Janet de Heger

I qualified as an Art Therapist in the early 1980s and worked for twelve years in the NHS during which time I undertook a further psychotherapy training. Since completing this in the early 1990s I have worked extensively in mainstream and higher education, charities and private practice. I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as an Art Therapist and with the British Psychoanalytic Council as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist

Though my approach is essentially psychodynamic, working in different clinical settings and with a great diversity of people and difficulties has inspired me to undertake various short courses and trainings in other therapeutic approaches. Consequently I describe my practise as being more pluralistic in style and believe that it is important to work thoughtfully to find the therapeutic intervention best suited to helping each individual.

My consulting room, accessed by two short flights of stairs, is on the lower ground floor of a Victorian semi-detached house in a residential street with good bus services.  It is approximately four and half by three metres in size with a large bay window and wooden floor.  It is private, quiet and comfortable with a sofa, chair, desk, bookcase and filing cabinet.

For those who wish to explore the issues that are challenging them creatively there is a wide range of art materials, sand tray and figures and the opprotunity to use these freely in sessions.  Work made during sessions is kept confidentially in an adjacent storage space.

The first session is an opportunity to meet and get a sense of each other.  It is a time when I will explore what has lead you to seek therapy and begin to learn about you by asking about your life, family, work, relationships and any significant experiences and events that stand out.  

Undertaking therapy is a considerable commitment in terms of emotion, energy, time and money.  So this first session is an important opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have to get a sense of me and how I work so that together we can decide if I and my therapeutic approach will be helpful.