Valerie Teller
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
I have lengthy experience in a broad range of issues, focusing especially on relationship problems, anxiety, trauma, CPTSD, dissociation, bereavement, terminal or chronic illnesses, addictions, infertility, the effects of narcissistic and borderline personality behaviours and adult ADHD.
My therapy approach is existential - paying attention to the client as a whole person, rather than a cluster of symptoms. To do this I work with you to understand your experience of the world, and uncover hidden feelings which are preventing you from living as your authentic self.
By reflecting and exploring difficult and troubling feelings and experiences I can help guide you through to a place where you can decide what to accept and what to change in order to move forwards in a more knowing manner.
I have many years' experience of providing counselling and psychotherapy for young people and adults in a variety of settings, and I now work in private practice seeing adults only. I work online and in person in Wimbledon, London, and can offer short or longer term therapy.
Before setting up in private practice I worked as a counsellor and psychotherapist in a variety of settings: Wimbledon Guild Talking Therapies service; Balham Community Counselling service; Guildford College counselling service and ChildLine.
I have particular expertise in working with people living with ADHD. This may be clients who have ADHD themselves, or their parents or other family members seeking to cope and understand the condition better.
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist I worked in the City for 20 years and so have a good understanding of the stresses of working in such high pressure environments.
I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and therefore abide by their ethical standards in my counselling work.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have many years of experience working on a very wide range of problems with clients from 16 years old and above. Now working in private practice with clients over 18 years old I was previously a counsellor at Wimbledon Guild Talking Therapies, Balham Community Counselling Service, Guildford College counselling service and ChildLine.
Following on from a BSc in Psychology (Open), I achieved a Masters degree in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling (Roeh), and a further Post Graduate Certificate in ADHD (NSPC). I work as an existential therapist, and am also trained in person-centred, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapies as well as mindfulness and EFT tapping.
Prior to training as a psychotherapist I achieved a BA in Linguistics from UCL and worked as an ACA in EY and then various financial institutions in the City, finishing as a Director at Credit Suisse before leaving to raise my three young children.
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 specialise in adult ADHD which has different traits and presentation from ADHD in childhood, and which is greatly misunderstood and underdiagnosed in the UK.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£80.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
The initial consultation is by telephone and lasts up to 30 minutes. This is free of charge and is a chance to discuss what has brought you to therapy and to see whether we both feel we might work well together.
Subsequent sessions are 50 minutes and cost £75
When I work
I am available online on weekdays during the day or in the evening. When restrictions are lifted I also offer face to face sessions in Wimbledon.
Further information
I have a high level of knowledge of adult ADHD from a practical and scientific perspective. Adult ADHD differs in its presentation and treatment requirements from childhood ADHD, and is not currently sufficiently represented in the diagnostic manuals. Clinical judgement derived from experience is necessary for the correct identification and treatment of adult ADHD, and I can work with clients to understand whether they may have the condition. This might lead to seeking a diagnosis from a psychiatrist and/or learning how to adapt to living in a way which better suits an ADHD brain. In addition I work with newly diagnosed adults to help them understand how their ADHD has been impacting them to date and what might be needed to enable them to manage better going forwards.
