Psychological Well-being

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L I F E  I N  M I N D

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Dr Paul Garden

I am a registered Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) Practitioner Psychologist, and am on the British Psychological Society Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS). I have been in Private Practice in Central London for nine years.

Before spending ten years in full-time study and training in London universities and NHS Trusts to qualify as a psychologist, I spent a decade travelling, mainly around Asia, studying Eastern psychology and philosophy. Thus, I have a rich lens of psychological perspectives through which I understand and work with the mind.

Psychoanalytic thinking underpins my approach to therapy, which is always tailored to suit the unique needs of each person. The therapeutic work then adapts as those needs change over time.

The process of therapy is aimed at developing an understanding of your distress through examining the present situation and exploring how various factors- including past experiences- might be influencing the way you feel in the here and now.

These insights can then be used by you to develop understanding and a sense of control over the difficult thoughts, emotions and experiences that underpin your distress. This understanding improves your capacity to reduce and change unhelpful behavioural patterns, and can lead to a greater sense of control over your life and contentment with yourself in general.

Personality, relationships, anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma are areas of expertise. I am also experienced in working with people who engage in therapy to think about themselves more deeply, to understand and relate to themselves better; to make sense of and find meaning in their lives. This in itself often forms the basis of valuable therapeutic aims.

I offer an initial consultation session at a reduced fee for you to describe in detail the issues that have brought you to therapy, for you to ask me any questions you might have, and for me to suggest what your treatment might involve.

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L I F E I N M I N D

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Academic and Professional qualification

  • Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology
  • Doctor of Psychology (DPsych)
  • MSc with Distinction in Early Psychosis Intervention
  • Master’s Research: The Neuroscience of Mindfulness (Distinction)
  • BSc First-Class Honours in Psychology & Neuroscience
  • Compassion-Focused Therapy Training
  • Mentalisation-Based Therapy Training

Although I avoid too much emphasis on the use of labels, some examples of diagnoses and experience I often work with include:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Addiction
  • Personality Disorders
  • Psychosis
  • Trauma
  • PTSD
  • Self-Esteem
  • Self-criticism
  • Identity
  • Stress
  • Relationships
  • Sex and Sexuality
  • Gender
  • Anger
  • Loneliness and Isolation
  • Loss, grief and bereavement
  • Physical Health (e.g. Pain, Sleep, HIV, chronic and terminal illness)
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Location & Fees

Location
From the beginning of Lockdown restrictions in March 2020 my practice was largely online. The success of this indicates that online sessions will continue to be offered beyond the pandemic.

I am also again available to meet for therapy sessions in my consulting rooms in central London, W1W, Close to Harley Street, subject to availability.

Fees
Initial consultation (individual):           £150.00

Individual Psychotherapy Sessions:   £150.00

Couples Therapy sessions:                 £200.00

I am registered through HealthCode with most major Insurance companies.

Clinical Supervision of qualified and trainee psychologists is available on a sliding scale dependent on qualification status. I am qualified by the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS).

First Session
I offer an initial consultation session where you can describe in detail the issues that have brought you to therapy,  for you to ask me any questions you might have, and for me to suggest what your treatment might involve.