Valerie Gage

I offer weekly individual psychotherapy and couples therapy online, with limited in-person availability in Islington, London.

I work with self-funding clients and am registered with Aviva and Cigna. If you are hoping to use health insurance, please check the terms of your cover directly with your insurer before we arrange an initial consultation.

I also welcome professional, media and organisational enquiries.

Hello, 

I’m Valerie Gage, a Trauma Therapist and Psychotherapist.

You may not always know why you're looking for therapy, or it may be hard to put into words. Something may have happened, something in your life may have changed, or maybe you've been struggling quietly without really knowing why.

Sometimes we become used to living in ways we don't even notice, until something begins to feel difficult.

We can begin with where you are.

How I work

My work pays attention to what we talk about and what we experience as we talk.

I work relationally and with an awareness of the body, so we don't have to rely on words alone. We might notice a change in your breathing, tension somewhere in your body, an urge to pull away, or simply what happens as we stay with something for a little longer.

There is no expectation that you tell me everything that has happened to you, or that we begin by going back into painful experiences. We start with where you are and allow the work to develop from there.

My work with trauma is concerned with what can happen when an experience has been too much, happened too quickly, or had to be managed without enough support. I’m interested in how we may continue to live with the impact of our experiences long after they happened.

I work with adults who come to therapy for many different reasons, including anxiety, depression, difficult relationships, experiences of sexual or domestic abuse, pregnancy and infant loss, bereavement and other experiences that may continue to affect how we live.

I also work with couples. Sometimes couples come because something particular has happened between them. Sometimes the difficulty has developed gradually, through patterns of communication, distance, conflict or loss of trust. We begin with what is happening between you now and work from there.

Individual sessions are 50 minutes and couples sessions are 60 minutes. I usually work weekly, particularly when we first begin.

Our first session gives us time to begin getting to know one another and to understand a little more about what brings you to therapy.

You don't need to prepare or arrive knowing exactly what you want to talk about. I may ask some questions, and there will also be space for us to notice what feels important to you.

There is no expectation that you tell me everything in the first session. We begin with what feels possible and allow the work to develop over time.

Before arranging a first therapy session, I offer an initial 20-minute online consultation. This gives us an opportunity to talk briefly about what brings you to therapy, ask any questions you may have and get a sense of whether working together feels right.

I currently offer individual and group supervision online via Zoom, with limited availability for face-to-face supervision in Islington.

I supervise qualified therapists and counsellors in training. How often we meet can be arranged around your practice, training or placement requirements.

My fee for individual supervision is £80 for 60 minutes.

I see supervision as a collaborative space for us to think together about your work, your relationships with clients, and what you notice happening in yourself as you work with them. I’m interested not only in what a client brings, but in what happens between you and how this might shape the work.

I’m also interested in the ideas and assumptions we bring with us as therapists. Sometimes the theories we have learned help us understand someone more clearly, but I’ve also found that they can shape what we expect to see. Supervision can give us space to stay curious about both.

My background in trauma therapy and somatic work means I also pay attention to what may be happening beyond words, including what you notice in your own body and what you notice in the person you're working with.

I offer supervision to qualified therapists and counsellors in training, individually and in groups.

For counsellors and psychotherapists in training, supervision can be arranged in accordance with the requirements of your course and placement, including the frequency and format of supervision and any required reports.

Our first session gives us time to talk about your work, the context you're practising in and what you're looking for from supervision.

If you're in training, we'll also look at the requirements of your course and placement so that we're clear about what is expected of both of us.

It's also an opportunity for us to begin getting a sense of how we work together.