Dr Sophia Gazla
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am an experienced Counselling Psychologist and I work with issues that can be deeply rooted and complex. I have worked for a range of agencies and services and as a specialist for BUPA and other private healthcare insurers. I have been nurturing my practice, and running my own private practice for over ten years, which I love.
I have an ongoing curiosity about the human psyche and the human condition and what supports us to overcome traumatic events, to become who we are here to be. I have a passion for understanding what influences our emotional well-being, and ways of seeing and being, in the world and the mechanisms and practices that facilitate change in a way that aligns with our potential and authenticity. I am dedicated to exploring different approaches to therapy and healing, that are founded on a holistic and compassionate view of what it means to be human. I integrate these approaches into my work in a gentle and dynamic way to offer guidance and meet what you need.
Of course, some life experiences and situations happened beyond our choice and control, and so, out of necessity, we develop and adapt ourselves creatively, to survive, which is incredible. However, as circumstances change these creative adaptations become habitual but may no longer serve us, they can even come to restrict and inhibit us from living fully.
In a world that adds pressure to attain the ideals of happiness and material success, difficult life events and our internal and emotional experiences, such as anxiety, grief, anger and despair can be neglected. These denied emotions may manifest as psychological symptoms rooted in disconnection and avoidance, or physical symptoms that can become stuck and lead to further problems that can negatively impact our sense of self, wellbeing, relationships, family life, work and our potential to thrive.
Importantly, we will explore what you need from the sessions and what you wish for in your life. I bring my sensitivity and insight to your experience and the issues you bring, and together we can tend to the often hidden, vulnerable places, to help you make sense of your experience and work through what previously may not have had a place; Sometimes linking the past to the present, and finding ways to interrupt patterns and meet previously unmet needs, as well as, explore tools that better serve the change and evolution you are seeking.
I bring warmth and presence, with an intention for us to create a supportive space for you to feel safe, to speak openly. I will support you in cultivating your resources, steadiness, and a deeper connection to yourself. Together we can gain an understanding of what may lie behind patterns that no longer work for you and develop insight that we can draw upon, to guide what you may want to cultivate in yourself, to navigate challenging issues, to enhance your sense of agency and fulfilment, and help you consider how to move towards living a life that is meaningful to you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified Chartered Counselling Psychologist. My work is underpinned by a Humanistic-Existential ethos which means I come from a non-pathologising and compassionate stance, to understand what is going on for you based on the experiences that you have had in life. This informs the flexibility and scope of my approach, whereby I draw upon relational psychotherapy and depth psychology, as well as third wave evidence-based models of cognitive-behavioural therapy, such as acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy and compassion-focused CBT. Importantly, I am a trauma-informed therapist which means I can support you safely, by bringing somatic awareness to the process to facilitate reconnection to your instincts, self and body. I am currently training as a systemic constellator, which means that I also draw upon an understanding that accounts for a broader map of your position in your family, both now and relating to the generations that preceded you. All of the above assist me in developing a comprehensive understanding to guide the work and find opportunities to untangle and move through blocks towards a life that is meaningful to you.
I have been running and nurturing my private practice since 2013, which is very important to me. I have worked with clients from different age groups, backgrounds and issues. And I have extensive experience of offering both long and short-term focused therapy, as well as developing a way of working to facilitate a deep shift with single one-off session over 2 1/2 hours.
I have spent time developing my practice and learning through working with a diverse range of clients, and client issues, within a range of therapeutic settings. I have worked within the NHS occupational health department with staff, the community learning disabilities team and NHS partner agencies, educational institutions, charities and low cost services, as well as, private healthcare insurers and agencies including on Harley Street in London.
Although I currently work with individuals, I have experience of consulting on, designing and facilitating groups, which have broadly aimed to provide an understanding of emotional problems, strategies to improve resilience, valued living and relationships, within the NHS, adoption services and low cost services.
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 HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Therapy can be a gentle yet dynamic opportunity to meet what is needed. This can be many different things, as we move through different stages of awareness and life challenges. Whatever issue that may arise, I believe the core components of good therapy lies in an understanding of the workings of our internal world and the potential for different mechanisms of change to support a movement in the desired direction.
There is a great importance in developing a trusting relationship, over time, that can often offer a new experience of being seen and deeply heard and understood in our vulnerable and often unspoken truths. As well as making room for the challenges of the past, good therapy uses this as a guide to understand what has been lost or missed, or what was simply too much to bare, that can guide the direction of what can be accepted or cultivated now.
So often we want to get away from what has been difficult, but in doing so we become disconnected and fragmented, loosing our core sense of self. Finding resource and safety in our bodies is a vital foundation to begin to acknowledge and move through unspoken and unprocessed emotional experiences. Building the capacity for embodiment strengthens our trust in ourselves and enhances our ability to act in ways that are aligned with what we want. Thereby becoming more effective in our own self-care, in our relationships and in our ability to be present and nurture all areas of our lives.
Therapies offered
Fees
£150.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
The introductory call:
I offer a free introductory call or online meeting over zoom, which last for approximately 20 -30 minutes. This is an opportunity for you to briefly share what you have been struggling with and what you are looking for. I can share my initial thoughts and answer any questions you may have.
Following this, all sessions are currently held over Zoom and are standardly 60 minutes.
Session fees:
An individual session is £150 for 60 minutes.
If you book five sessions in advance this costs £700 (£140 per session)
If you book eight sessions in advance this costs £1040 (£130 per session)
A single one off session is 2 1/2 hours and costs £250
*Please note the pricing reflects my dedication to my ongoing learning and personal development that feeds into the work, and what I am able to offer during the course of a single session.
When I work
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I may have more flexibility over the weekend on request, so please let me know if a weekend time would be more suitable for you.
Further information
I have always wanted to understand the influence of the unseen forces within relational dynamics, our sense of self and our overall wellbeing. So, I have been on a learning journey both academically and in my personal experiential explorations and process. I continue to be committed to my own personal development, holistic health and therapeutic endeavours to deepen and expand my capacity and ability to work safely and effectively at depth, with the people I come into contact with. I have faced and overcome many of my own emotional challenges and found agreement to those that are unresolvable. I understand the importance and value of reaching into our depths in times of darkness and struggle to find ourselves more completely.
I relish spending time in nature, to explore, and to clear and reset by taking in nature's beauty. Creativity is also important to me, I see creative energy and creative expression as a vital part of health and wholeness, however it may be expressed uniquely for each person. I enjoy theoretical ideas concepts and ideas, and thinking about how they overlap and integrate when working with an issue. I am currently deepening my psycho-spiritual understanding and practices to healing through shamanic traditions and systemic constellation work. I am also currently training with a member of the Sangoma from South Africa.
