Welcome

Every journey starts with a desire to see what else is out there. To explore new possibilities. To live.

Being alive can feel beautiful and confusing.

We grapple with this tension every day. Perhaps a bereavement, break-up or job loss has left you feeling lost and low. You might have feelings you don't understand or are struggling to manage day to day living. Perhaps you're struggling with traumatic experiences, difficulties with food, your relationship to your body or intimacy. Or maybe you're experiencing a sense of stuckness in your life.

Therapy provides a unique space and relationship for you to explore what you’ve experienced and what you desire. It is a quietly revolutionary invitation to better understand yourself and your patterns. And to open yourself to new, unexpected possibilities.

How can psychodynamic psychotherapy help?

We work together to explore your experiences. Sessions will likely weave through your current difficulties, their relationship to your past, your desires for something different, and what you sense is getting in the way.

As a psychodynamic and psychoanalytically-oriented practitioner, I am curious about how our early life teaches us to be a person, in a body, relating to the world around us. Becoming aware of these influences can better help us understand how we might be repeating patterns preventing us from living with creativity and meaning.

Working together

My practice provides a space and relationship where you can become curious about yourself and how you interact with the world. I am fascinated by how we create fulfilling lives for ourselves and the creative strategies we unconsciously develop from an early age to manage our difficulties, conflicts and desires.

Psychological and mental health issues are common and there are different ways to approach them. Some can benefit significantly from shorter-term therapy (30 sessions or so) while others may be better suited to longer term, open-ended work.

I offer long-term therapy where we can explore your experiences in-depth and shorter-term work to focus on a particular area. Sessions are 50 minutes long, occur once or twice weekly and take place in-person or online via Zoom.

Our first meeting is an opportunity to understand more about your hopes for therapy and give you an idea of how I work. This is intended to help us consider what it might be like to work together and what type of therapeutic arrangement might be in your best interests.

Sessions cost between £90 and £120 for 50 minutes. I have a limited number of concession spaces and encourage you to contact me to discuss these. Fees and arrangements for sessions are discussed during our first session.

What I can help with

I work with people from all walks of life who are experiencing difficulties and feelings of confusion and loss that colour times of transition in our lives. This can show up as anxiety, depression, addiction, obsessive symptoms, feelings of disconnection, sexual worries, and difficulties with bereavement, grief and mourning.

I have experience working in NHS secondary psychological services with patients with different diagnoses, complex mental health conditions and traumatic childhood experiences. I am also experienced working with gender-affirming medical care and queer relationships.

I have special interests in working with difficulties relating to embodied experiences:

  • Questions around gender, sexuality and sexual experiences

  • Relationships to the body, body image, food, exercise and difficulties with eating

  • Difficulties with interpersonal, romantic and intimate relationships

  • Issues connected to careers, creativity and work

  • Bodily changes connected to medical conditions, experiences of illness and fertility-oriented health issues like Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome / Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Endometriosis.

Getting started

  • Reaching out can be anxiety-provoking. I offer a free 15-minute introductory call or Zoom to meet one another and think together about what you’re experiencing and your hopes for therapy.

  • Our first session is an opportunity to explore your experiences and see how we work together.

    We have up to 90 minutes together to discuss what brings you to therapy and explore what you might find helpful. I aim to give you a feel for working with me.

    We will discuss fees and a suitable time to meet every week. My fees are negotiable based on your circumstances. We will discuss and agree these before therapy starts.

  • In our first session we might agree a follow-up session would be useful to get a better understanding of your needs.

    I like to review how my clients think therapy is going every 6-8 months and will let them know when a review session might be helpful to reflect on our work together.

    If, after an assessment, I believe you would benefit from working with a different therapist or support service, I will make sure to connect you. 

  • You can either complete the form below or send me an email. I endeavour to get back to you within 48 hours.

Contact me

If you’re interested in psychodynamic psychotherapy or have questions, I offer a free 15-minute introductory telephone call or Zoom.

Complete this form with a few details and I will get back to you within 48 hours.

Email: victoria.ocallaghan.therapy@gmail.com