Welcome to my website.
My practice is based in Notting Hill and is a short walk from Notting Hill Gate underground station and is on the route of the 52, 23, 12 and 28 buses.
I hope you will find my website helpful. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
MY APPROACH
The way I work is described as integrative which means that I combine elements from the main therapeutic approaches to suit each individual client’s needs and requirements.
You may have heard of CBT, Psychoanalysis, Person-
In other words it is the method adapting to the client and not the other way round. Even though they may subscribe to a specific therapeutic school, most experienced therapists are at the very least aware of developments in approaches other than their own. In any case research indicates that the most significant factor relating to successful outcome is not the therapist’s preferred school of thought, but the quality of the relationship between therapist and clients.
By establishing an empathic, safe and supportive therapeutic environment I will guide you towards clarifying what your aims and objectives are if you need to, and then towards achieving them. This can be done not just by talking, but also in many cases by a variety of experiential exercises which can bring to awareness those aspects of oneself that cannot be reached by words alone. Therapy remains at all times a collaborative and creative process. It allows an opening up of possibilities. It is not a question of me telling you what to do but of us, client and therapist, exploring your current way of making sense of your experience. This is done in order to identify how your problems may have originated, how they are maintained, the function they may serve and the best way for you to challenge them and move forward.
Marina Claessens -
Chartered Psychologist
Counselling, Psychotherapy & Coaching
Notting Hill, W11, West London & Central London
mobile: 0791 766 5756
e-
My Professional Bio
That the unexamined life is not worth living has been a guiding principle all my
life. My interest in how we function and in the search to understand the often complex
and multifaceted factors that stop us from doing so, was stimulated by the discovery
of the work of Freud, Jung and Reich as a precocious and probably rather annoying
adolescent. This was well before I decided to go further and obtain a Psychology
Honours degree at Goldsmith’s College. The study of psychology contributed to greatly
enrich my understanding of psychotherapy. This was furthered still by the experience
of being, first in psychodynamic therapy for a number of years and later, during
my post-
After a foray in the study of Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London
and a professional involvement in the art world, I returned to my original passion
and qualified as an Existential Counselling Psychologist at Regent’s College, following
a three-
A wide range of interests, which includes a passion for literature and the arts,
characterises my professional development. In my work as a Counselling Psychologist
I keep an open mind and pay close attention to new developments and current debates
in the field. So although my professional stance is informed by existential-
My interests are in Cognitive Behavioural principles and ideas and in particular
in the more recent developments such as Schema Therapy and Mindfulness-
My interest in the effects and treatment of trauma has also led me to obtain a qualification
in EMDR, recommended in the NICE guidelines as an effective short-
Marina Claessens
mobile: 0791 766 5756
The
British
Psychological
Society
Copyright © Claessens 2007