Dr Sarah Berger

Are you feeling overwhelmed by challenges that you can’t shake? Does it feel like, no matter what you try, you’re stuck  and unable to move forward?
I’m Dr Sarah Berger, Chartered Clinical Psychologist and EMDR Therapist and I am here to help you.

Clinical Psychology

As a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and an accredited EMDR therapist, I have been trained to support people with a wide range of psychological difficulties using a range of psychological perspectives.  During the initial session, we will explore the current difficulties you are experiencing to gain a greater understanding of why these may have developed and what is keeping you feeling stuck. We will talk about what you wish to achieve during our sessions to ensure that we are focused on what is important to you. Whilst therapy will require you to talk about aspects of your life that can be challenging, my aim will be to make you feel at ease, listened to and understood in a non-judgmental and compassionate manner.  At the end of this session, we will discuss some recommendations made from the information you have kindly provided, regarding what I feel would be helpful for you to move forward to achieve your goals.  The sessions following this, will take an integrative approach, incorporating a range of therapeutic techniques that are tailored specifically to ensure that they address the needs and goals that we have identified together.

About me

My clients say that I am warm, caring and someone that they  feel comfortable  to  talk to from early on in our sessions together.  My commitment to you as a client is that I will listen to your difficulties and support you to work out and implement a plan for your recovery.  Together, we will work at a  pace that feels comfortable to you to help you to become happier, more confident and more fulfilled in your life.

About Serendipity Psychology Services, Heart of England

I am also a Clinical Lead and Director of Serendipity Psychology Services, Heart of England, I lead a team of mental health specialists who share my commitment to making this therapy journey as straightforward and supportive as possible. My team includes highly skilled psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors who can support both young people and adults. I  understand that finding a therapist is no small task—it’s a big step that can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re already feeling vulnerable.  When you reach out, I will listen to what your needs are and what you are looking for and together we will decide who would be best positioned to support you in meeting your goals. I will handle everything for you, so you can focus on the most important part: your journey towards healing and growth. If you’d like, I will even check in after your first session to make sure you’re on the right track and feel comfortable with your therapist.

Let me introduce to you the members of my team who are here to support you:

Fiona Grainger Trauma informed EMDR Psychotherapist  working with young people and adults (12+)

Fiona is a Trauma-Informed EMDR Psychotherapist who works with both young people and adults.  Fiona  has seven years of experience, including working in a school and various charity settings. 

Fiona specialises in trauma, PTSD, addiction, OCD, anxiety, anger, behavioural change, depression, panic attacks, and relationship issues. If a healthcare professional has given you a diagnosis, or if you have tried to diagnose yourself and are left with unanswered questions, Fiona will understand how you feel as she has been there herself. This means that she  knows there is always hope for things to improve. If you want to make changes in your life,  Fiona can help you and show you how. This can give you a new outlook—greater self-awareness and the ability to manage your emotions and life in a happier, healthier way.

Fiona's approach includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which helps you understand how your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours are connected. By changing one, we can influence the others. Fiona also use Narrative Exposure Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), which helps process and recover from past trauma or phobias. This enables you to see things from a different perspective and relieves the symptoms and distress you may be experiencing.

Fiona  offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two.

Ayo Oluwatudimu, Psychotherapist and CBT therapist for young people and adults 

Ayo Oluwatudimu, a registered psychotherapist and CBT therapist who uses an integrative approach to therapy.  This means that Ayo blends approaches such as Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic principles, allowing her to tailor sessions  to your unique needs. Whether you’re seeking practical tools, deeper self-exploration, or a safe and supportive space to process emotions, Ayo can help to create a therapeutic experience that works for you.

In addition to private practice, Ayo has worked part-time as a Senior Psychological Therapist within the NHS. With over 13 years of experience supporting individuals, children, and families, Ayo combines evidence-based techniques with a warm, client-centred approach.

Ayo offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two.

Laura Fry Child and Young Peoples Counsellor (5-25 years old)

Laura is an integrative counsellor, who tailors her approach to meet the unique needs of each young person she works with. Drawing from a range of modalities, including, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT),  art and creative therapy, systemic family therapy,  narrative therapy and trauma-informed techniques, Laura supports clients up to the age of 25 with a variety of challenges, including anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, bereavement and loss. Laura works collaboratively with each client to help them develop coping skills and resilience. Laura is dedicated to empowering young people to process their emotions, understand their experiences and move forward with a greater sense of well-being.

Laura comes to counselling from an education background having worked in a variety of roles for 12 years. This has given her insight and understanding into some of the social and emotional difficulties young people experience, such as academic stress, bullying and self-esteem issues.  Laura holds an MSc in counselling children and young people in addition to a bachelor's degree in education and a diploma at  level 7 in children and young people counselling. 

Laura also work as a volunteer counsellor at a bereavement charity. Laura offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two.

Nisa Burton, Psychotherapist who works with adults.

Nisa is a BACP registered psychotherapist and is also completing her Master’s degree in Integrative Psychotherapy (UKCP qualified). 

Nisa works with a range of client issues, mainly centring on relational attachment and difficulties which can come up in number of ways: trauma and complex PTSD, complex family and marital dynamics, working with self-esteem, anxiety, depression, anger management and many more.

Nisa offer in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two.

Dr Sarah Butterworth, Clinical Psychologist who works with young people and adults across Leamington Spa.

Dr Sarah Butterworth, is a chartered clinical psychologist and has worked in mental health services since 2007, qualifying with a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Birmingham in 2020.

Sarah has experience  of  working with a range of difficulties, including mood disorders, OCD, psychosis, trauma, selective mutism, perfectionism, self-criticism, emotional regulation difficulties, certain eating disorders, and neurodivergence. Sarah works with school-aged children, adults, and parents with infants.

Sarah utilises  evidence-based treatments such as EMDR, CBT, CFT, trauma-focused CBT, integrative work, or counselling. For parent-infant work, Sarah can  use attachment interventions such as Circle of Security. Sarah can also undertake birth preparation work, including anxiety management for labour, trauma-informed birth plans, and postnatal mental health support.

Sarah offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two

Donna Hodge,  Forensic Psychologist, CBT, and EMDR therapist who works with adults in Leamington Spa and Warwick.

Donna has  been a therapeutic practitioner since 2008, working in various settings, including the community, in-patient facilities, and charity organisations.

Donna supports people who have experienced single life events that may have disrupted their path (including PTSD) and those with a history of complex relationships—whether with others or themselves (including C-PTSD). Donna specialises  in supporting people who are experiencing nightmares, intrusive thoughts, addiction, or emotional dysregulation.

Donna  uses multiple therapeutic approaches tailored to each individual. In particular, EMDR offers an alternative to traditional talking therapies and can be highly effective in helping people heal from trauma.

Donna offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two

Nia Ruparelia,  Integrative counsellor for young people and adults (MBACP)in Leamington Spa. Saturday appointments available

Nia is a proud member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). Nia brings a wealth of experience from her time working within the NHS and The Psychotherapy Room in Derby. Nia holds a Master’s degree in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of Derby, recognised by the BACP.

Nia's therapeutic approach is eclectic and tailored, incorporating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Person-Centered Therapy (PCT), Attachment Therapy (AT), as well as Mindfulness and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). These psychological approaches are adept at addressing a wide array of emotional and psychological challenges faced by adolescents and adults.

Nia has experience in supporting clients with trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, eating disorders, grief, bereavement, and OCD, as well as life transitions and self-esteem concerns. Nia aims to provide  a supportive, empathetic environment where that journey can be navigated safely and effectively.

Nia offers in-person sessions, online sessions or a mixture of the two

For further information:

For more information about starting therapy with me, or with someone from my team at Serendipity Psychology,  please contact  me and we can arrange a time that is convenient to arrange a consultation.

I will offer a free initial online or telephone consultation with you, where we will talk you through the options and consider what your needs are and how best we can support them. 

The Initial assessment session will be a 50 minute appointment.  This  session will focus on gaining an in-depth understanding of the difficulties being experienced and will include recommendations of treatment moving forward.

I have undertaken  ten years of academic and clinical training in psychology and clinical psychology. I am a qualified Chartered Clinical Psychologist who has worked in both NHS and private settings.

Therefore my fees may be somewhat higher than some other practitioners in order to reflect my training and broad experience in working with clients experiencing psychological distress, as well as the expertise I can apply in a diverse range of psychological therapies.  In addition to this, typically clients will have fewer sessions than when having sessions with some other professionals are my approach is directive and provides strategies to implement out of session, whilst giving you space to talk through the difficulties you are experiencing.

Following this, 50 minute weekly  sessions are recommended.

·      Session fees  are £120-£130

If a member of my team supports you.

• Session fees range from £70-£130 depending on which clinician  we collaboratively decide would work best in meeting your goals of therapy. 

Please read some of my testimonials to see how I have supported other people in their recovery at https://www.berger.me.uk/testimonials.

Please read information about clinicians in my team to see if these could be a good fit in supporting you reach your goals at  https://www.serendipitypsychology.co.uk/practices/warwickshire-west-midlands-and-worcestershire/

What to do next:

I would love to hear from you and discuss what is currently causing you distress to see how I can support you.  You can contact me  at dr.sarah@berger.me.uk so  we can arrange a time that is convenient for you to have an initial 15 minute consultation free of charge.  This can be conducted over the telephone or via Zoom. We can then arrange an initial assessment should you feel that you would like to progress.  Weekly sessions have been found to be most effective for recovery, but frequency can be discussed.

I am a recognised specialist to provide treatment for  AXA-PPP, Cigna, WPA, Bupa  and AVIVA insurance plans and am willing to consider other insurance providers.

Member of organisations

·       HCPC registered

·       Chartered status with British Psychological Society

Psychological Approaches Used.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 

CBT is a short-term, problem-focused form of behavioural treatment that can support recovery in areas such as anxiety,  depression, panic OCD and trauma. Through CBT, people learn that their perceptions directly influence the way they respond to specific situations in their behaviours and actions. During CBT, clients learn how to challenge and question the rationality of specific thoughts to directly influence their emotions and behaviour. Clients are also encouraged to test out new beliefs through changing their behaviours through planned experiments. In this way, CBT targets specific unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and has a ‘here and now’ focus on the relevant set of client symptoms e.g. Panic Disorder. The Principles of CBT can be tailored to each client’s needs and situation.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) 

ACT looks at what makes up our internal world and how we can interact with it. ACT addresses our processes of thinking; how we internally process our stream of thoughts. It focuses on how we can rest ourselves in the present moment, rather than being focused on past memories or consumed by worry or anticipation of the future. ACT also looks for what we truly value in life and how we might move towards the version of ourselves that is grounded in what is personally meaningful for us and gives us purpose. The Principles of ACT can be tailored to each client’s needs and situation.

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

CFT model suggests there are three different emotion regulation systems: a threat  system, which generates anger, disgust, or fear to protect us; a drive  system, which motivates us to seek outside resources like relationships, food, and status; and a soothing system, which is activated when we feel peaceful and content.  Mental health difficulties can be influenced by an imbalance between these three systems.  CFT provides ways to learn how  to better balance these systems and  help promote mental and emotional healing by encouraging you to be compassionate toward yourself and other people.

Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR)

If you have experienced trauma that seems to have got stuck and keeps replaying itself in the form of nightmares, flashbacks or disassociation symptoms, EMDR could be helpful in enabling your painful memories to become less distressing and not triggered so easily.  EMDR directs your eye motions to affect how your mind processes data. The procedure aims to reprocess your frozen traumatic memories. The objective of eye movement desensitisation reprocessing is to desensitise your upsetting memories and allow you to move forward with your life without the upsetting effects of the trauma you have experienced. EMDR does not require you to relive the traumatic memories like some other therapies, but instead requires an image that is associated with the distress.