Aileen McDonald Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist
Location
I practice as a counsellor and psychotherapist in Chelsea from the King's Road near Sloane Square SW3 and in Hammersmith & Fulham at the Serenity Rooms, 59 Chesson Road, London W14, midway between West Kensington and Fulham Broadway tube stations.
The Serenity Rooms are easily accessible from Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea.
My Approach
Life is not always straightforward. There may be times when you feel overwhelmed, stressed or anxious. Or you may feel unhappy or dissatisfied with your life or work or relationships. Perhaps you have been made redundant or experienced a recent bereavement.
My aim is to provide a professional, supportive and confidential environment for you to think and talk about your difficulties freely.
In my personal and professional experience, talking and being listened to provides us with a different perspective. This can open up choices in the way we relate to ourselves and others and help us to develop our own resources to cope with painful situations and feelings.
Therapy gives us greater awareness of ourselves - our patterns of thinking and behaviour, how we talk to ourselves and how we manage our emotions - which is the foundation for creating a more satisfying and fulfilling life.
As a humanistic counsellor and psychotherapist, I believe that we are all unique individuals and I am interested in how we shape and manage ourselves in response to our everyday experiences, as well as how our past informs our present. I work in an informal way and use a variety of approaches in response to the particular individual and the issues which are brought to therapy.
Some of the issues I work with are:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Relationship problems
- Low self-esteem
- Work-related issues
- Anger management
- Bereavement
- Body image
I offer short-term and longer-term psychotherapy and counselling. The first step is to have an initial session, during or after which we will decide whether to work together. (You may want to go way and think about this before making a decision).
My normal fee for the initial session and for weekly 50 minute sessions is £50 at the Serenity Rooms and £60 at Sloane Square.
A lower fee may be negotiable for those on lower incomes. Payment is by either cash or cheque.
Please contact me if you would like to discuss any concerns and/or how therapy might be able to help you.
My training and experience
I began my training in 2004 at Spectrum Training after a legal career in the UK and abroad. I completed my Oxford Cambridge & RSA certificate in Counselling Skills in 2005 and I am a graduate of Spectrum's Psychotherapy Training Programme.
Spectrum Training is a centre for humanistic therapy and is a registered organisation of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). I am an accredited Spectrum psychotherapist and am registered with the UKCP.
I am also a CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) Accredited Mediator.
I am committed to ongoing personal and professional development and I abide by the Spectrum Code of Ethics & Practice.
I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (“BACP”) and abide by their Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy and am subject to their Professional Conduct Procedure.
I have also been working as a volunteer counsellor at Hammersmith & Fulham MIND since the beginning of 2008.