Sammy Alattar

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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