Have you suffered a significant loss?
Are you feeling low or anxious?
Do you believe that you don’t fit in?
Are your relationships causing you concern?
Something feels uncomfortable, out of sync or painful. Together, we can start to make sense of what’s been going on for you, think about where your difficult feelings come from and what they mean to you. Through reflecting on your experiences, you can become more aware of what helps you to cope and what are the aspects of your life that you would like to change.
Integrative Psychotherapy with Krisztina Heathcote
Some of the issues I often work with
Loss
You may be grieving the loss of a significant person in your life. You may feel a whole variety of powerful emotions.
Pain
You may be wondering if the pain will ever go away.
Guilt / anger
Perhaps you feel that you let them down in some way or are angry that others did.
What now?
You may find it very difficult (and wrong) to think about the future.
Traumatic bereavement
It may have been a sudden, unexpected death that you cannot make sense of.
Or perhaps it’s another kind of loss
The loss of your hopes and dreams
Perhaps you had hoped and planned for a certain kind of future that never materialised. You may feel disappointed, lost or numb.
Children leaving home
Maybe your child/children have left home and it feels like your life has hollowed out. You may be wondering, “What’s going to be my focus now?”
Changes in your health
You may have a chronic condition or perhaps you had a life-changing diagnosis that has utterly shaken your sense of who you are.
I have extensive experience working with people who have been bereaved, including losing a child. I have also worked with clients at a transitional stage of life when everything feels in flux.
I’ve supported clients living with chronic illness (e.g. long Covid, chronic fatigue) and have an understanding of the impact of limitations that are often invisible but very much felt.
My work is informed by my own experience of grief and life transitions. Alongside my private practice, I volunteer as a bereavement counsellor for a community bereavement service.
Low mood / depression
You may be facing a situation that you can’t find your way out of and it’s bringing you down. Or perhaps you have a general sense that things are not quite right. It may be a new feeling — or you may have felt like this for a long time.
You may feel exhausted, lacking in motivation and energy, your sleep patterns may have changed and perhaps you have almost stopped caring.
You may be thinking:
“What’s wrong with me?”
“I can’t do this any more.”
“Other people are smarter / more successful / better looking than me.”
“Is this how I’ll feel for the rest of my life?”
Stress and anxiety
You may be worried that you can’t meet people’s expectations, at work, at home or socially. It may look to others as if everything is going well — but to you it doesn’t feel like that at all. And you may not feel able to keep it all up for much longer.
You may be:
Always doing your best and feeling it’s never enough
Juggling lots of responsibilities and feeling overwhelmed — or blank
Struggling to concentrate
Thinking that you won’t get the job / the promotion so you don’t even try
Identity
You may feel like you no longer recognise the person you have become over the years. Perhaps you feel like you’ve lost direction. The world around you is changing fast and you may feel out of step, left behind or invisible.
You may have moved to the UK from another country
You may be feeling
That you can’t talk openly about your difficulties
That you must put on a brave face for those back home
That you are judged and discriminated against for being a foreigner
Or perhaps you are the child of a parent from another country
You may be thinking
That you don’t fully fit in
That your family disapproves
That your peers don’t understand you
Relationships
Relationships are at the core of who we are. We need people to feel close to but sometimes our relationships can become difficult. You may feel that you are always giving but it’s not appreciated or noticed; that trust has been lost; or that you are lonely even though you’re not alone.
You may be wondering,
“What’s happened to my relationship? This is not how we started out!”
“What do I do now?”
“Why do I have to do all the heavy lifting?”
“Why do relationships happen to other people but not me?”
Family issues
Do you have a difficult relationship with your parent(s) or your child(ren)?
Do you feel like they don’t understand you?
Does it feel like you are always giving and there’s no time for yourself?
Do you feel frustrated? Exhausted? Angry?
Our families can ask a lot of us and it can be very tricky to balance our responsibilities with our own needs. Family dynamics can be very complicated. Uncovering the patterns that have shaped your feelings and behaviour can help you to see what you might want to change and what you really value.
About therapy
How long will it take?
In our first session, we will discuss what brings you to therapy and what you’re hoping for (you may not have a clear idea and that’s okay). We can set a specific time frame for our work together or we can agree to work in an open-ended way, with regular check-ins to see how it’s going.
What’s the format?
We will meet once a week, at an agreed time and day. Sessions are 50 minutes.
What happens in the first session?
Before we get started, I offer a complimentary introductory phone or Zoom call lasting around 15-20 minutes. This is to find out what brings you to therapy, start getting to know each other and work out the practical details.
In the first therapy session, we will talk in more detail about what’s been going on for you and how you’ve been feeling lately. I’ll want to get to know you and find out a bit about your important life experiences as well as your current situation and concerns.
We will then meet weekly. There is no script — we will work on what is present for you, for as long as it feels beneficial.
How I work
I am an integrative psychotherapist, meaning that I draw on various theories in response to what clients bring. My approach is primarily person-centred, which means that I believe that you are a valuable person who deserves to be met with empathy; I believe that people have a desire and the capacity to live a more fulfilling life. My work is also informed by psychodynamic concepts, meaning that we will probably talk about your past and explore how your feelings and behaviour are shaped by your experiences.
My training and background
Training, qualifications and professional membership
- MA in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling (Regent’s University London)
- MSc in Psychology (London South Bank University)
- MA-equivalent qualification in English Language and Literature and American Studies (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest).
- I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and abide by their code of ethics.
My membership number is 01005161.
Before training as a psychotherapist, I worked as a producer for the BBC and in various media and communications roles. I know what it’s like to juggle a demanding job, tight deadlines and other commitments outside of work.
I am originally from Hungary and I work in English and Hungarian. I welcome clients from all backgrounds.
Next steps
Please get in touch and we can arrange an initial call to explore how we can work together. Feel free to ask any questions.
Contact:
Rates:
£80 per 50-minute session
Sessions:
Psychotherapy sessions at City Therapy Space:
Wednesdays
Online sessions also available
