Charlotte Hastings

My hours are currently flexible, arranged around private practice from my studio, where I currently have space Tuesday morning and evening, Friday morning and Monday afternoon.

My practice essentially combines Jungian depth psychology with attachment theory.  For me that means bringing an interest in creative, spiritual and philosophical aspects of life, together with an understanding of our human developmental needs from a practical, biological perspective.  

My fascination with people and how they tick brought me into this work; so you will find in me a curious, compassionate and connected therapist who is willing and able to orientate towards your particular needs in therapy, at this time.

During my initial training in psychodynamic counselling, I also started teaching community cooking.  The synergy in these two classrooms has created my understanding of Kitchen Therapy - using food, cooking and eating as a therapeutic arena.  However, whilst I might turn to food or cooking as a useful metaphor, or sometimes a practical intervention, understanding the psyche through meaningful conversation remains the primary objective.

As pack-herd creatures, we are designed to need and help one another.  Reaching out for that help often requires huge courage and self awareness, which might be unfamiliar territory.  However, it is here our healing can begin, and I would be honoured to meet you in this place.

Knowing whether someone is a good fit for us at this crucial time in our life is not an easy choice.  I offer a 20minute online conversation to see how I can best be of help and whether you feel comfortable enough working with me at no cost other than your time.

I work from my garden studio in the outskirts of Brighton where there is room for individual and couple work.  

Individual sessions are 50minutes, couple sessions usually an hour.  Cooking sessions will be between 1-2 hours depending on our agenda.

I often work online with clients and also manage cooking sessions in this way!  

You can expect my absolute commitment to supporting your personal development and addressing the issues identified at the outset of our work.  As a fellow human traveller, you can also expect my absolute respect not just for yourself but for all the symptoms you might be carrying who have their own rational and needs to be explored.  You can also respect a playful if challenging environment that seeks to elicit your full potential and deepest healing.

Before our first session, we will have had an online conversation to discover a little about one another.  From here, I will send a brief questionnaire to establish your goals for therapy, which may of course alter as we begin work, but it is important to honour the reasons for making the initial call.

The first session will be 50mins as will be the case ongoing, and we will establish the key areas for initial exploration.  This session may have more questions than usual as I gather a picture of your background and current situation, needs and hopes for therapy.