Sarah McDowall
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
It may be a particular concern or a general sense of confusion that you can’t put your finger on that is drawing you towards therapy. It is not an easy decision to make but just feeling heard and having the freedom to express yourself can be a relief from the outset.
In my work I aim to be accepting and collaborative giving you time to reflect and process your experience within a safe environment based on trust. I take an integrative approach to psychotherapy, informed by psychodynamic and existential theory. My style of working is relational, meaning I help clients explore their patterns of relating. Most importantly, I value the relationship which develops between you and I, holding it to be integral to the work we do together. My work has tended to focus on anxiety and depression but I have experience with a broad range of issues including family difficulties, bereavement and narcissistic abuse among others.
If you think that psychotherapy may be right for you, the next step is to book a consultation where we can talk about what you are looking for and the possibility of us working together. I offer both short-term and open-ended psychotherapy depending on need.
Training, qualifications & experience
I gained my Masters in Psychotherapy and Counselling at Regents University School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London. I have worked in a variety of settings, including through the NHS at Women and Health, MIND in Camden and as an associate therapist at the Farah Therapy Centre in Kensington. I am a full clinical member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. I also have an MA in Oriental Studies from Cambridge University and an MSc in Chinese Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies. I grew up in Hong Kong.
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
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
Narcissistic Abuse, Loneliness
Fees
£85.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Individual, 50-minute sessions charged at £85 per hour, depending on the time slot, with some concessionary rates available.
When I work
Monday-Thursday 10am-9pm
