Harriet Parker

I practice from welcoming and comfortable rooms in the City of London and W1. I also work online via Zoom, which can be particularly useful if you travel frequently or have an unpredictable working life.

Sessions normally take place weekly at a mutually agreed time. This is usually on the same day and time each week unless we agree otherwise.

Each session is 50 minutes. How many sessions you have is entirely up to you. When we first meet, we can discuss whether you’d prefer short-term therapy, or an open-ended approach, but we will also review this during our work together.

Perhaps life looks good from the outside, yet underneath you feel anxious, self-doubting, unfulfilled or burnt out. I am a warm, empathetic psychotherapist with 15 years’ experience in banking and financial services, working particularly with professionals facing pressure and high expectations.

You may be capable and successful, with a career, relationships and responsibilities, while privately finding life much harder than others realise. Therapy offers a place where you do not have to perform, have the answers or hold everything together. Whatever has brought you here, we can begin making sense of it together.

I welcome those new to therapy and people who have had therapy before. Reaching out can feel daunting, so I offer a kind, supportive and approachable space where you can feel heard and become more fully yourself. I am comfortable talking openly about life, including parts of yours that feel complicated or uncomfortable to share. You do not need to censor yourself, protect me from your feelings or worry about being judged.

I have a master’s degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy from Regent’s University London. My previous career gives me insight into demanding professional environments and workplace dynamics, though it does not exclusively define who I work with.

My route into psychotherapy developed alongside years of volunteering in suicide prevention and emotional support with Maytree Suicide Respite House and Samaritans. I have supported people by telephone and through its work in prisons, and hold a senior leadership role.

People and what shapes them have always interested me. I have lived, worked and travelled overseas. Through work, travel, friendships and a wide-ranging social life, I have come to know people from many backgrounds, professions, identities and ways of living. This has shown me that there are many ways to build a meaningful life and helps me approach whatever you bring with warmth, openness, curiosity and without judgement.

I work integratively, with a strong person-centred foundation. At the heart of this is a genuine, accepting and non-judgemental relationship in which you can feel heard and understood. I try to understand you: your experiences, relationships and history, the world you live in, and the particular ways you have learned to manage it.

My work also has an existential dimension. This means making space to explore your sense of who you are, what gives your life meaning and purpose, and how you want to live. These questions can become especially important when life looks successful from the outside but does not feel as fulfilling as you expected.

Different ideas and therapeutic approaches can then be useful at different times, but the relationship we build together remains at the heart of the work.

Our work will be collaborative. I will listen carefully and give you room to explore at your own pace, but I will also be actively engaged. I may offer observations, ask questions or gently draw attention to patterns that seem important. We can think together about what is happening and what might help.

You are welcome to talk about whatever feels important, including experiences or parts of yourself that may feel difficult or uncomfortable to share elsewhere. You do not need to tidy your life up before bringing it into the room.

Therapy may be short-term and focused on a particular difficulty, or longer-term and more exploratory. 

The first session is an opportunity for us to meet and begin exploring what has brought you to therapy. You do not need to prepare anything. 

I may ask about what is happening in your life now, what you would like help with and any relevant experiences from your past. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions about therapy and how I work.

It is important that you feel comfortable with your therapist, so the first session also gives us a chance to see how it feels to talk together. There is no pressure to make an immediate or long-term commitment. If we decide to continue, we can agree a regular weekly time and begin thinking together about what you would find most helpful.