Stephen Smith
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello,
I am an experienced counsellor, psychotherapist and supervisor who is a registered and accredited member of the BACP.
I have been working in private practice in London since 2009 and in Archway since 2013 where I run Archway Therapy. I also work as a Psychodynamic Counsellor for University College London (UCL) alongside private practice and with professional sportspeople via the Sporting Chance Clinic.
I work in person and online with women and men, individuals and couples and have a comfortable, safe and confidential practice next to Dartmouth Park, North London in between Tufnell Park and Archway N19.
I take genuine interest in my clients, like to engage openly and talk in a straightforward way, developing a strong working relationship, showing empathy and building trust.
Here is what some clients have said:
"Stephen helped me enormously during a stressful and uncertain time in my life. His calm, non-judgmental manner and genuine interest and empathy made it possible for me to explore difficult thoughts and feelings for the first time. No jargon, confrontation or conflict - just careful listening and highly perceptive questions and observations. I am very grateful to him."
"I initially chose Stephen because of his credentials and his flexibility to fit in around my long work hours. What I didn't expect to find was his ability to really immerse himself in my situation so honestly, and over the following weeks, as I warmed to the idea of letting my thoughts out, I felt like I was being guided by someone who properly understood my state of mind. This has been invaluable to me and I began quite quickly to feel protected from my darker, more negative thoughts. His calm intelligence brought the trust I needed & his continual focus on positives, which I couldn’t initially see, helped me to reevaluate my entire perspective on life. I am now dramatically happier and have begun to process this traumatic period, but more importantly to me, I have come away feeling much more able to deal with any future difficulties I may face.”
Everyone has times when things aren't going the way we might like. We can find ourselves anywhere from, a bit grey and unhappy, to, extremely dark and depressed, overwhelmed, stressed and spun out. We can get stuck in negative patterns of thinking which are difficult to break, become worried or anxious about the future, or unable to reconcile past decisions. A neutral space to think and feel can be extremely useful. People come to counselling for a variety of reasons, something could have happened recently or might have been building for a while… it may be that you would like to:
- Work through a bereavement, relationship break-up, or redundancy
- Increase your confidence, self-esteem or self-image
- Work on cycles of behaviour that may be causing you concern
- Discuss feelings of depression, anxiety, sadness or emptiness
- Find more of a sense of purpose in life, to feel less stuck
- Try and resolve some issues from the past
- Feel more comfortable expressing your sexuality
- Work through a situation currently affecting your work life
- Develop a better understanding of your relationship issues, your partner and yourself
- Be able to resolve a family conflict
- Talk about something you have been bottling up
- Work on social skills to connect with people and make lasting friendships
Counselling may be able to offer insight into these and other concerns in a genuine, accepting and non-judgmental environment. Or it may be that it could be useful to talk about your situation with a trained professional who is not a friend, colleague or family member.
Training, qualifications & experience
An experienced and fully qualified therapist, and a registered and accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). (MBACP Accred.).
With a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of East London (accredited by the BACP) following on from a course in Psychotherapy at the London Centre for Psychotherapy and a Masters from the University of Edinburgh.
Originally from Manchester, via Edinburgh University, then I.C.U. University in Tokyo, with 4 years in New York, 3 years working at an independent school in Surrey and now 23 years in North London, I have worked in education and management both in the UK and overseas for 30 years. I have worked therapeutically with people from many diverse backgrounds aged 8 - 80 years old. Counselling students and staff at City Lit in Covent Garden, Working Men's College in Camden and Bridge Academy, Hackney New School and Hackney Community Technical College as well as for a national mental health charity and continue to work at University College London (UCL) alongside private practice.
In private practice, I set up and run Archway Therapy, located at Archway Studios N19, off Junction Road (In easy reach from Crouch End, Hampstead, Gospel Oak, Belsize Park, Highgate, Holloway, Tufnell Park, Kentish Town, Camden Town, Kings Cross St. Pancras, Bloomsbury, Tottenham Court Road) and also am associated with a number of organisations across London including, Harley Street Therapy Centre, OneTherapy, Central London Counselling and The London Counselling Collective and UCL.
I will always try and work with you in an engaging, interactive, honest and professional way.
Beginning counselling or psychotherapy can be tough but it is often a positive experience which doesn't always have to be dark and dreary. Humour and personality play a huge part in the process.
My approach is to listen, try and pick up on and discuss what will be of most use to you and always try to work towards deeper understanding, a change or a new perspective.
This means I am an integrative practitioner, using a number of different approaches
depending on the presenting situation for each client.
If you feel there is something from your past that is unresolved we may work in a psychodynamic way to explore further. If there is a specific barrier now, then cognitive or solution-focused therapy could be adopted. If it is more general then a person-centred approach could be used.
I provide a calm and comfortable environment in which we can work together openly, honestly and confidentially and work under the BACP guidelines for ethical practice, offering the same standard of service to anybody in society who may wish to contact me.
Please feel free to get in touch at any time by phone, text or email to set up a first session in which we can discuss your situation without any further obligation.
All communication will be treated in the strictest confidence and I will always aim to respond as quickly as I can.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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.
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
I have worked successfully with male, female, non-binary and trans clients from many different backgrounds aged 8 - 80 and will consider an initial meeting with anybody who wishes to contact me.
During the initial session, we will work together to establish the best next steps for you and I often see people for a one off session, without obligation, just for you to see what is involved.
Some clients stay for a few sessions, some for a few years, depending on individual circumstances.
Counselling works best on a weekly or fortnightly basis, usually at the same time each week but I am aware that this isn't always possible. I offer flexibility in some session times and will discuss this on an individual basis, if for example you have travel commitments for work.
Therapies offered
Fees
£80.00 - £120.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Following your email or phone call we will arrange an initial session. This session is £80 for a full hour.
At the end of the initial session, if you feel that further sessions might be useful, we will negotiate a fee based on your ability to pay. We will discuss your current situation and come up with a suitable and agreeable figure for you, which ranges from £80 to £120 per session for individuals and £100 to £140 for couples.
I also offer reduced fee sessions at certain times. If you are a student or on a low income/work part-time or anyone who would like to discuss the availability of reduced fee sessions, please feel free to contact me.
Each session lasts 50 minutes and starts from the time agreed.
Sessions are offered by prior arrangement during the day, evenings and weekends.
You are under no obligation to have more than one session, this will be discussed when we meet.
When I work
Sessions are available from 10am until 8pm
Further information
Additional Links to websites I am associated with:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/stephen-smith-london-eng/837313?preview=1&return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmember.psychologytoday.com%2Fgb%2Fhome&_ga=2.17365178.2093722023.1621339151-307282795.1598087716
www.archwaytherapy.co.uk