Caroline Velarde

I have availability within my practice and can offer sessions during working hours of 9am till 6pm.

I also work with AXA and AVIVA insurers.

I’m Caroline Velarde, a bilingual French–English counsellor based in South West London.

I support adults who are struggling with anxiety, stress, burnout, relationship difficulties, separation, life transitions and the emotional impact of caregiving or disability.

Sessions are available in person or online via Zoom.

With over 20 years of experience in corporate finance across London, New York, and Paris, I bring a deep understanding of the pressures, dynamics, and human realities of demanding work environments. Having personally navigated the challenges of disability and major life transitions, including a career change in her 40s, I offer a genuinely empathic perspective on identity, resilience, and finding renewed purpose. Originally from France and having lived in the UK for more than three decades, I understand the nuances of working and living between cultures and expectations.

As an integrative counsellor and an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), my approach is warm, collaborative, and non‑judgemental. I adapt her way of working to each person, supporting clients in a way that feels authentic and meaningful to them.

- I can offer therapy in French and English.

- Accredited Member of BACP.

- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.

- TQUK Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health (RQF)

- Trained as a therapist in a community counselling service in South London.

- Worked as a Crisis Volunteer at Shout, the first UK text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. 

- I am experienced in working with clients with a wide range of emotional needs including, low self-worth, generalised anxiety disorder, depression, family and relationship issues, loneliness, adverse childhood experiences and the impact of trauma.

- I am a well travelled person and I am curious and passionate to talk to people from a wide and diverse range of culture and interests. 

- I am an Integrative therapist, which means that I draw on a number of modalities and will tailor sessions according to your needs in that moment. Familiar with Person-Centred, Psychodynamic therapies, Inner Child work, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis and Attachment Theory, I will help you explore your past and present, your authentic needs and your behavioural patterns. 

- Drop me a line and I would be very happy to organise a free 15 minute telephone call to go through how I work, and you can tell me what your struggles are and we can decide whether we can work together.

- If you decide to work with me, after we have agreed on a day and time to meet, I will send you my contract outlining all practical details (confidentiality, payment details, cancellation policy, GDPR, etc).

- Our first session will be to get to know each other and it will be important to clearly understand your goals and expectations of counselling, know if you had any previous therapy and do some history taking.