Dr Darren Ellis

Dr Darren Ellis PhD. C.Psychol. MBACP 

Hi and welcome!

I have a PhD in Social Psychology, I am chartered psychologist and am a registered counsellor/psychotherapist (MBACP).

I enjoy working with people from a range of backgrounds, here is a bit about mine: 

I grew up in the East end of London and enjoyed my youth playing music and raving whilst working in the photographic industry. Being a bit disillusioned with my work, which was mostly within advertising, I then travelled throughout Asia, particularly in India. My father was Anglo-Indian so I had a deep desire to experience and better understand Asian cultures. This led to an interest in spirituality and hence I became a student of meditation, prayer and theology, for a number of years. This entailed going back to college to complete a Baccalaureate in Philosophy.

After this I got a BA Degree in Psychosocial Studies and then a PhD in Social Psychology at Loughborough University. My PhD thesis is entitled Narrative, disclosure and psychophysiology: A mixed methods exploration of emotion.  I also then started formally training as a counsellor/psychotherapist at the Sherwood Training Institute in Nottingham. I then worked as a lecturer at Nottingham University lecturing on MA Counselling courses. Since this time I have worked as a fulltime academic lecturing, researching, writing books and scientific papers related to psychotherapy, emotion, surveillance, mental health and social media. 

My passion is to listen to other people's stories, journeys and experiences, if you feel that you could benefit from therapy, I would also like to hear about your life journey. Whether you are highly academically educated or have your experiences from the University of Life, I am happy to work with people from diverse walks of life. 

The use of the title Dr in this directory listing relates to the member’s doctorate qualification. However, this does not imply a general medical qualification.

I am a qualified Humanistic Person Centred therapist. This approach to counselling includes a number of what Carl Rogers called 'core conditions including:

Unconditional Positive Regard, in other words acceptance. Many of us throughout our lives have conditions of worth placed upon us. People such as our parents, families and society more broadly, expect and desire us to be certain types of people, and if we do not become what they want of us, then we are considered unworthy of their love and respect for example. As a therapist, I want you to become whoever you want to be, it is my job to help you to find that person you desire without placing judgment upon you. 

Empathy, is a basic human emotion, feeling, or cognition that we can have towards another human being. For example, this can be displayed through more cognitive or rational understandings of another person, putting yourself in their shoes, to try to get insights into what their lives are like. I strive to understand my client's unique experiences by inviting them to share detailed stories and experiences which have shaped their lives. Alongside positive regards for the client, a relationship of trust can begin to develop, something that I see as fundamental to enabling the processes of therapy to have a positive effect.  

Congruence, refers to authenticity, genuineness, being real about ourselves. Quite often, throughout life, we do not experience unconditional positive regard and empathy from others, this can lead to us acting in ways that are not true to ourselves to please others. When this occurs a false self can develop which is incongruent to what we would really like to be. Having unconditional positive regard and empathy for a client facilitates congruence and allows for self exploration.

​Additionally, I use a number of other therapeutic techniques, for example from phenomenology and more particularly psychoanalysis. Such as dream interpretation and free association. 

I work to empower my clients by enabling them to explore their past and present experiences, goals, motivations and behaviours without judgment. I utilise humanistic principles emphasising for example: positive regard, empathy, warmth, genuineness, congruence, trust, openness and acceptance. It is a cliché but one that I have come to believe is very true, that the best knowledge we can have, is to better know ourselves. This process is never complete but we are always in a state of becoming. However, there are significant moments in our lives when we can feel like we are stuck or changing too quickly. Events and experiences can become overwhelming and It is at these points that psychotherapy can really help.

Within the first session, we will explore what it is you would like out of therapy. I will explain some of the important details regarding the BACP ethical framework that I work within and then we can decide whether we can work well together. 

For more details, please do have a look at my website on the link above www.ellispsychotherapy.co.uk.