Nicola Harris

Nikki Harris MA Psych., Adv. Dip., UKCP (reg), MBACP, BA(Hons) Psych

With 18 years experience, I am a UKCP registered and accredited Psychotherapist and Counsellor, based in Elstree. 

As a result of my Integrative training and theoretical thinking, I view each client as an individual with their own unique experiences. Depending on your needs and requirements, I will provide a range of techniques and ways of working which are drawn from the diverse theories and approaches recognised within the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy. My approach relies on sensitive listening, open exploration, interactive engagement, respectful challenge and mutual participation in the process. If appropriate, I encourage material that may be useful for you to bring to the sessions, i.e: drawings, a record of dreams, journals, poems, music.

Couple Counselling requires empathy combined with neutrality. Assisting conflicted individuals to develop a degree of empathy towards each other is central. I use various techniques to help couples learn to listen to a greater level to their partner and to understand and become aware that another perspective exists. Ideally I work with repair. However, sometimes it is necessary to help couples to start to accept their relationship cannot be repaired. As a consequence I can assist couples to work towards a healthy separation.

Confidentiality is absolutely central to my work as a therapist. What is said in therapy remains confidential to the limits provided by law (essentially, where there is serious danger to anyone’s life) and even then would be considered very carefully before any disclosure was made. 

I am bound by The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) code of ethics, with whom I am registered and accredited and I am also a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I am fully insured and my work is regularly supervised (one to one with a fully qualified and experienced supervisor) .

I am a fully trained and experienced Bereavement Counsellor, which means I have specific understanding of the grieving process. Before setting up privately, I worked as a Counsellor in a GP's practice, offering short-term counselling.

Together with my private practice, I continue to enhance my ability to work across the board, short-term as well as long-term, counselling as well as psychotherapy, therapy for self-development as well as therapy with extreme states and mental-emotional pain. My training will always continue, by means of attending regular courses, workshops and seminars. I also offer Psychotherapy to trainee Psychotherapists.

After you make contact with me (by email or phone) and we arrange to meet, we will need to agree how long we will want to work together for. It may be just a few sessions (usually 6 sessions as a minimum) or on an open-ended basis, depending on what feels right for you. 

I believe it helps to work out a time-frame together from the outset, but nothing is set in stone, and we can always review how things are as they unfold