Counsellors in London

Finding the right counsellor in London can be an important step for anyone experiencing anxiety, stress, bereavement, relationship difficulties, trauma or a period of significant personal change. The capital and its surrounding areas are home to a wide range of counselling services, from independent practitioners offering highly personalised support to established therapy practices with access to professionals working across several therapeutic approaches.

This article introduces four counselling and psychotherapy services available to people in London and the surrounding area. Each offers a different form of support, including individual counselling, couples therapy, online psychotherapy, trauma-informed work, help with addiction and recovery, neurodivergence-informed counselling, Walk and Talk Therapy and access to experienced therapists working from London locations.

Lynsey Rous Counselling: a supportive space for emotional wellbeing and personal change

A mind and body approach shaped around the individual

Lynsey Rous Counselling provides a supportive and confidential space for adults experiencing emotional difficulties, uncertainty or significant changes in their lives. Based in the Westerham area and serving clients around Biggin Hill and Bromley, the practice offers in-person counselling alongside online sessions and Walk and Talk Therapy.

Lynsey Rous is an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society and works with people facing concerns such as anxiety, stress, bereavement, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem and major life transitions. Her work has a particular focus on women’s emotional wellbeing, including the psychological effects of perimenopause, menopause and hormonal changes.

Considering thoughts, emotions and physical responses

Her counselling follows a mind and body, whole person approach. This recognises that difficult experiences may be expressed not only through thoughts and emotions, but also through physical sensations, changes in energy, tension and the way the nervous system responds to stress or unfamiliar environments.

Sessions are adapted to the person and to what feels most important on the day. Clients do not need to begin counselling with a precise explanation of what is wrong or a fixed idea of what they want to change. The work can instead develop gradually, creating space to explore emotional patterns, relationships, identity and the circumstances contributing to a sense of anxiety, overwhelm or disconnection.

Support for neurodivergent women

Lynsey also supports women who identify as neurodivergent, including those with ADHD, autism or AuDHD. This support is available to clients with a formal diagnosis as well as those who self-identify. Counselling may include exploring masking, sensory needs, overwhelm and the experience of recognising neurodivergence later in life.

Psychoeducation can form part of the therapeutic process, helping clients consider why they may respond in particular ways to relationships, situations and their surroundings. The aim is not to expect every person to adapt to the same counselling environment, but to develop a way of working that acknowledges individual needs.

Walk and Talk Therapy and online counselling

Walk and Talk Therapy offers an alternative for clients who may find a traditional face-to-face counselling room uncomfortable or intense. Walking alongside the counsellor can create a different setting for conversation, bringing together movement, the outdoor environment and therapeutic reflection. Online sessions provide an additional option for people who prefer to access counselling remotely.

Across each format, the focus remains on providing a regular space in which clients can feel heard, explore difficult experiences without judgement and develop a clearer understanding of their emotional and physical wellbeing.

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Michele Lamonaca: integrative psychotherapy focused on understanding

Psychotherapy can offer more than short-term relief from difficult emotions. For Michele Lamonaca, it is also an opportunity to understand the experiences, relationships and recurring patterns that influence how people feel and behave.

Michele is a UKCP-accredited psychotherapist, psychosexual therapist and clinical supervisor who has worked in private practice since 2012. He supports individuals, couples and fellow professionals from his London practice, as well as providing secure online psychotherapy to clients across the United Kingdom and internationally.

A personalised approach to therapy

Every client arrives with a different history and set of circumstances. Rather than applying the same method to everyone, Michele develops an individual psychological formulation that considers the person’s emotional world, relationships, past experiences and present difficulties.

His work is grounded in psychodynamic psychotherapy, which explores how earlier experiences and unconscious emotional processes may affect current thoughts, feelings and relationships. Where appropriate, he also draws upon cognitive behavioural, humanistic, relational and trauma-informed approaches.

Supporting individuals and couples

Michele works with people experiencing anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, low self-esteem, trauma, relationship difficulties and significant life changes. He also provides compassionate support to survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and adverse childhood experiences.

Through specialist couples therapy, he helps partners explore the emotional dynamics behind conflict, communication problems and concerns surrounding intimacy. His advanced training in Clinical Psychosexology also enables him to support individuals and couples experiencing sexual or intimacy difficulties.

Inclusive and international psychotherapy

Michele offers affirmative psychotherapy for LGBTQ+ individuals, couples and families within a respectful, culturally sensitive and non-judgmental environment.

Alongside face-to-face sessions in London, he works online with clients living across Europe, North America, Australia, Asia and other parts of the world. This international practice includes support for expatriates, overseas professionals and people navigating migration, relocation or life between different countries.

Clinical supervision

In addition to his work with clients, Michele provides clinical supervision for qualified therapists and trainees. His approach encourages reflective practice, ethical decision-making and continued professional development.

Creating lasting psychological change

Michele’s work is guided by the belief that meaningful change begins with understanding. By creating a collaborative therapeutic relationship in which clients feel heard and supported, psychotherapy can help them relate to themselves and others more authentically and move towards greater emotional freedom.

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London Counselling and Consultancy: award-winning support for mental health, trauma and addiction

London Counselling and Consultancy is an award-winning counselling service founded by counsellor and trauma-informed practitioner Laura Smart. Based in London, the service supports individuals, couples and families with a range of mental health, trauma and addiction-related concerns, while also providing consultancy, therapeutic programmes and professional training.

The practice was recently named ‘Counselling Service of the Year for London and the South East 2026/27’ in the Prestige Awards, with the award due to be presented on 16 August.

A trauma-informed perspective is central to the way London Counselling and Consultancy works. This approach considers how earlier experiences can influence emotional wellbeing, relationships, behaviour and the ways people respond to difficult situations.

Counselling tailored to different needs

Counselling is available for individuals, couples and groups, both face to face in London and online. Areas of support include anxiety, stress, anger management, trauma, abuse, relationship difficulties, codependency and addiction.

Laura Smart’s work incorporates elements from a number of therapeutic approaches. Her main counselling training is in Gestalt therapy, alongside experience with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), mindfulness and Inner Child Therapy. Her work in addiction also draws on approaches including SMART Recovery and the 12-Step model.

Rather than treating therapy as a standardised solution, the practice aims to create a collaborative space where clients can better understand the experiences, emotions and patterns affecting their current circumstances.

Addiction treatment and recovery support

Addiction is another major area of the service. London Counselling and Consultancy helps people and their families explore possible treatment routes, which may include residential rehabilitation, outpatient programmes, home detox, therapy, psychiatric support and aftercare.

Support is available for alcohol and substance misuse as well as behavioural addictions, including gambling and compulsive sexual behaviours. The consultancy service can also help clients consider practical issues such as location, treatment needs and available budget when looking at different options.

Aftercare forms an important part of this work. Support can continue following rehabilitation or other treatment, helping individuals and families manage the transition back into everyday life and maintain the progress made during recovery.

Laura Smart has worked across addiction treatment centres, charities and community services. Her professional background includes roles with the Forward Trust and the Tower Hamlets Community Alcohol Team, as well as experience supporting young people and working within a range of community-based services.

Trauma-informed training and programmes

London Counselling and Consultancy also provides trauma-informed training for professionals and organisations. The programmes explore subjects such as developmental and complex trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences, PTSD and C-PTSD, the nervous system and the connection between trauma and addiction.

Training can be adapted for both clinical and non-clinical teams, including professionals working in charities, treatment services, counselling organisations, housing, education and other settings where people may come into contact with individuals affected by trauma.

The practice also develops bespoke courses, workshops and therapeutic resources covering areas such as emotional regulation, anxiety, addiction, relapse prevention, communication and stress management.

Accessible support online

A number of structured programmes can be accessed remotely, offering support in areas including alcohol and cocaine addiction, anxiety, trauma, anger management, codependency, gambling-related harm and aftercare.

DBT skills also feature within the practice’s work, particularly mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotional regulation. These skills can be especially relevant for people working through addiction or trying to develop healthier ways of responding to difficult emotions and situations.

Laura Smart holds an accredited Diploma in Counselling from The Gestalt Centre in London and has undertaken further training across trauma, addiction and other therapeutic disciplines. She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society.

By combining counselling, addiction consultancy, aftercare, professional training and online programmes, London Counselling and Consultancy provides a broad range of support centred on understanding the individual and the experiences that may be influencing their wellbeing.

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Therapy Centre East London: Counselling and Psychotherapy in Shoreditch

Therapy Centre East London brings together a community of independent counsellors and psychotherapists in the heart of Shoreditch, offering in-person and online therapy across a range of therapeutic approaches. Based at House of Creatives, 231 Shoreditch High Street, the centre is within walking distance of Shoreditch High Street station, Liverpool Street, Old Street and Moorgate.

Finding the right therapist

Therapy Centre East London was created around a simple idea: there is no single therapeutic approach, or therapist, that will be right for everyone.

The centre brings together practitioners from different professional backgrounds and therapeutic traditions, including integrative, relational, Gestalt, transpersonal and psychodynamic approaches.

Therapists at the centre work with adults experiencing a wide range of concerns, including anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, trauma, stress and burnout, relationship and intimacy difficulties, codependency, compulsive sexual behaviour, body image, life transitions and neurodiversity.

The centre aims to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, genders and sexualities. Several practitioners offer LGBTQIA+ affirmative therapy, and therapy is available in a number of languages.

Vincent Goyon and Therapy Centre East London

Therapy Centre East London was founded by Vincent Goyon, an Integrative and Relational Counsellor working with individual adults.

His approach draws on psychodynamic, attachment-based, person-centred, existential and body psychotherapy. His work explores how past experiences may continue to influence present relationships, emotions and sense of self, while paying attention to the connection between mind and body.

Alongside his private practice in Shoreditch, Vincent works as a Sessional Therapist at Nightingale Hospital in Marylebone. His previous experience includes Positive East and Body & Soul, supporting adults and families living with and affected by HIV.

Vincent also oversees operations for Loving Men+, an organisation providing personal-development events and community resources for cis and trans gay, bisexual and queer men and non-binary people.

These different strands of his work contributed to the development of Therapy Centre East London as both a place for people seeking therapy and a professional community for therapists.

Meet the therapists

Sara Knight is a Gestalt Counsellor who works collaboratively and creatively with adults. Her professional background as a singer informs her understanding of performance pressure and high-stress environments.

Ursula Spindler is an Integrative Counsellor with additional certification in Sex Counselling. She is an LGBTQIA+ affirmative practitioner offering therapy in English and German.

Angela Clerkin is an Integrative and Transpersonal Counsellor whose holistic approach incorporates mind, body, emotional experience and, where appropriate, creative ways of working. Her professional background includes work within the arts, NHS and Justice system.

Saky Otten is a trauma-informed Integrative and Relational Counsellor with a particular interest in relationships, identity and how our experiences with others shape our sense of self.

Vasiliki Krikona is an Integrative Counsellor whose approach draws on psychodynamic, person-centred, existential and solution-focused traditions. She offers therapy in English and Greek.

Mili Layla is a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist offering therapy to individual adults. She has a particular interest in cultural identity, family issues and the ways these contexts can shape emotional wellbeing.

Andrew Tobert is a Relational Integrative Psychotherapist, bringing a further relational and integrative perspective to the range of therapeutic approaches represented at the centre.

The wider professional community also includes practitioners working in coaching, facilitation and holistic approaches.

Fees, availability and appointment times vary between therapists, with sessions offered during the daytime, evenings and weekends.

A professional community for therapists

Alongside providing therapy, Therapy Centre East London offers consulting rooms to rent for counsellors, psychotherapists and other professionals developing their private practice.

The centre values collaboration and peer support and welcomes both experienced and newly qualified practitioners. It offers two therapy rooms located in a listed Georgian townhouse.

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