Psychological therapy has become increasingly important in London in recent years, driven by a growing awareness of the importance of looking after mental health. More people than ever are seeking the support of qualified psychotherapists to help them cope with challenges such as anxiety, stress, emotional difficulties, relationship issues, or the demands and transitions that arise at different stages of life.
In this article, we present a selection of some of the leading psychotherapists in London, offering an overview of the range of therapeutic services available across the capital. From individual, couples, and family therapy to specialist support for children, adolescents, and adults, these practitioners use evidence-based approaches to provide personalised care and help clients achieve lasting emotional wellbeing.
Psychotherapists featured in this article:
Laura Lonsdale Psychotherapy
Laura Lonsdale Psychotherapy: Private Counselling and Psychotherapy in Kensington, London
An established private counselling practice in London
Laura Lonsdale Psychotherapy provides private counselling and psychotherapy from a small practice in Kensington, London. Led by qualified psychotherapist Laura Lonsdale, the service supports people experiencing anxiety, depression, stress, relationship difficulties, family conflict and periods of personal uncertainty. With more than 15 years of professional experience, Lonsdale works with new and returning clients from a wide range of cultural and professional backgrounds, including students, business professionals, people working in the media and members of London’s international community.
The practice offers individual therapy through face-to-face sessions in Kensington, as well as online appointments for international clients and those unable to travel regularly to London. Each therapeutic process is adapted to the experiences, circumstances and objectives of the individual rather than being organised around a standardised programme.
A person-centred approach to therapy
Lonsdale specialises in person-centred therapy, an approach based on empathy, respect and the development of a trusting therapeutic relationship. Sessions provide a calm and confidential environment where clients can discuss difficult experiences without feeling judged or pressured.
Rather than directing clients towards a predetermined solution, the therapeutic process helps them explore their emotions, recognise their own resources and develop a clearer understanding of the circumstances affecting their wellbeing. Starting therapy can feel daunting, particularly when someone has not previously spoken openly about personal concerns. The initial focus is therefore on establishing a supportive setting in which each person can talk at their own pace.
Feeling listened to and understood can provide a sense of validation while reducing the isolation often associated with emotional distress. The work is collaborative, allowing clients to concentrate on the issues most relevant to their relationships, experiences and personal development.
Connecting emotional and physical wellbeing
A central element of the practice is the relationship between mind and body. Emotional difficulties may be accompanied by physical responses, changes in energy, tension or a reduced ability to manage everyday demands.
Therapy considers both emotional experiences and the bodily reactions that may accompany them. This broader perspective can help clients recognise how stress, unresolved experiences and long-standing beliefs continue to influence their behaviour and wellbeing.
The process also places importance on self-care, personal boundaries and the need to establish a healthier balance between work, relationships and individual needs. Taking dedicated time to reflect can help clients understand their priorities and make decisions with greater confidence.
Negative beliefs can become closely connected to a person’s identity, particularly when they have developed through earlier experiences. Therapy provides an opportunity to revisit these beliefs, understand their origins and consider whether they remain helpful in the present.
Individual, relationship and family therapy
Individual therapy gives clients dedicated time to slow down and examine what may be happening beneath the surface of a particular concern. Sessions may involve exploring recurring emotional patterns, understanding responses to certain situations and considering how previous experiences affect current difficulties.
This form of therapy can be relevant for people who feel stuck but cannot identify a single cause. Emotional pressure may develop gradually through professional demands, relationship concerns, family responsibilities or a loss of personal direction. By examining these factors together, clients can begin to understand their situation and identify a way forward.
Lonsdale also offers individual relationship therapy, focusing on the client’s personal experience of relationships with partners, relatives, colleagues and other significant people. Another person does not need to attend for this work to take place. Sessions may explore repeated disagreements, difficulties expressing needs, fear of rejection, emotional withdrawal or attachment patterns.
Family concerns may include sibling rivalry, generational differences, communication difficulties and the pressures of everyday family life. Therapy provides space to consider these dynamics while encouraging empathy, respect and clearer personal boundaries. The focus remains on helping clients understand their own reactions and identify changes that may support healthier and more balanced relationships.
Anxiety, depression, stress and personal crises
Lonsdale works with people experiencing anxiety, depression and prolonged stress, as well as those managing a personal crisis. These difficulties can affect concentration, confidence, relationships and the ability to cope with ordinary responsibilities.
Therapy allows clients to describe their experiences openly and identify the pressures contributing to their distress. Discussing a concern, sometimes for the first time, can bring relief and help organise thoughts that previously felt confusing or overwhelming.
The process may involve recognising unhelpful patterns, developing coping strategies and adopting more compassionate forms of self-reflection. Its purpose is not limited to addressing immediate distress, but also includes strengthening resilience and helping clients manage future challenges with greater awareness.
Professional training and experience
Lonsdale’s path into psychotherapy was influenced by her experience of establishing and facilitating a patient support group for people facing fertility difficulties. This work demonstrated the value of speaking with someone outside a person’s immediate circle of relatives and friends, particularly when discussing experiences that may be difficult to share elsewhere.
Her professional training began with a foundation course, followed by a master’s and postgraduate diploma in psychotherapy and counselling at Regent’s College. She studied several therapeutic methods, including psychoanalytic, existential and integrative approaches, before choosing to specialise in person-centred therapy.
During her training, she worked at Kensington and Chelsea College, Regent’s University and London Metropolitan University. These experiences contributed to the development of a practice in which attentive listening, trust and respect form the basis of the therapeutic process.
Counselling in Kensington and online
Face-to-face counselling takes place in a small and comfortable office in Kensington. Sessions last 50 minutes and, after the initial appointment, clients will usually meet weekly at an agreed time.
This regular structure supports continuity and allows the therapeutic relationship to develop gradually. It also gives clients the opportunity to observe changes, return to emerging concerns and build confidence over the course of therapy.
Online counselling is available through Zoom for international clients and people who find travelling to London difficult. Telephone appointments are also offered, providing additional flexibility when personal circumstances or location prevent regular attendance in Kensington. Both remote and in-person sessions maintain the same individual and confidential approach.
A dedicated space for reflection and change
Laura Lonsdale Psychotherapy provides one-to-one counselling for people dealing with emotional, relational and personal difficulties. Its work combines person-centred therapy with an awareness of physical responses, attachment patterns, self-care and the pressures of daily life.
Through regular sessions, clients are supported in understanding their experiences, recognising their strengths and developing greater emotional clarity. The overall aim is to help them move forward with stronger self-belief, healthier boundaries and a more balanced understanding of themselves.
Address:: Vicarage House, 58-60 Kensington Church St, London W8 4DB
Bill Critchley Consulting
Bill Critchley Therapy: Gestalt Psychotherapy and Professional Coaching in North London
An established psychotherapy practice in North London
Bill Critchley Therapy (info@billcritchleytherapy.co.uk) provides psychotherapy, coaching and personal development support in North London. The practice is led by Bill Critchley, a Gestalt psychotherapist who also works as an organisation consultant and coach through Bill Critchley Consulting Ltd (http://www.billcritchleyconsulting.com)
Critchley has practised as a psychotherapist since 1990 and is registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy. His work is primarily based on Gestalt principles, while also drawing on Transactional Analysis and selected ideas from other approaches that are consistent with his relational way of working.
The practice supports people who are unhappy with how they are coping with aspects of their lives, in particular those experiencing difficulties in intimate relationships, coping with stress or anxiety, issues involving identity and self-confidence, or career-related concerns.
A professional path spanning psychotherapy and organisational psychology
Critchley began his career in sales and marketing before developing an interest in psychotherapy and organisational psychology. After undertaking group psychotherapy at the Institute of Group Analysis, he completed an MBA where he discovered organisational behaviour, which connected with his experience of group therapy.
He later moved into Organisation Development, commonly known as OD, with a firm called Sheppard Moscow, who, at that time were a firm of OD specialists. During this period he started training at the Metanoia Institute, in Gestalt and Transactional Analysis. After ten years of training, he qualified as a Gestalt psychotherapist.
Critchley subsequently joined Ashridge Consulting, a subsidiary of Ashridge Business School, where he helped create a consulting practice informed by Gestalt principles, and ideas from the study of complexity. He also founded an MSc in organisation consulting (AMOC), and designed a programme for developing coaches, which later converted into an MSc. As a member of the Ashridge Consulting leadership team, he led major consulting projects while continuing to practise as a psychotherapist.
His qualifications include an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, an MSc in Gestalt Psychotherapy from Middlesex University, a Diploma in Clinical Psychotherapy and a Diploma in Organisation Consulting. His professional roles and accreditations include Visiting Professor at Middlesex University, membership of UKCP and EMCC, Fellowship of the RSA and accreditation as an Ashridge coach.
Gestalt therapy and awareness in the present
Gestalt is the main orientation of Critchley’s therapeutic work. The term is associated with integrating disowned parts into a comprehensive whole, and while a core Gestalt principle is awareness in the present, this includes paying attention to how past experiences and ‘patterns’ of behaviour are showing up in the ‘here and now’. Expectations about the future are also explored through the way they are anticipated in the present.
Gestalt pays more attention to ‘context’ than other modalities, recognising that people exist within, and are shaped by a network of relationships and situations. One of Gestalt’s core ideas is that we cannot help the circumstances of our birth (race, gender, class etc), but we can choose how we engage with the world, so Gestalt places importance on personal responsibility. It is also based on the view that people have an inherent tendency towards greater integration and healthy functioning.
Therapy as a conversation between equals
Critchley describes therapy as a particular form of conversation rather than a process in which the therapist analyses the client or acts as the expert. The work takes place between two people, with the aim of helping clients become more aware of their experiences, assumptions and habitual responses.
Sessions may introduce different perspectives or alternative ways of understanding a situation. Clients can then consider experimenting, at their own pace, with different responses to relationships and everyday experiences.
An important part of this process involves recognising limiting beliefs and the narratives people develop about themselves. These stories may emerge through repeated experiences, particularly during childhood, and may continue to influence adult life.
For example, someone whose needs were repeatedly overlooked may develop the belief that those needs are unimportant. Becoming aware of such a belief can create space to question it and explore different ways of engaging with life and relationships.
A relational understanding of personal experience
Another core Gestalt concept is the view that a person’s sense of self is formed through relationships, particularly those involving early carers and other significant figures. This is a more dynamic and emergent view of ‘self’, compared to other modalities; from this perspective, relationships are co-created, and attention is therefore paid to the relationship that develops between therapist and client during the work. This often sheds light on a client’s recurring patterns in relationships, and may suggest ways of experimenting with different kinds of responses (as opposed to reacting) to people and situations.
Transactional Analysis and limiting patterns
Although Gestalt remains his primary orientation, Critchley also draws on Transactional Analysis where it supports the therapeutic process. This approach offers a way of examining ego states, commonly described as Parent, Adult and Child.
It can help clients understand beliefs about how they are expected to behave and consider how early childhood experiences may contribute to anxiety, or influence their responses in adult life.
The work may also explore transference, particularly when someone unconsciously reminds a person of a parent, carer, teacher or another authority figure from earlier life. Expectations, criticism or painful experiences associated with these figures may later be carried into new relationships.
These experiences can become internal stories about the kind of person someone believes themselves to be. Therapy provides an opportunity to recognise these influences and examine repeated ideas about what someone should or ought to do.
Areas of support and the structure of therapy
Critchley works with people experiencing relationship difficulties, anxiety, stress, career concerns and wider questions involving identity or self-confidence. Rather than following a fixed treatment programme, the work is adapted to the nature of the issue and the needs of the individual.
Therapy sessions last for 50 minutes and usually take place weekly or fortnightly. Their frequency and duration are arranged according to the circumstances of the work and the availability of both therapist and client.
Gestalt does not impose a single timetable for therapy, allowing sessions to be organised flexibly while maintaining sufficient continuity for clients to explore their experiences and recognise recurring patterns.
Coaching and supervision experience
Alongside psychotherapy, Critchley provides coaching for individuals, chief executives, directors and senior managers. His coaching work combines organisational psychology, consulting and psychotherapy and his experience has included coaching partners in law firms, senior executives in the energy and media sectors and leadership teams within retail, charitable organisations, and national and local government. He also supervises coaches and organisation consultants and is an EMCC Accredited Coach and Mentor Supervisor.
His approach is based on the idea that people cannot become something they are not, but can become more of what they already are. Coaching therefore examines the role a person adopts, their leadership style, patterns of behaviour and relationships, and the assumptions informing their professional practice.
Common areas of coaching work include difficulty delegating, taking decisions alone, work overload and feeling overwhelmed by managerial responsibility. Clients are encouraged to identify their strengths, understand what leads to ineffective behaviour and experiment with different leadership styles or working practices.
An integrated approach to personal and professional change
Bill Critchley Therapy combines more than three decades of psychotherapy practice with extensive experience in organisational psychology, consulting and executive coaching.
Psychotherapy explores how people are coping with their lives and relationships, while coaching examines how they perform and relate to others in the workplace. Critchley’s approach recognises that these areas often overlap.
Through Gestalt, relational psychotherapy and selected elements of Transactional Analysis, clients are encouraged to become more aware of the stories, assumptions and behavioural patterns shaping their experiences. The overall aim is to support greater self-understanding and create opportunities for different ways of responding to personal, relational and professional challenges.Address: 1 Northolme Road, London, N5 2UZ
Macarena De La Vega. Psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in London and Online
Macarena De La Vega is a psychologist and cognitive behavioural therapist offering psychotherapy in both Spanish and English. She provides face-to-face appointments in Holborn (London), Cambridge, and Bury St Edmunds, as well as secure online sessions for clients across the UK.
Her practice focuses on helping adults address a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), an evidence-based approach that aims to identify and modify unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour. Therapy is tailored to the individual’s circumstances, recognising that every client’s experiences, goals, and challenges are unique.
An Evidence-Based Therapeutic Approach
Macarena works primarily with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), both of which are structured, practical approaches designed to help people develop healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and responding to life’s challenges.
The therapeutic process is centred on understanding how thoughts, emotions, and behaviours influence one another. Sessions encourage clients to identify beliefs and behavioural patterns that may contribute to emotional distress and to replace them with more balanced and constructive alternatives.
Rather than focusing solely on understanding past experiences, therapy also emphasises practical strategies that clients can apply in their daily lives. These may include cognitive restructuring, behavioural exercises, mindfulness techniques, and methods for reducing negative self-talk and developing healthier coping strategies.
Areas of Support
Macarena provides psychological support for adults experiencing a variety of emotional and mental health concerns. These may include anxiety, panic attacks, depression, stress, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, and challenges associated with significant life events or personal transitions.
Some clients seek therapy following a clearly identifiable stressful or traumatic experience, while others may find themselves struggling with emotional difficulties that have developed gradually over time. Therapy offers an opportunity to explore these concerns in a structured and supportive environment while working towards realistic and achievable therapeutic goals.
A Practical and Collaborative Process
CBT is a collaborative form of psychotherapy in which therapist and client work together to understand current difficulties and develop practical techniques for managing them. During sessions, clients are encouraged to examine how particular patterns of thinking influence their emotions and behaviours, while learning new skills that can be applied outside the therapy room.
An important element of treatment involves practising these techniques between sessions through structured exercises or homework. This allows clients to reinforce new ways of thinking and behaving, supporting gradual and sustainable change over time.
Although Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is often considered a relatively short-term therapeutic approach, the duration of treatment varies according to each individual’s needs, presenting concerns, and personal objectives.
Professional Background
Macarena De La Vega holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and has completed specialist training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in London.
She combines academic training with extensive clinical experience gained through work in both the public and private sectors in London and Buenos Aires. This broad professional background has provided experience supporting adults from diverse cultural and personal backgrounds across a range of psychological presentations.
Her therapeutic style is characterised by a warm, respectful, and pragmatic approach, with an emphasis on helping clients develop practical skills that promote long-term emotional wellbeing and psychological resilience.
Therapy in English and Spanish Macarena offers psychotherapy in both English and Spanish, enabling clients to engage in therapy in the language with which they feel most comfortable. Sessions are available in person at her practices in London, Cambridge, and Bury St Edmunds, as well as online, providing flexible access to evidence-based psychological support for adults throughout the UK.
Address:: 1 Quality Ct, London WC2A 1HR
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