Child Teenager Therapist & Psychotherapist Ealing Broadway
About Me
I strongly believe that we always have the choice to heal, grow and move in the direction of a better future. Even when we don't have the best start to life, it doesn’t mean that this will always be our story!
My passion for my work comes from a unique blend of my own life experiences and challenges, my innate ability to work with children and a strong determination to empower young people. I work from a place of wanting to make a positive difference in the lives of our next generation.
When I began my training in psychotherapy, I was told that it was mandatory to be in personal therapy as part of the training. On our first session, I remember saying to my therapist ‘I really don’t need to be here” My famous last words! This swiftly changed to ‘therapy changed my life and I can proudly say that I became a strong advocate of therapy and have never stopped believing in myself as result.
Let’s fast forward to the present day, where I have now been in private practice for over five years. My promise to any young person that works with me is that ‘I will walk with you on your journey and empower you to never stop fighting and believing in yourself!’, and I know that all of my young clients of both present and past will vouch for this! I wholeheartedly believe that we grow stronger from our challenging experiences and that the ups and downs of life do not have the power to determine whom we become.
I strive to ensure that when young people meet me they immediately feel safe in my presence. I will always be clear about what we are doing and why to establish trust and evoke a feeling of safety. I aim to inspire the confidence that helps the young client to develop emotionally and mentally, while most importantly learning to embrace their independence.
My Credentials
Experience You Can Count On
MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents
Learning the unconscious processing and how it affects us, and bringing it to our conscious level. This MSc is specialised in learning all of the various development stages (baby to adult), analysing behaviours to understanding children’s play. As part of the MSc we had to also conduct infant observation which was for a period of 18 months.
Birkbeck University
2012
Psychology and Integrative Psychotherapy
An intensive course to learn the foundation on different psychological modalities; psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and person centred counselling.
Regent's College
2009
Diploma in Child Protection
To further develop my learning on safe guarding protocols, learning the children’s Act legislation and studying in detail the different types of child abuse.
West London University
2008
Degree in Human Geography
Queen Mary's University
Studying how countries function on a local and international level by learning about their economy, population demographics, cultural and social factors. This degree also involved a large amount of doing research and statistics work.
Graduated 2002
In 2002, I completed my degree in Human Geography at Queen Mary’s University, followed by a diploma in Child Protection in 2008. After further research, I decided to undertake a course in Psychology and an intensive course in Integrative Psychotherapy at Regent’s College. In 2012, I successfully completed my MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents.
Experiencing such an intensive journey, academically, professionally and personally, has provided me with a firm grounding and the capability to confidently establish my own private practice. I continue to work for the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (NHS-CAMHS), as I have a strong commitment to the NHS and firmly believe in the great work that they do. Working in this multi-disciplinary team, ensures that my private practice is on par with the CAMHS. Should my clients’ needs become more complex or require psychiatric intervention, I am immediately able to share information (with client and or guardian consent), and ensure that they promptly get the help they need.
Children Feeling Safe
My professional experience and my own development have helped many young people feel safe and comfortable to talk about their issues with me (please read my testimonials section). I am also clear to my clients and parents/guardians about boundaries, confidentiality and most importantly following safeguarding protocols. The result is that the client, parent/guardian and I, all feel safe working in this framework together, which is an integral part of the therapeutic process.
Continuing Professional Development
I am a keen believer in professional development and enjoy attending courses that further enhance my learning and experience. I regularly have supervision, which meets the essential requirements of the BACP framework (BACP LINK to access site). I continued my professional development by training at Reading University and qualified as a Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners Supervisor in 2019. This enables me to provide low intensity clinical supervision and training to trainees. I am also an integral team member of the emotional disorders team working with young people with complex mental health.
About Me
( minus the therapist hat )
I love travelling and exploring different countries. I would say that camping around South Africa has been my biggest adventure. I also love painting, meditating and arranging adventures!
I try to train as much as possible and particularly enjoy weight lifting and doing high intensity training sessions! I have managed a personal best of a 110kg deadlift!
My family and friends would describe me as a funny person, who is always up to cheeky mischief ☺
We have a chow chow called Bella and a cat called Max, both belong to my sisters and are very much part of our family! They are very spoilt but this is due to them being absolutely adorable! Bella is also an honorary paw-worker and helps to put a smile on the faces of the NHS staff. She takes her duties very seriously and is rewarded with shortbread biscuits… ☺
Photo below of Bella in action!
My role model is my Mum. No matter how hard things got in life, my mum has always been my biggest cheerleader, and pushed me to achieve my dreams.
Fun facts about me:
I am obsessed with noodles and spaghetti!
I have swum with dolphins, jumped into the Baltic sea for a spa experience and done white water rafting in the Ganges in India.
I have done numerous charity runs including a half marathon, a 10km, a 9km and a few 5km runs, but my all-time favourite run was for the National Dogs Trust. I did this run with my family, and we also visited the dogs at the shelter so we could see first hand how the money would help them.
Heenal
