Dr Zarina Prayag, Clinical Psychologist

In private practice, I work with both adults and children (12/13+ years). At the moment, I am predominately working online via video sessions, due to COVID-19.

Recent client testimonials:

April 2021: "Zarina came into my life at a time where I couldn't see the wood through the trees. She helped me to sort through my emotions and slowly build foundations to be able to live my life the way I wanted to. I have come such a long way through our time together and I would not be where I am now without her help and support. I felt like I could say anything at all without being judged, and that in itself is an incredible feeling. Zarina is kind, easy to talk to and is incredibly skilled at what she does".

April 2021: "My therapist helped me address my problem with hearing sounds, ways to cope with anxiety and a lot more which will help me 100% in my future if I'm panicking or stressed/overwhelmed or overthinking".

January 2021: "Zarina has been totally amazing in helping my teenage son cope with his OCD. She made him feel totally at ease, and comfortable to share the feelings and compulsions that had started to severely affect his daily life and that of our whole family. She gave him the mechanisms to cope and overcome many of the ‘checking compulsions’ he had, whilst also being a huge support to me, as his mum. Zarina’s warm nature and gentle assurance have given my son a new found confidence in managing his disorder. We can’t recommend her highly enough, and have nothing but thanks and gratitude for all her help and support".

January 2021: "Zarina put me at ease from the start with her calm and reassuring manner. She listened to my concerns about my daughter and provided clear and actionable tools that I could take forward. I would not hesitate to recommend her as she is clearly experienced and really knows her craft. Thank you".

December 2020: "Dr Zarina Prayag is so lovely to work with, she helped my daughter settle in to the sessions so easily and I would not hesitate to recommend her. She has given us such great tools to help going forward and I have definitely seen an improvement in my daughter's anxieties. We would definitely go back to her in the future".

December 2020: "Dr Zarina has helped me so much. She makes you feel as if you are talking to a friend. She really has helped me in so many ways through some of the most difficult times in my life. It has been a tough road but definitely can see a huge improvement and that's all thanks to Dr Zarina".

October 2020: "I am so happy and grateful we found Zarina to support our son. Zarina is caring and patient. We received feedback after each session, she listened to our concerns as parents and involved us as much as and whenever possible. We found Zarina to be approachable which was really helpful. Within a very short period of time she built a high level of trust in our son who opened up to her and we have noticed such a positive change in him. Friends and relatives were also surprised to notice the change in our son's confidence. Thank you Zarina for all your help".

October 2020: "I've loved the 10 weeks with my therapist. It made me feel secure and comfortable. She helped through a lot of stress and I thank her for that".

June 2020: "Zarina has helped me a lot during my anxiety which started 8 months ago. Since having sessions with Zarina my symptoms have improved a lot and although not completely gone, are much more manageable. Zarina has helped with mindfulness exercises and explained why they are so key to help with anxiety. I have had just under 20 sessions with Zarina and feel that I am ok now to tackle anxiety on my own with the advice I have been given and have also been assured that Zarina’s door is always open if I ever feel a need for more sessions or a catch up in the future. Thank you very much Zarina for all of your help and helping me cope better with anxiety. Zarina feels more like talking to a friend than a “therapist” which really helps".

May 2020: "Since January, Zarina has been working with my son to help him understand and overcome his OCD. When we started I really didn’t think it would make much difference, but Zarina has worked absolute wonders. She has a wonderfully warm manner, which put my son at ease and he happily opened up to her.... not something he does easily. She worked at his pace, never rushing him and really helping him understand what OCD is and more importantly got to the crux of why and when it started to affect him. 4 months on and our home life has changed immensely. My son is a different child now.... his OCD is no longer an issue that overwhelms him. He’s in control of it now.... he’s more relaxed, happier and my family and I can’t speak highly enough of Zarina and her wonderful treatment. We will be forever grateful".

February 2020: "When you’re at one of the most difficult and most confusing points in your life as a parent and most frightening as a child, putting your trust in a stranger is tough. Zarina could not have made us feel more at ease. It’s a daunting process but Zarina made it all feel ok. I would absolutely recommend the services to anyone. As a family we have seen a huge difference in our son and we now feel more able to help him when it’s needed. We all have a better understanding of anxiety and the strategies we can implement to help".

January 2020: E-mail received from former client three months after finishing therapy "Hi Zarina- just wanted to say I had an interview this morning. It was the first real big test of being able to perform without falling apart and as such I was incredibly nervous about it. However, I managed to compose myself and use all the techniques you mentioned and it worked an absolute treat. It feels like such a massive step in getting back to my best and I just thought I would share that with you, so thank you so much!"

January 2020: "My therapist was very helpful in helping me understand where my anxiety had come from and most importantly how to deal with it now. She helped me understand how the brain works, which made a lot of things make sense. She was always very kind, and I could talk to her about anything. She always knew how to help me in situations. She gave me lots of helpful tools and advice on how to overcome my anxiety. I now hope, thanks to her, that I will be able to control my anxiety!"

November 2019: "Not having had therapy before I didn’t know what to expect. Zarina is extremely professional and made me feel comfortable to talk about anything. I have found the sessions very helpful. I would totally recommend her".

About me:

I am a Clinical Psychologist, registered with the HCPC, with over 10 years’ experience working with adults, children and adolescents, couples and families across different services in the NHS. I have experience of working with clients with a range of difficulties, from mild to severe, including depression, low mood, self-esteem issues, worry, anxiety, social anxiety, OCD, phobias, relationship issues, trauma, psychosis, schizophrenia, and bipolar affective disorder. I am able to work with individuals, couples and families. I also have experience and skills working with clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome, and I am able to adapt the therapy approach to meet any particular needs a client may have.

As a Clinical Psychologist, I am trained in using a variety of therapeutic models. I often use an integrative approach to ensure therapy is best suited to my clients’ individual needs and tailored to them as a person. I primarily use Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Mindfulness, as well as Narrative and Systemic approaches, and Behavioural Family Therapy.

I understand that attending therapy can be daunting and I therefore aim to create a relaxed and safe space for my clients by being warm, empathic and non-judgmental. It is important that my clients feel comfortable to explore and work on things they might be finding difficult, or feel are holding them back in life. Equally important is helping my clients to identify their strengths and values, to help you achieve your personal goals and move forwards.

Prior to private practice, I worked as a Senior Clinical Psychologist specialising in working with clients who have experienced a first episode of psychosis, in an Early Intervention in Psychosis service at the Maudsley Hospital. Before this, I worked in both adult and child and adolescent mental health services in the NHS, including managing a specialist mental health team in South East London for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Learning Disabilities.