Tom Meltzer

I currently have some availability on Mondays and Tuesdays in the evenings and night, from 5pm on.

"May you find places and people that truly see you. May you unfold, breathe, heal and grow in their presence." - Thema Bryant

Does it seem like there isn't a place for you? Does it feel like you don't belong? Have you somehow ended up on the outside, looking in? At times like these, it can be easy to lose hope that we will ever feel safe and welcome again.

Therapy with me is a chance to experience trust, safety and peace again, so you can begin to find your way to a new sense of being at home in the world. You may want to use our time to:

• Let out parts of yourself you've been hiding, such as painful feelings, unhealed wounds or secret hopes and fears.
• Make sense of ways you are different from the people around you, and how to make peace with and find joy in these differences.
• Begin to plan a new, safer life for yourself, and find the courage and strength it will take to build it.

The best part of being a therapist for me is the bit at the end, when you tell me about the new life you have created for yourself.

 "When I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." - Carl Rogers

You might choose to work with me if:

• You feel out of place at work, perhaps because of differences in age, social class, ethnicity or culture.
• You feel different to those around you, perhaps because you suspect you are autistic and/or ADHD.
• You feel different because of your sexuality, or have doubts about it.
• You feel like the world is on a different schedule, and struggle to sleep and wake when everyone else does. 
• You feel like everyone else has life figured out, and knows what they want.
• You are going through something no one else seems to understand.

You may not want to work with me if:

• You are looking for a therapist who will teach you techniques, give you advice and set you homework.
• You are currently suicidal or self-harming, and in need of more complex care. 
• You don't want to work online or can't find a safe space for it.

My approach is called the person-centred approach and it is all about accepting you exactly as you are, in a way that is radical and transformative. The heart of my training was about becoming an authentic, trustworthy person who knows and understands themselves, so that I can offer you a safe relationship where feelings can be expressed without fear of being judged.

I am a qualified therapist with a degree from Oxford University and a therapeutic counselling diploma from CityLit in London. I am also a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Before I became a therapist I worked as a writer and editor in newspapers and I still work part-time as an editor. I find my own sense of belonging among my family, in nature and with wildlife, as a Tottenham fan, and in helping others.

Our first session will be 50 minutes like any other, and charged at the standard rate. I will begin by explaining the key things you need to know about how therapy works, and I will ask any questions I need to ask based on what you have told me before we met.

After that, you will lead the way and I will follow. The rest of the session will be a normal counselling session, and we will focus on what you want to talk about and what has brought you into therapy.