Elizabeth Wilson

I only ever have limited availability but it is flexible as my working hours change by season and year.  Please contact me by email and we can work out if your availability is compatible with mine.

I work in person in the East of London and West of Scotland.  I work on online and am trained in supervisory online practice.

I have worked as a therapist in the NHS and in private practice for nearly 20 years.  I have undertaken clinical supervision of individuals and groups within the NHS since 2012 and gained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Integrative Supervision in 2014.   

I offer a flexible, integrative supervision and collaborate with supervisees to offer what they require by way of supervision.   The model I work with latently rather than overtly is Hawkins and Shohet's Seven-eyed model of supervision.  My integration as a therapist is person-centred, informed by psychodynamic theory and using third-wave CBT techniques where clinically indicated, and this impacts on my work as a supervisor.  I am increasingly working in a transpersonal and existential way.  My own supervisor is existentialist and I have learned a lot from her.

I am committed to an anti-oppressive supervision.  I am committed to encouraging inclusion in my own practice and I strive to recognise, understand and eliminate power dynamics in therapeutic relationships which do not encourage these principles.

I always have only limited availability but it tends to be flexible as my working hours change depending on the season and year.  Please email me and we can try to find a time that suits us both.  

I work in person in the East of London and West of Scotland.  I work with clients on Zoom and by phone.  

I have nearly 20 years' experience of running a successful, busy private practice.  For most of that time, I have worked within the NHS as a therapist, clinical supervisor and manager.  More recently, I work training future therapists on a BACP-accredited university programme.  My varied experience and the continual training  I have undergone since qualifying means I can offer my clients: 

* effective, short- and long-term individual therapy.   In the NHS, my 'speciality' was brief treatment of anxiety and depression (umbrella terms covering distressing symptoms rooted in myriad developmental and interpersonal issues).  Short-term work (6-12 sessions) can address  immediate symptoms.  Most of my clients elect to carry on for longer so they can understand and address fully the deep-rooted causes of their initial symptoms.  

* couples therapy. I hold a postgraduate diploma in integrative couples therapy and completed further 18 months of training to gain accreditation in Couples Therapy for Depression, at the Tavistock Centre for Couples and Relationships, a protocol which aims to help build empathy between couples.

* supervisor. I hold a postgraduate diploma in Individual and Group supervision and I supervise other therapists in their clinical work.

* training.  I am a senior lecturer at the University of East London and the course leader of their well-established MA/ postgraduate diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy. This means I am constantly engaged in improving and building my own skills as I work with trainees on improving theirs. I run pedagogically and therapeutically sound workshops and trainings for groups of private clients when demand or interest is high.

Finding the right therapist can be daunting. When I found 'my' first therapist, it was on recommendation. Whether you decide to find a therapist recommended to you or through this directory,  keep going until  you find the right person.  Don't assume when you start therapy that  if you are getting nowhere that this is down to you.  There are many variables  encouraging of a successful therapy.  The client's attitude towards the therapy and the therapeutic relationship are two of the most important in predicting a good outcome and so it is worth taking time to find the right person.

 I am a change-orientated therapist: I work with clients to pinpoint what they want to be different in their lives and then together we explore what is getting in the way of the change they require. When that is clear to both of us, we can work together to remove the obstacles and promote new ways of being and thinking.  We review our progress as we go along, establishing how successful the therapy is proving to be in bringing around the desired change, and we alter our plan if necessary.   When a client achieves their goal, they can elect to end or continue to explore other areas.  Clients come back to me see me intermittently over the years as new issues arise for them.  I will always find space for them.  We have built a relationship together which has had impact on both of us and promoted therapeutic change for them and that bond should be a continuing resource if required by them.

I am what's known as an  integrative psychotherapist in that I draw on various different theories (including person-centred, psychodynamic and the newer iterations of CBT) and collaborate with my client to develop a therapeutic plan suited to them as an individual.  As I get older, through my own therapy and supervision, I find myself going deeper into myself and drawing on more existential and spiritual ways of working with the intention of helping clients to move more easily through life.

Please email me and we will work out if I will have ongoing availability that might work for you.  Our first session is an opportunity to assess if I am the right person for you.   If  I think I can help, I'll offer a plan for our work.  You then go away and decide if you want to continue.   If I can think of someone better suited to your needs, or if you don't think 'feel' that we could work well together, I'll do all I can to match you up with another, better-suited therapist for you.

 I work in person with clients in the East of London and the West of Scotland.  I am happy to work online but, if possible, I would prefer our first meeting to be in person.   The first session is charged at full rate.