Mark Crow

I believe the feeling of safety is at the heart of therapy. When we feel truly safe, what is there to hold us back? What is there to stop us making connections between early life and how we are now? Or speak to ourselves with more fairness and compassion? Or to ask for what we really want in relationships?

So, establishing a sense of safety is a necessary step – within the therapy space, and within the mind and body.

My approach is for the therapy process to adapt to you, to the troubles you are facing, and the pace you like to work at. I will listen carefully to you, and together we will look at your life experiences from different perspectives and challenge those internal beliefs and patterns that no longer support you.

I’m a Gestalt counsellor, so there will be a commitment to what’s happening right now (the only moment we can act in). There will be an ongoing invitation to connect to all areas of experience – body sensations, thoughts and emotions. There will be the opportunity to identify and experiment with the many internal and external resources that are available but often overlooked.

I also offer the option of ‘polyvagal’ therapy. This rigorously researched and evidenced approach will allow you to understand how your nervous system has learned to respond to threat. By learning how the 3 main ‘autonomic states’ (such as ‘fight or flight’) are triggered for you, you can retune your responses away from defensiveness and towards calmness, social connection and safety.

Additionally, for those who are interested, I can integrate mindfulness practice into the therapy.

“Being cut off from our own natural self compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer.” Dr Gabor Mate

I offer face to face therapy from a private room in Hackney.

This is easily accessible from Stoke Newington, Clapton, De Beauvoir Town, Haggerston, Homerton, Hackney Central, Shoreditch, Liverpool Street and other parts of East London.

I also offer therapy by Zoom and telephone.

The kind of therapy I offer tends to suit a long term, weekly arrangement. However, I can always discuss more limited options. In general, I suggest a commitment to at least 12 sessions, with a chance to reflect honestly on progress after 6. After 12, we can discuss continuing therapy depending on what you’d like to focus on.

To begin, we can have a 15 minute telephone call (no fee) to discuss your situation and what you are looking for. Or we can agree an initial 50 minute consultation session (£60) to do the same at greater depth. We can then decide how to proceed.

The first session (or consultation) is a chance to gain a sense of the therapeutic relationship, discuss the areas of your life you would like to work on, and see the therapy room. I can also answer any questions about the way I tend to work.

Feel free to contact me by email or phone.