Makeda Gerressu

I currently have availability to see new clients.

Couple therapy in person or online:  £120 per 50 min session

Individual therapy in person or online: £80 per 50 min session

I am a couple and individual psychodynamic psychotherapist and work with couples and individuals.

Maintenance and care can help relationships flourish, but when things get stuck, the causes may be unclear. The path to recovery, or to a well-considered split can also be unclear. Things can feel difficult for months or years and circular arguments can become exhausting. 

I have experience working with couples and individuals from many different backgrounds, presenting with challenges including betrayal, parenthood, difficult family histories, lack of intimacy, illness and feelings of having become disconnected. 

I trained at Tavistock Relationships, and as a member of the BACP, I abide by their ethical framework and professional standards (code of ethics).

Before training as a couple and individual psychodynamic psychotherapist, I was an academic in public health research for many years. I conducted mixed methods research in sexual health with a focus on qualitative methods, young people, service provision and health inequalities. This work highlighted the negative impact on relationships when individuals enter partnerships with ideas about winning and losing, when there is little curiosity, showing vulnerability is too difficult, or there is a shortage of positive relationships to emulate in the past and present. 

I offer a weekly space and time to think together.

With couples there is a focus on what is happening between partners, as well as for each individual within the partnership. 

With individuals, exploring past and current relationships can be insightful in trying to understand your role and what may be facilitating unhelpful repeated patterns.

My role is not to tell you what to do, arbitrate or provide answers. It's a process we think through together, to find a different way of relating that works better for you, by making links with past experiences, beliefs and feelings that have led you to the present.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy can help when things feel like they are at an impasse, or to explore where you are before or during big life changes, such as moving in together, parenthood, relocation, marriage and retirement. Individuals may also want to explore difficulties in forming long term relationships.

We will meet at the same time each week for 50 minute therapy sessions.

An initial free of charge 15 minute call will be an opportunity to answer any pressing questions you have.

During the first 60 minute consultation session, we will explore what brings you to therapy, why now, and what you hope to achieve, change or understand.  

It will be an opportunity for me to understand more about you, your past and how you experience your environment. It will also help us get a sense of whether we feel able to work together.