Sarah Aldridge MBACP (Accred)

About me

Hello, I am an experienced Counsellor with a practice in East Finchley, N2. I work with people experiencing a range of difficult issues. We can work together to explore your difficulties and to have space to help us understand what is going on for you at present.

As well as having a private practice, I work as a therapist an NHS primary care service. Previously I worked for a cancer charity, at the Tavistock Centre and for Raphael Jewish Counselling Service. I am BPC and BACP accredited.

I have experience of working with people struggling with relationship and family issues, abuse, depression, anxiety, health issues and bereavement. It can be helpful to you if you are struggling with stress at work, or difficulties getting on with family members.

I am currently training in Couple Therapy for Depression.

How can counselling help?

Talking to a therapist in a safe, confidential space can allow problems to be thought about differently and begin to be resolved.

If you are struggling with something specific such as anxiety or relationship problems, or just feeling stuck or that things are overwhelming, it can be beneficial to have a therapist to explore and consider issues together. Some of the areas I work with include:

• divorce and separation
• trauma
• low self-esteem
• perinatal depression
• anxiety and depression
• bereavement and loss
• family and relationships issues
• abuse - physical and sexual
• ageing and midlife issues
• health issues, cancer and diabetes

What should I expect in my first session?

Therapy provides an opportunity for you to express thoughts and feelings about your difficulties in a confidential, consistent and safe place, and to think together about these issues.

The first meeting is an assessment so that we can both think about if counselling is what you are looking for at this time, and to think about if we want to work together.

I offer both fixed term and open-ended therapy, we can discuss which option will suit you best when we first meet. Sessions following on from this last for 50 minutes, and I have availability in the day and evening.

About my approach:

Psychodynamic therapy aims to work on quite deeply held or less conscious patterns and thoughts. We work together to make them more conscious and so there is more understanding of why things keep happening or patterns are repeated. This does allow an opportunity to think about difficulties that might have been around for a long time but still have an impact today.

That said, these are your sessions to bring what you want to talk about and there is no pre-set agenda.

I also offer DIT (Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy) - a sixteen session model.

If you would like more information or to arrange a meeting, please contact me.