Sophie Livingstone
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Life is inherently complicated and it is not always easy to know whether we are dealing as well as we can with the strains of living, or whether the way we are responding to life's complexities is a problem in itself. Emotional difficulties are common and can be very draining. These difficulties show up in many ways. You may:
- be struggling with depression, anxiety and relationship problems
- feel controlled by compulsive or addictive behaviours, such as alcohol/drugs, work, sex, dating apps/websites, or chasing 'drama' and intense relationships
- minimise or dismiss the importance of your experience, which can lead to feelings of unreality, numbness or disconnection.
- suffer distressing symptoms such as panic attacks or depersonalisation/derealisation
- be struggling to work and concentrate, and find yourself feeling irritable, tearful and angry, or unable to function and cope
- find it hard to manage your emotions, and feel out of control
Sometimes there is a clear-cut diagnosis, such as an anxiety disorder, clinical depression, post-traumatic stress or a neurodiversity such as ADHD. But often, the problem is more diffuse. You may have become aware that your symptoms, or aspects of your personality, make life difficult for you. You may find yourself behaving in self-destructive ways that interfere with your happiness and wellbeing, or that of people close to you. Experiences in your recent or distant past can leave you feeling unhappy or even traumatised. Or, you may be dealing with a current crisis, such as a bereavement or separation, workplace issues, or a serious health problem.
I am a UKCP registered and BACP Senior Accredited Psychotherapist. I offer a calm, confidential, supportive, respectful and non-judgmental space to help you work through the problems and difficulties you are facing. People usually find therapy enormously helpful, if not straightaway, then once it has 'got going'. It takes a little time to get to know each other. We seek help for many different reasons and each person's therapy follows its own unique path. It is important to find a therapist who feels right for you. A good therapeutic alliance can help you feel less alone or overwhelmed, gain deeper insights and new perspectives, and begin to make more conscious choices.
What to expect in the first session:
Our first meeting is an opportunity for me to find out more about what brings you to therapy, and for you to see how it feels to talk to me. You can ask any questions you may have about the way I work. You are under no obligation to commit to continuing after this session - I suggest you take a few days to think about it. Should you wish to continue, we can contract initially for 6 sessions to see how it goes, and decide around session 4 or 5 whether to continue in an open ended way, or, for a limited number of sessions. I will conduct a short informal assessment in our 2nd session, which involves a more structured series of questions. I work as collaboratively as possible with you to ensure you get the most out of the therapy process.
Training, qualifications & experience
My career in therapy began in 2004, following several years living in California, and prior to that working in the film business in London. For six years I counselled for low-cost/charity counselling services such as Westminster Mind; and was the Counselling Co-ordinator and Senior Counsellor for the Help Counselling Centre on Portobello Rd. I worked as a staff counsellor for Barts and the London NHS Trust; and later for the London Ambulance Service, seeing road crew and other employees.
Since 2009 I have maintained a private practice, working with adult individuals, both short and long term. I supervise other practicing therapists. Until 2017 I also worked several days a week for an addiction treatment clinic, seeing individuals and couples. I am familiar with the 12 Step programmes and often work with issues arising around sex, love and relationships. I devised and taught the sexual compulsivity (addiction) module on the CICS Clinical Sexology course in 2018-2019. For four years I worked as a tutor and student supervisor at The Minster Centre, an integrative psychotherapy training in central London. For now, I work in private practice and undertake some voluntary work. I have a long-standing interest in working with trauma and in 2021 began training in Somatic Experiencing, a body-oriented therapeutic model for resolving symptoms of trauma and other stress disorders.
Qualifications:
- MA in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling (Minster Centre/Middlesex University)
- GSRD-Aware Trainer (Gender, Sexuality and Relationship Diversities - Pink Therapy)
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychosexual & Relationship Therapy (London Diploma)
- Diploma in Supervision (Minster Centre)
- Certificate in Working with Sex Addiction (Paula Hall)
- Practitioner Certificate in Working with Addiction & Eating Disorders (Metanoia)
- Course module in Interpersonal Group Therapy (University of Bath/Centre for Addiction Treatment Studies)
- Diploma in Person Centred Counselling (City Lit)
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.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£80.00 per session
Additional information
I offer a free 20 minute initial phone or Zoom call
Further information
After several unsatisfactory years of renting therapy rooms I opted to work from my home, which has, for well over a decade, offered a comfortable, safe, peaceful environment in which to work. Sometimes our friendly cat puts in an appearance, usually sleeping, but if you are allergic or don't like cats just let me know!
I also have personal experience of neurodiversity and understand the complexity of its impact.
