Maria Oratis

• Please contact me for current availability.

Clinic hours are available from Tuesday to Thursday.

Are you feeling sad, worried, overwhelmed or stressed? Do you find relationships challenging? Do you feel stuck? As a qualified psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist I can help you to make sense of any difficulties which may be troubling you.

I provide a safe and supportive environment in which we can explore your thoughts and emotions together. This therapeutic relationship can effect change by helping you to reflect on your feelings. I can help you to see how your past experiences and relationships have had an impact on the way that you are feeling now and the way that you relate to the people around you. Psychodynamic therapy is considered a type of therapy which delves deeper to get to the root of the problem.

Understanding yourself better can provide relief and help you to make different choices moving forward. Ultimately, insight can lead to living a more fulfilled and peaceful life.

Experience and Training:

I have experience in working with people who have struggled with issues that prevent them from feeling settled and content. These have included finding relationships with others difficult, anxiety, bereavement, trauma and a lack of self-esteem. I worked for several years for a counselling service in North London.

An individual's emotional struggles can manifest in many different ways including feeling:

• unable to cope and overwhelmed
• empty or disconnected from emotions
• angry
• stuck and unable to be creative
• unwell physically

I have successfully completed extensive training which has included a 2-year Certificate in Counselling from the University of Hertfordshire. I undertook a rigorous 3-year training course and successfully gained a Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling from the Manor House Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy (accredited by the BACP and the BPC).

In addition, I have a Masters with Distinction in Psychodynamic Counselling from the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex. I am a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists and I adhere to the BACP's Ethical Framework and Guidelines. I continue to gain experience and knowledge through (CPD) continual professional development in the form of workshops, lectures and clinical work.

I have a particular interest in the mother-infant relationship and the impact it has on emotional development.

The initial session would give you the opportunity to meet me. If you have not had therapy before it gives you an introduction to what it feels like to be in therapy. This session, which is about an hour long, carries no obligation to commit. We would decide together if I am the right therapist for you.

Ongoing sessions are 50 minutes, at the same time and day, weekly. Fees for ongoing sessions are from £70 per session.

I welcome any queries you may have about counselling and therapy by email. We would then arrange an initial telephone conversation to discuss any arrangements going forward.