns, perfectionism, the legacy of narcissistic or abusive parents/partners, conflict avoidance/people-pleasing, shyness, lack of intimacy, life phase transitions, and with those who experienced parentification (sometimes known as "emotional incest") in childhood.
I also have a wealth of experience in working with low self-esteem, prejudice/difference, family issues/estrangement, intercultural partnership, infidelity, sexual issues, bereavement and loss, health anxiety, neurodiversity and highly-sensitive persons (HSPs), migration-related stress, workplace issues, as well as social anxiety/phobia, disengagement and isolation.
Therapy can be challenging but it isn't always painful or emotionally-hard work. Often it will be an energising, bonding, creative and even enjoyable experience. Although I will give you space to be with and process your difficult feelings, it is always a collaborative endeavour.
I'll be there to listen but I won't just sit there in silence while you talk. I will do everything I can to help you reap the potentially life-changing rewards of this kind of work, to grow into the person you would like to become.
Currently, I have availability for open-ended counselling and psychotherapy, in-person at my practices by London Fields (Mare St) and in Haggerston.
How I work and my background
Being an "integrative" counsellor means I bring together a range of humanistic, psycho-dynamic, somatic and cognitive approaches in my practice, as well as weaving in my own life experiences. This enables me to work from a variety of perspectives in a natural, non-dogmatic way. It also means I tailor therapy to your individual, evolving needs and unique ways of being. Our work will be shaped around you first and foremost.
Additionally, I work "existentially", meaning I also help you reconcile your personal issues with the over-arching and inescapable challenges of being human (AKA "the human condition"). Freedom & responsibility, isolation, death and meaninglessness all play a role in how we feel from minute-to-minute as well as across our lifetimes, and I will endeavour to help you to understand and face the anxiety that results from them.
My philosophy for practice is a bio-psycho-social-spiritual one. This means I consider biological, psychological, social (& economic) and spiritual factors to be interrelated and of equal importance in contributing to a person's psychological well-being. I believe gaining awareness of, giving attention to and focusing efforts on multiple factors simultaneously promotes deeper, longer-term, more sustainable and more resilient mental as well as physical health.
Before training as a counsellor I had an office-based career, as well as periods of working in a kitchen, for small charities and as a musician, and I'm familiar with the challenges faced by those who are trying to make a living in similar situations. I am mixed-race, of British, Iraqi and Iranian heritage, and have lived experience of growing up in an intercultural environment.
London Fields practice
Address: Therapy Rooms, St Joseph's Hospice, Mare St, London, E8 4SA
Nearest stations: Cambridge Heath (7 min walk), London Fields (8 min), Bethnal Green (14 min)
Buses: 26, 55, 106, 254, D6
Haggerston practice
Address: HQ Therapy, 322c Kingsland Road, Dalston, London, E8 4DE
Nearest stations: Haggerston (3 min walk), Dalston Junction (9 min), Dalston Kingsland (12 min), Hoxton (12 min)
Buses: 149, 242, 243
How do we begin?
If you would like to explore working with me then the first step is to send me a message. We'll then arrange a free 30-minute phone consultation. During this we'll get acquainted, I'll hear what brings you to therapy, you'll ask me any questions you might have and you'll get a flavour of how it will be for us to work together.
From there, if you'd like to proceed, we'll book a first session in and aim to meet at the earliest opportunity. Here we will talk in more depth about what you would like to get out of therapy and how I/it might help you.
If at the end of the session you have a feeling we are a good fit and would like us to continue working together then we can agree to a regular, weekly meeting. If, on the other hand, you feel you'd be better matched with another therapist then I will gladly assist you, where I can, in finding someone more suitable.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sammy
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and have been practising since Autumn 2019.
I hold an Advanced Diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counselling (CPPD, BACP-accredited).
I have also attended further workshops in working with Suicide, Trauma, Eating Disorders, CBT, Eco Therapy and the Neuroscience of Attachment.
Member organisations

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)
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

Accredited Register Scheme
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
Guilt, shame, life transitions, lack of meaning, the human condition, family estrangement, existential concerns, menopause, intercultural partnership, business relationships, fear of death, addiction recovery, feelings of emptiness, narcissism, narcissistic parents, narcissistic partner, narcissistic abuse, difficult parental relationships, social isolation, burdens, racism, prejudice, communication issues, LGBTQI+ issues, conflict, conflict avoidance, people-pleasing, lack of intimacy, sexual issues, porn addiction, body image issues, affairs & betrayals, separation & divorce, apathy, mixed-race issues, negative thoughts, perfectionism, writer's block, procrastination, insomnia, social exclusion, highly sensitive persons (HSP), personal development, circumcision, workaholism, autism, neurodiversity, boarding school syndrome, quarter-life and mid-life crisis, eco anxiety, climate anxiety, psychedelic integration, skin conditions, physical & chronic health issues, parentification, emotional incest, people-pleasing, disordered eating, social phobia, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, health anxiety, migration-related stress
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Clients pay by bank transfer (BACS / Monzo) or cash.
When I work
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morning | |||||||
Afternoon | |||||||
Evening | |||||||
Night |
I currently have some availability. Please enquire for details.
Further information
Sessions last for 50 minutes and take place weekly.