Anna Nelson-Smith

I am a fully qualified and registered counsellor working in South East London with experience of working holistically with all sorts of issues.

I will offer you a warm, supportive and creative space in which to explore whatever it is you are feeling. There may be something specific that is causing you pain, tension or unhappiness, or perhaps you are just aware of wanting something to be different and having a sense of not living vibrantly or even contentedly.

At the moment, you are reaching out ­– a sign that a part of you knows you need some support. This spark in you, no matter how small, is what I might call your potential for growth. I can help you work through your difficulties and create the possibility for things to change.

My background is in Humanistic counselling, and I work mainly from the Gestalt perspective. This means I am interested in all that you bring of yourself – mind, body, soul, spirit – and will endeavour to find with you new ways of making sense of your experiences. In sessions I might invite you to use a range of creative ways to express or communicate your thoughts and feelings, as it’s not always possible to do this with words.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about what it might be like to work with me as your counsellor or would like to book an initial session to find out. You can email me or use the contact box on this website, or if you prefer you can call me on 07715 069356.

I have experience in working with people with a range of issues, many of which don’t always fit into a neat category. I will never seek to put a label on you, but here are some words and phrases which might express something of what you are experiencing:

anger

anxiety

chronic health issues

creative awareness

depression

dissatisfaction

existential thoughts

identity

isolation

lack of direction

loss

relationships

self development

shame

stress

suicidal thoughts

When I first began therapy I found it hard to know or identify my feelings accurately and I had little sense of connection to my body or sensations. I wasn’t actually aware that my body didn’t really feel a part of me, and my long-term somatic complaints only served to keep me further apart from my physical self.

This aspect of mind and body separation is important because it was getting in the way of my ability to feel happy. I was stuck in repeating relationship and work patterns, unsure of what I wanted in life.

Gradually, with the support of my therapist, I came to notice how much information my body had for me, and more specifically how my movement patterns said so much about my way of being in the world: as I came to inhabit my body more, and developed my self-awareness, I found a truer, more complete, version of myself.

These personal experiences and continued embodied enquiry inform how I practise as a counsellor and enable me to bring myself more fully and presently to the therapeutic process.

The basis for my work as a counsellor comes from the belief that we are intricately connected to other humans, other creatures, the other-than-human (trees, rivers etc), our local environment and the wider world. I think that it is sometimes our sense of disconnection from and hopelessness in relation to these things that can cause anxiety, stress and loneliness, even though we may not recognise this as part of our problem.

I am passionate about equality, and will always have time for discussions around identity and diversity. I approach our emotional world in a similar way: there is no issue too big or too small and all of our feelings are valid and deserve to be heard.

I am especially interested in Ruella Frank’s work on developmental movement patterns and how we develop in the first years of our lives – the non-verbal ways of communicating that we learn in tune with our caregivers and our environment that stay with us into our adult lives – and am currently undertaking professional training in this respect with the Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy program with the Center for Somatic Studies.

I believe that we are born from and into relationship: we are conceived from relationship and we rely on our mothers for survival in the womb and on our caregivers once we are born. We cannot survive alone. This is fundamental to understanding our needs as adults, even if we are not accustomed to thinking about our friendships, family ties, acquaintances or intimate encounters in these terms. Relationship is everywhere we are.

Therefore, I believe that effective healing also has to take place in relationship. This doesn’t have to be with another person, but it’s a good place to start.

I am a fully qualified Humanistic counsellor and a Registered Member of BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). I abide by the BACP ethical framework, and all our sessions will be confidential.

I regularly make use of CPD opportunities that support me to keep developing my skills and make sure that I am up to date with new research.

Professional Training
BSc (1st) in Reflective Therapeutic Practice (Middlesex University)
Diploma in Humanistic Counselling (Metanoia Institute)

Contemporary Trauma Practice (With Relational Change/Miriam Taylor)

Current Professional Training

Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy (Center for Somatic Studies/Ruella Frank)

CPD

Women on the Couch: understanding female desire (Seminar)

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy (Workshop)
Eco-Psychotherapy (Conference)
Psychotherapy and the Natural World (Conference)
Suicide Awareness (Maytree workshop)
Understanding the Psychology of Abusers (Workshop)
Embodying Social Justice (Conference)
Therapy’s Embodied Styles (Gestalt Centre workshop)
British Gestalt Journal Seminar Day
The Loss of Innocence (Workshop)
Energetic Self-Care (London School of Biodynamic Psychotherapy workshop)
Attachment and Separation (Workshop)
Embodied Intersubjectivity (Chiron Association for Body Psychotherapists workshop)

Humanistic counselling is a holistic approach to healing through relationship. At its core is the fundamental belief that deep down underneath your many layers, you are Okay. It believes, therefore, that you have the potential within yourself to grow and change and that you can facilitate your desire for growth through developing your self-awareness.

It rejects traditional models of diagnosis, preferring to place your experience at the centre of the work and allow your understanding of yourself to lead the therapy. This doesn’t mean it’s not challenging, as counselling can be at times, but rather it seeks to facilitate natural change processes in ways that are meaningful and sustainable for you.

Gestalt is a German word that has no direct translation to English but represents wholeness, with the idea of many parts coming together to make one shape or form. Gestalt therapy is more concerned with asking how rather than why something is as it is, and employs a range of creative ways of exploring and understanding your ‘self’, with the goal of becoming more aware of what you are feeling, thinking and doing in the present moment.

From a Gestalt perspective, your ‘self’ is understood as a process of contacting: what happens at the boundary between you and your environment? How do you make contact with your world and those around you? The way that you move about your world is a combination of many things – the different parts that contribute to the way you experience yourself as ‘whole’.

That means that all of you matters. You have many ways of knowing who and how you are, from your experiential in-the-moment perceiving to your cognitive thought processes and reflections: these are all relevant.

Sessions are 50 minutes and take place at the same time each week (although occasionally sessions can be moved).

Initial consultation – £45 

Continuing sessions – £55

I hold a limited number of spaces at a concessionary rate. Please contact me for details.

I require five days' notice for cancellation of a session, otherwise the full session fee will be payable. This is because once your regular appointment time is booked, I reserve that slot for you and cannot see anyone else in this time.

Payment is due on the day the session is held, in cash, or by bank transfer prior to or during the session.

I practise in Sydenham, South East London:

Regent House

Kirkdale

SE26 4QD

This is less than two minutes walk from Sydenham train station and within easy reach of Forest Hill, Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill, Sydenham Hill, Penge, Honor Oak Park, West Norwood, Brockley, West Dulwich, Norwood Junction, Streatham, Crofton Park and Catford.

The area is also served by the following bus routes: 202, 176, 450, 122, 197, 75, 356, 194.

The entrance is off-road and discreet. Unfortunately there is no waiting room, so please do not ring the bell before your session time.

I regret that this room is not wheelchair accessible. If you would like to work with me and mobility is an issue, please get in touch as I might be able to make alternative arrangements.

Please note that I do not work with couples or under 16s.