Shyama Thanabalasingam
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello and welcome. My name is Shyama and I am dedicated to providing a therapeutic space that is respectful and warm, where you feel truly valued and heard. My approach is integrative and specifically tailored to each individual, drawing on a range of psychological perspectives to support your unique journey towards well-being and growth. I offer both short and long-term therapy aligning with your needs but generally I aim to build long-term therapeutic relationships with clients, as it creates the foundation for deeper, more meaningful work.
As an Integrative Psychotherapist, I honour your uniqueness and recognise that one approach does not fit all. Engaging in therapy offers a valuable opportunity to deepen our understanding of who we are and why we function the way we do. In practice, we can work together at a pace that feels safe for you, addressing unresolved inner conflicts, making sense of your emotions, and exploring the root causes of distress and trauma. My goal is to help you gain clarity, resilience and support healing. If you want to talk about what's happening in your life, give words to your feelings, and express those silent, unspoken thoughts, I am here to offer support and provide a safe space for you to be yourself.
Over the years, my clients have shared a diverse range of experiences and challenges, bringing with them a wealth of wisdom. Recurring themes include; depression, anxiety, shame, loneliness, emotional dysregulation, low self-esteem, trauma, abuse, racial/cultural complexities, grief, relationship issues , living with neurodiversity and struggles within identity. These interconnected experiences and insights deeply shape my commitment to an intersectional and anti-oppressive approach.
I have a personal and professional interest with individuals who live with chronic illness and pain and how long term health issues can impact our psychological well-being. Living with RA has shaped my understanding and connection between the mind and body and recognising the profound connection between physical and emotional pain. Therapy would be a space to support both your physical and mental well-being, exploring the connection between mind and body to promote self-awareness, personal growth and healing.
I also specialise in trauma-informed practices and its application within therapeutic work. Any experience big or small which has had profound impact on our wellbeing can be described as trauma. This work extends to transgenerational trauma and how trauma can be passed down from one generation to the next, often affecting how families or communities cope with difficult experiences. In practice, the impact of trauma often cannot be fully expressed in words, and may not be consciously recalled, yet its impact on our well-being is held in the body. The body retains what words cannot convey, carrying the effects of trauma even in the absence of clear memory. In practice, through psycho-education and safely engaging with parts of your nervous system will help support regulation, stress and emotional responses, ultimately supporting deeper therapeutic work.
Navigating the world as a woman of colour has built up a plethora of personal lived experiences, thus deepening my passion and curiosity around the experiences of marginalised individuals. Our work together through a safe, respectful and affirming space would support navigating your personal experiences and the emotional, psychological, and systemic challenges associated with your racial, ethnic, and cultural identity. This can be extended to all marginalised individuals and how one experiences the world and individual sense of self . Within our space, your identity would be honoured and respected; fostering insight, healing and acceptance of self.
How it works: We would start with an initial session where we will take the time to understand your reasons for seeking therapy and establish if we are a good fit to work together.
I am currently seeing clients online/phone with limited face to face availability.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training
I am a qualified UKCP accredited Integrative psychotherapist, having completed a 4 year postgraduate masters programme at Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. My integrative approach incorporates humanistic, relational, developmental and psychodynamic theory and practice to explore together your reality and experiences with compassion and without judgement.
I have also completed a 3 year Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling. This training combined hypnotherapy, integrative practices such as person-centred therapy , Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Gestalt to explore one's history, reframe negative thoughts and empower individuals through a supporting, transparent and empathetic practice.
Experience
I have worked across a range of settings to include the NHS and private healthcare prior to starting my journey as a psychotherapist. This has been an invaluable experience and a fundamental drive in wanting to support people's mental health and well-being. Volunteering within my local communities, a refugee centre and working within charitable organisations has given me a diverse range of experience and invaluable learning across a cross-cultural setting.
My Master's research was focused on the lived experience of therapists of colour within training, fundamentally driven by my own experiences as a Sri-Lankan woman and navigating my racial and dual cultural identity within British society. As such, I have a special interest in working with people of colour and marginalised backgrounds and our therapeutic space would fundamentally be to connect and work together to foster insight and embrace the layers of your identity as a whole.
How I work
In practice, I am guided by your unique needs, working with you to create a therapeutic space that feels supportive and is effective. Together, we will explore how to best meet your goals, crafting a personalised framework that ensures you gain the most from each session.
I place emphasis on the therapeutic relationship, viewing our connection as a powerful catalyst for change. Through building trust, we can uncover and explore patterns and dynamics that may also manifest in other areas of your life. For example, examining one’s developmental history can shed light on early adaptations to life that, while once necessary, may now contribute to challenges in adulthood. Additionally, by bringing unconscious patterns into conscious awareness, you can increase your capacity to make more intentional, informed choices that better align with your current needs and goals.
Exploring these dynamics within the therapy space provides an opportunity for you to practice new ways of relating and responding. This creates a safe environment for experimentation and growth, enabling clients to approach life and relationships differently outside of therapy. My hope is for you to be able to express yourself freely and be authentically you.
Qualifications
- Dip Hypnotherapy and Counselling Skills
- Ad Dip Psychotherapeutic Counselling
- BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science
- MSc Integrative Psychotherapy
Professional Membership
UKCP accredited (registration: 2011174741)
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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.
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
Autoimmune disorders, Mind-Body relationship and its implications, Identity, Cultural nuances, Intersectionality, Shame and Transgenerational trauma.
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 - £80.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Having experienced being a client myself, I understand the daunting process of reaching out for support and I am here to support you wherever you may be in your path to discovery and healing. Finding the right therapist is uniquely personal and I offer a complimentary 20 minute phone call where we can discuss any concerns or questions you may have, mutually discuss if you and I are able to work together therapeutically and some of goals you might have.
I offer a sliding scale fee of £65-£80 per 50 minute session, depending on your financial circumstances.
I offer concessionary rates to trainee psychotherapists/counsellors, full-time students and for certain individuals, provided the circumstances permit.
When I work
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