Nika Bowens

I am currently accepting new clients and have availability on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I offer in-person sessions in Shoreditch, East London and Soho, Central London, as well as online appointments, so we can find an arrangement that works well for you.

If you are considering starting therapy and would like to get a sense of whether we might be a good fit, I also offer a free 15-minute phone consultation before booking an initial session.

My availability can change as regular spaces are filled, so please feel free to get in touch to ask about current appointment times.

I work with people who want to understand not only what is hurting, but why certain patterns keep returning, what they have helped you survive or manage, and what may now need to change.

My approach is integrative, drawing on person-centred, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapy. In practice, this means making room for both understanding and change. We might become curious about where a pattern began, what it has meant or protected you from, and how it continues to shape your life now. We can also work directly with the thoughts, behaviours and situations that keep you feeling stuck. I do not want to fit you into a model. I want the therapy to be responsive to you.

I am interested in the whole person, not just a diagnosis or presenting problem. That means paying attention to your relationships, identity, culture, body, history, values and the wider systems you live within, including how these parts of who you are intersect and shape your experience.

I am an engaged and collaborative therapist. I listen closely, ask questions, offer reflections, notice patterns and gently challenge when something important may be sitting just beneath the surface. I want therapy to feel thoughtful, emotionally honest and useful.

I have particular experience and interest in trauma, anxiety, ADHD and neurodivergence, bereavement and loss, relationship difficulties, identity, self-esteem, life transitions and chronic pain.

My work is also informed by my own experience as an American who has lived in several countries. I have significant experience working with people who live outside their home country and understand how questions of identity, belonging, home and adjustment can become more complex when you are living between cultures.

You do not need to arrive at therapy with a clear explanation of what is wrong or a polished account of your life. We can start with what feels most alive, difficult or unresolved, and work from there.

I am an active and engaged therapist. I will give you space to think, feel and speak freely, while also helping us notice what may be harder to see from inside your own experience. I may ask questions, offer reflections, make links between different parts of what you bring, or draw attention to patterns in relationships, emotions or behaviour that seem important.

Therapy with me is not formulaic. Some sessions may be exploratory and reflective, particularly when something needs time to unfold. Others may be more focused and structured, especially when there is a specific difficulty you want to understand or change. Where helpful, we may also use practical strategies, behavioural experiments or between-session reflections.

I pay attention not only to what you tell me, but also to how you experience yourself, other people and the therapeutic relationship itself. If something between us feels uncomfortable, misunderstood or difficult to name, we can talk about that too. I see those moments as meaningful parts of the work rather than disruptions to it.

I want therapy to have depth, but also movement. We can regularly reflect on what is changing, what still feels stuck, and whether the work is taking us where you want to go.

I offer both shorter-term focused therapy and longer-term, more open-ended work, online and in person in Shoreditch, East London.

Before beginning therapy, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. This is a chance for us to speak briefly about what has brought you to therapy, what you are hoping for, and whether it feels like we might work well together.

If we decide to begin, the first session gives us more space to start building a fuller picture of what is happening for you. I will invite you to talk about what has brought you now, what feels most important, and what you would like to be different. We may also begin exploring relevant relationships, experiences, patterns or parts of your history that help us understand the wider context.

You do not need to arrive with everything worked out, and you do not need to tell me your whole life story in one session. We can go at a pace that feels manageable and allow the picture to develop over time.

I will also explain anything you want to know about how I work and make space for questions about therapy, practical arrangements, or anything that would help you feel clearer about beginning. By the end of the session, we can start to form a shared sense of what may be most useful to focus on and how we might work together.