• Natalie Clarke

    Therapy

  • Therapy FAQ

    Where and when?

    I am currently working entirely online. I offer a mix of morning, afternoon and some early evening slots. I do not currently offer any sessions on the weekend.

     

    Cost?

    The standard session price is a offered on a scale of £90-£120. Where you might fall in that scale is based on your income/financial situation and is negotiated between us.

     

    For information on my reduced fee offerings please see the Concessions page.

     

    All sessions last 50 minutes.

     

    Availability?

    I currently have spaces upcoming in my online practice.

     

    Please note, I am not always online and so while I aim to reply to all messages within three days, some times it does take longer.

     

    What type of therapy do you practice?

    I am an Integrative psychotherapist which means my training covered a variety of approaches and modalities which I am now able to synthesise and utilise depending on the individual clients I see, their unique situation and what I feel will be most supportive for them. I feel this approach is best because rather than having a dogmatic or rigid way of working I am able to be flexible and meet you where you are. Some key ways that I work include psychodynamic, person-centred and relational approaches. I am also influenced by body psychotherapy, IFS, polyvagal theory and attachment theory.

     

    What did those terms mean?

     

    This is a very simple explanation but in brief:

     

    • Psychodynamic: this means we will probably spend some time thinking about your past experiences and how they shape you today
    • Attachment theory: we will consider your relationship(s) with your significant caregiver(s) and how that might be influencing your relationships in the present
    • Body psychotherapy: we will pay attention to your bodily sensations and see how that relates to your emotions
    • Relational work: this means I see the therapeutic relationship as being the primary site of the growth and healing you are coming to therapy for
    • Person-centred: this means I try to ‘democratise’ the experience of therapy, so rather than me sitting in an ‘expert’ position, I believe you are the expert on your own life and try to be aware of and balance the power dynamic between us.
    • IFS: Internal Family Systems, where we think about your different parts and how to integrate the whole system
    • Polyvagal theory: thinking about autonomic nervous system states and how this impacts you

     

    What are your qualifications?

    I have a MA and Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling from The Minster Centre. I am a Registered Member of the BACP and a Full Clincial Member of the UKCP. I am also a member of The Relational School.

     

    I have recently undergone extra training in DBT and Psychosexual therapy.

     

    I have been regularly seeing clients since 2016 and I am committed to Continuing Professional Development and often undertake extra training.

    How do we start?

    If you think therapy is right for you, and are interested in working together, please send me an email and if I have a space I will invite you for an initial session. During this I will ask some questions about you, what’s brought you to therapy and your history. You will also have a chance to find out a little about me and the way I work too. This session is designed as a chance for both of us to see if we will be able to work well together. If we decide that it isn't a good fit I would be happy to help find a referral for you, if wanted.

     

    How often will we meet?

    I only offer weekly therapy, so this means our working schedule will be once a week, every week at the same day and time, aside from the regular breaks I take at Easter, for August and for Christmas. This is a comittment we both make for the duration of our work together, meaning the intention is that we meet every week for as long as our work together lasts, exclusing breaks.

     

    I do, on occasion, offer twice weekly sessions if we decide that it woud be supoortive.

     

    I am currenlty unable to offer double-legnth sessions or sessions on a fortnightly basis.

     

    How long will I be in therapy?

    I work in an open-ended way. This means I will work with you for a long as you need and as long as the therapy is useful to you. I find that I usually work with people for at least a year.

     

    Who comes to therapy with you?

    I work with a wide variety of people, but people who have seen me include queer people, trans and non-binary people, neurodivergent people (especially ADHD, and autistic women and afab people), people who are non-monogamous and/or polyamorous or in open relationships, people from a working class background, people of colour, sex workers, and people who practice kink/BDSM. I also frequently work with neurodivergent people, people who have auto-immune or chronic illness, and those with Long Covid.

     

    I am queer and trans friendly, including non-binary identities. I am also kink aware and see sex work as work. I am body positive and practice fat acceptance. As a white person I aim to be as anti-racist as possible and my therapeutic approach is influenced by queer theory and intersectional feminism. I am deeply influenced by disability justice, and aim to create a neurodiversity-affirming practice. I am interested in anti-oppressive and decolonial frameworks and aim to make my counselling practice an inclusive and diverse space where we, with whatever differences we might have, can come together to explore, understand and work deeply together.

     

    If you do not see yourself described on the above list it does not mean I can’t or won’t work with you, these are just some of the areas I tend to specialise in.

     

    What type of issues do you work with?

    This is an non-exhaustive list but I work with: abuse, anxiety, bereavement, depression, disability, trauma, stress, relationship breakdowns and conflicts, questions or issues around sexuality (including asexuality), questions or issues around gender, non-monogamy/polyamory, issues with family of origin, work problems, and exploring/working with with marginalised identities ( e.g. sexuality, gender identity, gender presentation, disability status, sex worker status and class background).

  • Psychosexual Therapy

    I now offer psychosexual therapy having completed specialist training, being awarded The Grove’s Certificate in Psychosexual Therapy accredited by COSRT at Level 5.

     

     

     

    This means I can work with a wide variety of sexual issues inlcuding desire discrepancy, painful sex, anorgasmia, rapid or delayed ejaculation, sexual shame impacting realtionships and more.

     

    I also approach this work from a non-heteronormative, non-mononormative, kink positive , and feminist lens.

  • Covid Concious

    I operate from the position that the Covid-19 pandemic is both airborne and a mass death and mass disabling event, which is still on-going and which disproportionately affects already marginalised people.

     

    For this reason I take a covid cautious and concious approach to therapy, currently only seeing client sonline or by phone.

     

    I frequently work with people impacted by the pandemic, whether by living with Long Covid, covid bereaved, or impacted by trying to naviagte the pandemic without broader mitagations in place.

     

    For this reason I am on the Covid Concious Therapists Directory.

  • Low Cost Options

    I have two dedicated low-cost slots in my practice as part of my commitment to keeping therapy as accessible as possible. My low cost slots are currently full, but I am now operating a waiting list for them, so if you would like to added to this list, please send me an email.

  • Getting in touch

    You can either send me an email direct or use the contact form opposite

    Cookie Use
    We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
    Learn More