About me
I made the decision to train to be a psychotherapist back in 2000, because it felt like a humane and meaningful way of understanding and helping others who are stuck, suffering or unsure of how they want to live.
Over 25 years later, I remain fascinated by the human experience, the meaning and value we try to ascribe to our lives, the ways we cope with loss, change, anxiety, confusion and uncertainty - and the endlessly inventive ways we find to protect ourselves (not always helpfully) from the many challenges life can throw at us.
As a psychotherapist and counsellor in private practice, I have 25 years’ experience of working with clients from a wide range of backgrounds. The way I work is broadly existential-humanistic, although I do also draw upon other, connected, theoretical approaches, including psychodynamic. I have a special interest in working with questions of purpose and meaning, as well as relationship and relational dynamics and issues.
My practice is based in Farringdon (EC1) and I work with clients both in-person and online.
My approach
There are many reasons for wanting to begin counselling or psychotherapy. A recent, or current, crisis is often the prompt. Or, you may feel the time has come to take a closer look at those problems, or patterns of thinking and behaviour, that seem all too familiar to you. Many people find their struggles to be too broad or confusing to place in any particular box, or experience a difficult-to-locate sense of dissatisfaction with their lives.
You needn't be clear about your own reasons. My aim, both initially and throughout, is to help you give voice to, as well as understand more fully, those areas of your life that feel difficult, painful, unfulfilled or stuck. Such understanding can be useful, illuminating and cathartic in its own right, but beyond this, it can also help us make decisions about those things we may wish to change, as well as come to terms with those things that we can't.
My approach to therapy has always been open, non-dogmatic, jargon-free and down-to-earth; in my view, therapy should not be experienced as a 'mysterious' process requiring a special kind of language. It is, at heart, a conversation about living - one that aims to help us struggle or suffer less, whilst also emphasising our possibilities.
Therapy works best when it is collaborative and involved. I am not a 'silent therapist' or passive observer, but neither will I assume, attempt to 'fix' you, or tell you how to live.
Throughout our conversations, I will encourage you to emphasise the present and future, as much as the past. Our histories, of course, are a vital part of who we are. But, even a deep understanding of our past does not automatically tell us how we would like to be living now, or what we may want for our futures - often central questions in therapy.
Issues I can help with
Please note that this list is not exhaustive
Anxiety
Addiction
Depression
Meaning
Loss
Grief
Sex and Sexuality
Family Dynamics
Relationship Difficulties
Identity
Parenthood
Stress
ADHD
Autism
Self-esteem
Trauma
Abuse
Gender
Self-esteem
Eating Disorders
Self-harm
Suicidal Thoughts
Experience and Qualifications
I have over 20 years experience of working with a wide range of issues, largely within my own private practice but also for the NHS and a number of not-for-profit organisations.
My five-year academic training between 2000-2005, lead to Accreditation and Registration with the three main UK Counselling and Psychotherapy Professional and Regulatory bodies:
Counselling or Psychotherapy?
There are few meaningful differences between modern-day counselling and psychotherapy. They can each focus on a single issue or range of concerns, and can be either short or long-term in duration.
I am Accredited and Registered as both a Counsellor and Psychotherapist and am happy to identify myself as either. I use the term 'therapy' to encompass both.
Frequency of Sessions
Sessions, ideally, take place weekly, although I am not dogmatic about this; I'm aware that some people's circumstances don't always allow for such frequency.
Likewise, although a fixed weekly time-slot is most common, some people prefer to come at a different time each week. I do my best to work around people's commitments, work-based or otherwise, and try to offer as much flexibility with timings as possible.
Starting therapy
Our Initial Session will give you the opportunity to explore how it would feel for us to work together. It is an opportunity for you to get a better sense of me and how I work, for you to ask any questions you might have, and for us to talk about what your expectations of therapy might be.
You may have a clear sense of what you want to focus on in therapy, but you also might not. There is no correct place to begin, and no 'right' or 'wrong' ways of starting to talk about what you want from therapy. We can use our initial conversation to explore what seems most important to you at this moment, and take things from there.
If, after this initial session, you decide that you would like to begin working with me, then therapy can continue for as long as you wish. You might find that a few sessions are all that you want or need, or you may decide to continue for much longer.
Whether short- or long-term, or something in between, we'll regularly look at how you're finding our conversations, and whether what you want from therapy has changed, or is changing. Indeed, these questions will form an important part of our work together.
Location and fees
I am based in Farringdon, Central London. My consulting room is on the top floor of a Georgian building, overlooking Charterhouse Square Gardens - an unusually peaceful part of the city.
Getting here: My room is less than a five minute walk from Farringdon and Barbican Stations (Elizabeth Line, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City Lines) and approximately a 10-15 minute walk from Chancery Lane and St. Pauls tube stations (Central Line). Old Street station is also relatively close by.
Availability: I offer morning, daytime and evening appointments, Monday to Thursday. Please contact me to find out my latest availability.
Fees: The cost of the initial session is £60. The cost of all subsequent sessions is £90. All sessions last for 50 minutes.
I also keep a set amount of lower-cost spaces aside for students, and those who are unable to afford the regular fee - please enquire.
Get in touch
If you'd like to ask or discuss anything, or if you want to book an Initial Session, you can get in contact by phone, email, or by using the contact form provided.
Please let me know whether you are looking for in-person, or online (Zoom) appointments.
I will always reply within 24 hours, usually much less.
©Jonathan Raznick
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