Psychotherapist (T) Helen Santa Maria (my pronouns are She/Her)

You may be struggling with anxiety, depression, overwhelm, trauma, identity, stress, anger, or maybe you can't quite put your struggles into words.

I offer low-fee open-ended psychoanalytic psychotherapy in a confidential and comfortable setting. Sessions are between once and three times a week.

What can I expect from psychoanalytic psychotherapy?

Psychoanalytic therapy takes into account a person's unconscious dynamics as well as their conscious thoughts and emotions. We would work together to get a picture of your unconscious processes and think about how they might be playing out for you in unhelpful ways. I am interested in whatever is on your mind in any given session, no matter how seemingly small, trivial or odd it might seem to you. This can also include your dreams. Sessions are generally not structured and you will not be given "homework" to do in between sessions. In psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the relationship with your therapist is key to understanding your unconscious internal world. I work with you in an interested, non-judgemental way to help uncover hidden, deep-rooted behaviour patterns, or defences, that you developed in your early years but are no longer serving you. Sometimes we simply don't understand where our feelings come from or why we behave in certain ways. Working psychoanalytically can help you explore your feelings, thoughts and actions at a deeper level.

If you would like to speak further about whether psychotherapy with me might be right for you, I offer a free telephone conversation where we would have a brief chat about how we might work together. Following that, we would have a face-to-face consultation where you can tell me more about what brings you to therapy. This then gives us a chance to think about whether I am a suitable therapist for you. 

I am registered as a Training Member at UKCP and I abide by their ethical framework and complaints procedure. My membership number is 2011186310.