Amber Raine

I believe therapy should fit around your lifestyle and work and offer a flexible way of working with flexible hours. This includes: 

• face to face in one of my comfortable and confidential locations in South West London and at the Awareness Centre in Clapham 
• online
• on the phone

I offer both daytime and evening sessions

When life feels hard and you want a calm and supportive space away from the pressures and reality of everyday, therapy can give you a unique opportunity to work on issues which are causing you concern in your life, relationships and work.

I have a warm and relaxed style and will accept you and help you get a clearer understanding of the problems which are causing you pain or stopping you from being the person you want to be - with the aim of achieving greater understanding of yourself, increased clarity about your feelings, needs and goals and, ultimately, a greater sense of happiness and fulfilment.

Areas of special interest:

I understand the internal and external pressures people can face in life. I have a special interest in life transitions and periods of change, self-esteem, body image, the effects of divorce, parenting issues, lack of confidence, general anxiety, existential fears, feelings of being stuck in life, people-pleasing, social anxiety, procrastination and perfectionism, privileged neglect, and relationships.

I also work alongside specialist therapists to support you with issues relating to sexual abuse, addiction, eating disorders and trauma.

You don’t have to be in crisis to attend counselling sessions:

 Counselling and therapy can help with any issue and any area of life. From wanting more confidence at work, to dealing with a relationship breakdown or an unresolved childhood issue. You do not have to face these things alone. 

My commitment to you:

I pledge to work alongside you as we explore what can often be painful and difficult situations and I believe that with a collaborative approach you have the potential to find your own answers to your situations.

Keeping you safe: 

I am a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP),  the governing body of counsellors and pyschotherapists in this country. I abide by their code of conduct and ethics to ensure that I have your best interests at the centre of our work.

The way I work :

I am an integrative counsellor, which means that I am not limited to one approach. Instead, I am able to draw on a range of different approaches to suit your individual specific needs and preferred ways of exploring your situation and relationships. 

You do not need any knowledge of these approaches or names to have therapy, but the brief explanations might be helpful when when considering your goals.

 Depending on your needs, we may seamlessly integrate and draw on the following during your therapy:

Working psychodynamically to help you to understand how your past and early life experiences have shaped you and your outlook on life. This might involve an in-depth look at your familial, cultural, societal and religious influences and the values you have inherited, so you can evaluate them and make any changes you feel necessary, or heal childhood wounds.

Transactional Analysis is an approach focussed on evaluating the dynamics in your relationships in all areas of your life and on identifying ways to interact with people more effectively in the present. This can have a powerful positive effect on your ability and confidence in communicating with others in close relationships, socially and at work.

Working existentially means giving particular focus to life’s big themes which are universally applicable to human existence, including death, freedom, responsibility and what brings meaning to your life.

If you would like to integrate what spirituality means to you and explore how you can bring together your mental, physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual needs a Transpersonal approach can help facilitate healing and growth.  

Other work that I do:

I have a 12 -year clinical background supporting patients through the emotional aspects of undergoing surgery and I work with clinics, surgeons and doctors to give patients the psychological support they need about their situation and feelings during this time.

Our first session is about getting to know each other and finding out what you need from your therapy.

There will be a couple of forms to give us a benchmark of your starting point which will be useful to refer back as we assess your progress. We will carry out an assessment together to work out what your goals are and how many sessions you will need. We will reflect this in a simple contract.

How many sessions will I need?

This depends entirely on you and what you need from our space together at this time in your life, but here are some options:

Short term therapy of 6 to 10 sessions: