Andrew Bird

I have 25 years of clinical experience working with Alcohol/ Addiction/Recovery, Eating disorders, Shame/Esteem, Depression, Anxiety, Co-dependency  Personal development    and 2nd/3rd Gen survivors. 

In addition to my private practice I have worked in treatment centres, and the Nightingale and Priory hospitals offering group and individual psychotherapy on the Addiction, Eating Disorder and General Psychiatry programmes. I have also worked as a counsellor-trainer.

I tailor therapy to the needs of each client - drawing upon my core humanistic/existential model, but also using CBT, psychodynamic and 12-step interventions where helpful.

I place value on the importance of making sense of our emotions and the way these shape our thoughts and behaviours. I use a wide range of interventions, some of which include;

• Identifying thoughts, feelings and meanings
• Exploring how past experiences impact on the present
• Identifying choices and the consequences of these
• Seeking practical solutions for change
• Offering up information
• Reflecting on the relationship between us
• Humour

I am knowable, happy to offer up my thoughts and observations, and work collaboratively so that both of us have a role in making sense of your situation and exploring solutions for change.

• I offer online sessions via Skype/Zoom, Whatsapp, phone and in person from my office in Marble Arch
• The frequency of sessions is jointly decided between us and can be varied according to need
• Appointments are usually booked in on session by session basis, although a fixed weekly slot can be arranged

As a therapist, I have come to believe that many of the behaviours and beliefs that bring us to seek help in the first place were previously coping mechanisms that are no longer helpful. Through dialogue, debate, challenge and humour, the aim of therapy is for both myself and my clients to explore more meaningful ways for them to live and make sense of their lives.

The first session is opportunity for us to get a sense of each other and to build up a picture of what it is that has brought you to therapy. I will typically ask you more questions than I might in proceeding sessions to quickly identify the core issues, and what might help. I'll then check with you my sense of what I think is going on and whether that fits with your experience, and then outline possible options for addressing the issues identified. 

If you have felt the session was helpful and feel comfortable with me and the way I work we can then book in a following session/sessions.