Valentina Hamilton

I work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I work face to face as well as with zoom or over the phone, and am happy to do a combination of these.

I charge between £60 - £80 per session.

I can sometimes offer concessionary rates

Hello and Welcome.

As a Counsellor with over 20 years of experience. I am also a partner, mother, sister, and aunt.   

My first qualification was as a social worker, before training as a counsellor. Earlier work areas included homelessness, learning disability, addiction, mental health, and palliative care - a rich exposure to some of the difficult physical and mental challenges people face in coping with life. This has all helped me to grow as a person and practitioner.

Palliative care brought me into contact with those with life-limiting illnesses, their carers and families deepening my awareness of loss - of health, mobility, self image, and relationships.  I worked to help people adapt to the major changes, to find their strengths, rediscover purpose and create good memories.

I have loved working in private practice - the freedom it offers to respond to individual needs, without external constraints, and the opportunity to work with real depth and care.

Like others, my own life has also had periods of mess and unhappiness which I have had to navigate; not always very well!  Over the years I like to think that I am learning to know myself better and am genuinely able to be happy as my authentic self. 

As a Counsellor / Psychotherapist I aim to provide a confidential non judgemental space to allow you to feel safe to be yourself - exploring what brought you to therapy, learning about your earlier life and patterns which have developed. I will also want to know about your strengths, the things which bring joy as well as the hopes you have for the future.

I don't have magical answers to give you. I cannot change a difficult past. However, sharing the hidden, messy thoughts and feelings in a safe environment can be surprisingly powerful. I aim to work with you to try to understand what has been troubling you and facilitate more constructive ways of relating to yourself and others - generally leading to a greater confidence, resilience and quality of life.

My approach weaves together several therapeutic frameworks shaped by both my personal development alongside years of professional experience:

I draw on Psychodynamic thinking to explore how unconscious processes rooted in early childhood quietly influence the way we behave and cope with life. Attachment theory helps us look at how those early relationships have shaped our sense of self and the way we relate to others today. I also think systemically, holding in mind the wider context of family, work and community in which we live our lives.

I recognise the role of genetics and the broader social, economic, and political world in making us who we are. I try not to be dogmatic in my thinking - I remain curious and open to new ideas, and am interested in whatever genuinely helps people live better.

Life can be tough. We all struggle at different times. Sometimes its simply the relentless pace of modern life: other times its something more significant - the loss of someone we love, the breakdown of a relationship, illness, the arrival of children, struggles with children and relationships, and challenges at work, family life. Having someone who can hold all of that with you without judgement, can make a real difference. While friends and family are precious, the particular distance of therapy can offer a safer space to explore feelings that feel too vulnerable to share elsewhere.

How does therapy counselling help?

The continuity of meeting regularly helps to build a trusting relationship over time, gradually, making it possible to talk about things that might otherwise feel too difficult or too tender to voice.

Choosing the right therapist/counsellor really matters. All the research points to the same thing - the relationship you build with your therapist is the single most important factor in achieving meaningful positive change. You need to feel comfortable with them and to trust that, in time you will feel safe enough to bring the messier, more distressing, and sometimes even shameful parts of your experience into the room.

Finding that fit does takes time, and there’s absolutely no pressure to commit before you are ready. I am happy to have an initial conversations by phone or Zoom, so you can get a sense of who I am and how I work before deciding whether to take things further.

If it feels right to continue, we can arrange a first session, for which I charge a reduced fee. From there, I would usually suggest a series of six sessions together. These may give you exactly what you need - or you may find that you’d like to make a long-term commitment at that point. Either way, we can talk it through and decide together what feels right for you. 

I understand that life is busy and that coming to sessions in person isn’t always possible. With that in mind, I offer flexible options to suit your needs - the in person sessions are at my Hackney consulting rooms in E8, I also work from E5 online and by phone. I am happy to work with a combination of these whatever works best for you.

If you would like to find out more, please do get in touch - I am happy to answer questions. You are also welcome to arrange an initial conversation over the phone, online or contact me with any questions. I see people in person at the London Fields Hackney (E8) consulting rooms with absolutely no obligation to continue. I work online or over the phone from the E5 space.

I currently work on Monday and Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Please see my website for current vacancies.

Hi, my name is Valentina. I am a fully qualified and experienced therapist with many years work as a therapist and historically in related fields. I have developed my own style in working with individuals which puts the relationships at the heart of the work, I have absorbed many different practice styles into my thinking, although mainly drawing on relational, psycho dynamic and systemic ideas.

Life can be hard and we all struggle from time to time. Most of us know how invaluable a good friend can be during these times. However they may feel too close and we often don’t want to complicate these relationships. A therapist is not a friend or a part of your life, this distance can make it feel safer and easier.

Counselling/ therapy is not magical, I do not hold all of the answers and cannot change a difficult past. However, the process of sharing hidden, messy thoughts can be surprisingly powerful. It can begin to help you to disentangle them intellectually and emotionally and put them into perspective. This can lead to changes - greater confidence and greater resilience in managing difficult situations and generally lead to a more fulfilling life.

I aim to provide a safe space where it is possible to talk, and get to know you, about the things that cause worry and stress as well as those things you enjoy and give a sense of well-being and fun.

I am a BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist. I qualified at Birkbeck College in 2004 and have over 40 years of related work. During this time I have had experience with many different people from diverse backgrounds, as well as with a wide range of issues, see below. I have particular understanding of issues around adjustment and loss, bereavement, disability and chronic illness. 

For further information please see my website: 

http://www.valentinahamiltontherapy.co.uk/

I generally work face to face with clients in consutling rooms in Hackney. However, I have found working that zoom and phone contact can be surprisingly effective for some people . I will continue to work in what medium suits each individual.

I usually suggest that we meet (in person, by zoom or phone) for an initial session. If it feels right to continue, then I usually suggest 6 further sessions. This may have been enough to make a difference or you may wish to commit to longer term therapy.

The continuity of weekly sessions helps to build a relationship where it feels safer to talk about some of the important, but difficult things which allows more significant change to take place.

I aim to provide a space which helps you to feel safe to be yourself, which means getting to know your strengths and the things you enjoy as well as the more troubling worries. It helps to hear about your earlier life, the present as well as hopes for the future.