Philip Gatter

My main mode of working is humanistic, which means the therapeutic relationship with clients is the main means through which insight and change are achieved. I am an integrative practitioner, drawing on other approaches:  I use CBT and psychodynamic approaches. The former addresses immediate symptomatic problems; the latter deep seated relationship problems which may go back to childhood. My focus in sessions is to listen very attentively to the client, and feed back how this is shaping my thoughts.  

I am an LGBT affirmative therapist, with a particular interest in gay men and lesbians. At Islington Mind I was privileged to work with asylum seeker clients whose lives had been traumatised by their experiences in their home countries.

I work online, using Skype, and this means of therapy has become predominant since the advent of Covid-19. I also work face to face at home in London N16. This means that clients can be based anywhere. For London clients I like to do a first session face to face before moving to Skype sessions.

In a first client session I conduct an informal assessment. This means giving the client time to introduce themselves, talk about the problems that have brought them to counselling, and what they expect to achieve. I will talk about how I work. To be ethical I need to be sure that the client's problems are within my expertise and experience.

At the first session I also discuss paperwork. This consists of the contract between the client and me, a contact details sheet, and a statement of the requirements of me of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). That is to say, what personal data I hold about clients, and what I do with it, within a legally binding framework.

I ask clients to make a decision whether to go ahead after the first session, once they have had a chance to reflect on whether I am the right counsellor for them. If I feel I am not the appropriate counsellor for the client, I will tell them. At the second session I complete the paper work with the client, and we have regular sessions thereafter.