"Perfect. Will be back for more!"
Anna S.
Psychotherapy in Holborn, Central London
In-depth talking therapy in Holborn with UKCP and BPS registered psychotherapists, for anxiety, depression, trauma, relationships and long-standing patterns.
Psychotherapy is an in-depth talking therapy that usually runs for longer than counselling, and often looks at how earlier experiences continue to shape how you think, feel and relate to others now. Our Holborn clinic has psychotherapists working in relational, psychodynamic and integrative traditions, so the approach can be matched to you rather than the other way round.
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a talking therapy, usually weekly, that tends to work over a longer period and in more depth than short-term counselling. It is used for anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem and longer standing patterns that keep recurring in someone's life. Different psychotherapists work in different ways, from psychodynamic approaches that look at early experience, to relational and integrative approaches that draw on several traditions. A first session is mainly about understanding what has brought you and agreeing how to work together.
What Psychotherapy Helps With
Anxiety and low mood
Psychotherapy gives sustained space to understand what feeds anxiety and low mood, rather than only managing symptoms week to week.
Trauma
Working through the effects of difficult or traumatic experiences, at a pace that is manageable, is a common reason for longer term therapy.
Relationship patterns
Recurring difficulties in relationships, whether romantic, family or work-based, often become clearer when looked at over a longer period of work.
Identity and belonging
Questions about identity, culture, migration and belonging are areas some of our psychotherapists have particular experience in.
Bereavement and loss
Grief that feels stuck or unusually heavy is sometimes better supported by ongoing psychotherapy than a shorter course of counselling.
Stress and burnout
Longer term work can help with the underlying patterns that lead to repeated burnout, rather than only addressing the current episode.
How a Session Works
1
Initial consultation50 min
A first meeting to talk about what has brought you, your history and what you would like from therapy, and to see whether the fit feels right.
2
Agreeing a way of working10 min
You and your psychotherapist agree the frequency of sessions, confidentiality and a rough sense of how open-ended or time-limited the work will be.
3
Ongoing sessions50 min
Regular sessions, usually weekly, at the same time each week, which supports the kind of sustained work psychotherapy involves.
4
Review and ending10 min
Periodic reviews of how the work is going, and a planned ending when you and your psychotherapist agree the work has reached a natural point to stop.
Who Provides It Here
Chiara Apicella
UKCP registered psychotherapist and Certified Transactional Analyst Psychotherapist, working relationally with adults and couples. Particular interest in the emotional impact of migration, belonging and intersectionality. Sessions in English and Italian.
View full profileMala Malani
Registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy with over twenty years in private practice, working with addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, relationships and identity using an integrative, psychodynamically informed approach.
View full profileMarian Pernia
Graduate member of the British Psychological Society with more than twenty-five years of experience across institutional and private practice, including ten years coordinating a counselling and psychotherapy service. Works in English or Spanish.
View full profileSpencer Joseph
Integrative therapist combining counselling and psychotherapy with acupuncture, sports massage and clinical hypnotherapy, and a specialist mental health mentor at University of the Arts London.
View full profileWhat a First Session Involves
The first meeting is as much about you assessing the psychotherapist as the other way round. You will be asked about your history, your current difficulties and what has brought you now rather than at another time. It is reasonable to ask about their approach, experience and how they tend to work.
Psychotherapy is often more open-ended than counselling, which means the two of you may agree to keep reviewing progress rather than fixing an end date at the outset. You are free to end sessions at any point, and a good psychotherapist will support you in doing that thoughtfully rather than trying to persuade you to continue.
Different Traditions
Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches look at how early relationships and unconscious patterns continue to influence present day feelings and behaviour. Relational and transactional analysis approaches, used by Chiara, pay close attention to what happens between client and therapist as a way of understanding wider relationship patterns.
Integrative practitioners, such as Mala and Spencer, draw on several traditions and adapt technique to the person rather than following one model throughout. None of these is inherently superior. The right choice depends on what you are looking for and how you respond to a particular practitioner's style.
What the Evidence Says
Psychotherapy has a substantial evidence base for conditions including depression, anxiety disorders and the effects of trauma, with psychodynamic, relational and integrative approaches all showing benefit in research, though the evidence base for structured therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy is generally larger for specific diagnoses. NICE guidance tends to recommend specific structured therapies for particular conditions, while acknowledging that longer term psychotherapy is appropriate for some people, particularly where difficulties are complex or long standing.
As with counselling, the quality of the working relationship between client and psychotherapist is consistently found to matter a great deal to outcome, which is why we take care over matching rather than offering the first available slot regardless of fit.
Confidentiality, Safety and Regulation
Sessions are confidential, with the same limited exceptions as counselling where there is a serious risk to safety. Psychotherapy is not currently a statutorily regulated profession in the United Kingdom, so registration with a recognised body is the standard to look for.
Our psychotherapists hold registration with bodies such as the UK Council for Psychotherapy or the British Psychological Society, which require recognised training, ongoing supervision and adherence to an ethical framework. If you are in crisis or at immediate risk, contact your GP, NHS 111 or the emergency services rather than waiting for an appointment.
Trauma and Long-Standing Patterns
A good deal of longer term psychotherapy concerns experiences that were never properly processed at the time: a difficult childhood, a bereavement that arrived alongside other pressures, an assault, a medical event, or years in a relationship that slowly eroded confidence. People often notice the effects long before they connect them to the cause, in the form of poor sleep, sudden anger, numbness, or relationships that repeat the same shape.
Psychotherapists work with this carefully and at a pace you set. There is no requirement to describe everything that happened, and reputable practitioners do not push for detail for its own sake. Where difficulties are severe, for example flashbacks or dissociation that interfere with daily life, your psychotherapist will discuss whether a specialist trauma-focused treatment or an assessment through your GP should come first.
How Often and For How Long
- Weekly sessions of fifty minutes are the usual pattern and suit most people starting out.
- Twice weekly work is offered by some practitioners where difficulties are longstanding and the added continuity helps.
- Short-term contracts of around twelve to twenty sessions are possible if you prefer a defined end point.
- Open-ended work is reviewed periodically rather than running indefinitely without discussion.
- Breaks for holidays are planned in advance, and endings are worked towards rather than abrupt.
Psychotherapy, Counselling or Hypnotherapy?
- Choose psychotherapy if you want to work in depth, often over a longer period, particularly where patterns go back a long way.
- Choose counselling if you want a shorter, more focused piece of work on a current difficulty.
- Choose hypnotherapy if you are looking at a specific target such as a habit, phobia or sleep problem, rather than open-ended exploration.
- Choose couples counselling if the work centres on a relationship and both partners want to be in the room.
What People Come With
- Anxiety and long-standing worry
- Depression and low mood
- Trauma and post-traumatic stress
- Relationship and attachment difficulties
- Low self-esteem
- Bereavement and complicated grief
- Identity, culture and belonging
- Stress and burnout
Explore Related Therapies
Psychotherapy FAQs
What Our Clients Say
"Great location in the heart of the city! I would say it's a quiet oasis in a very busy area, a place to relax after a hard day at work."
Robert D.
Book Psychotherapy in Holborn
Sessions are held at 46 Theobalds Road, a few minutes from Holborn station. Get in touch to arrange a time.
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