The London Clinic for Sex and Relationship Therapy brings together professional excellence and authentic human care, delivered by a team of highly skilled and experienced clinicians. We offer a variety of personalised therapeutic options that address our most important needs: sex and relationships, post-traumatic growth, relationship to food, body image, gender identity, anxiety, depression. We aspire to unlock the potential in everyone we work with and connect them to their dreams, hopes and desires.
Therapy Options
Individual Therapy
Individually therapy is a process of exploration and discovery, where personal conflicts can be explored in trust and confidence. Together with your therapist, you will explore your present concerns with care, sensitivity, and curiosity, whilst staying open to influences from your past, and expectations for your future. The work unfolds over time as you attend to the deep questions. Through this process you invite the possibility of healing and of your discovering the truth of who you are and how you want to live. A therapeutic space is a fertile ground in which you can grow a new and refreshed perspective of the full range of your possibilities. The benefits of developing a loving and fluid relationship with yourself are innumerable. Learning how to raise your awareness, confront destructive patterns, and find a new way of being in the world, naturally brings about changes leading to a more fulfilling life.
Couples Therapy
When communication fails and conflict prevails, couples therapy can make a difference. Conflict in a couple may manifest hidden narratives, which in turn contribute to shaping the interpersonal experience. When the story of a couple becomes the cause of pain, the story needs to be re-told. Nothing feels worse than the frustration, anger and disappointment of needing love and experiencing pain instead. The aim of couple therapy is to illuminate all and every one of these influences so that a negative narrative can be reviewed, and communication improved.
It is common for couples to experience difficulties in their relationship or marriage, which can result in each individual in the couple feeling unhappy, isolated, angry, bored or resentful. Going through a transition in the relationship, such as having children, or living busy lives, managing careers, not finding time for each other can affect the quality of the relationship of a couple, as well as their intimacy and sexual life.
Difficulties with or lack of intimacy.
Communication problems in a relationship, including frequent arguments, blaming, conflict.
Differences in sexual desire within the relationship. It is perhaps one of the most common sexual problems with couples.
Sexless relationship. Some couples lose the desire to be sexual with each other. It can be caused by various factors including living busy lives, having children, getting older, feeling stuck or bored within the relationship.
Healing after the disclosure of infidelity. Infidelity has a tremendous negative impact on relationships, marriage and sexual lives. The healing process and the re-building of trust and compassion can be long and challenging, but it is possible.
Receiving or dealing with a spouse's diagnosis of severe or terminal illness. This can be one of the biggest stressors in a relationship, and couples often need support to go through this transition.
Ending a relationship in a constructive way. Couples therapy can also help with ending a relationship.
Ending a relationship in a meaningful and therapeutic way, with understanding, compassion and empathy, is important and a great gift of love to oneself.
Group Therapy
Group therapy is an effective way to supplement individual therapy, but depending on the therapy group and where each individual is at in their therapeutic journey, you can also choose to attend a therapy group without participating in individual therapy in parallel. A therapy group is like a social microcosm, where group members have the opportunity to explore the interpersonal underpinnings of their difficulties, experience a sense of belonging and find new responses to old situations. As we begin to understand ourselves better, and reflect on how we relate to others, our beliefs and behaviours, we can better understand both our reactions and the root causes of our difficulties. Group therapy is valuable both as a therapeutic experience and as a complement to individual therapy.
Family Therapy
Family therapy involves a psychotherapist working with families who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships. It can help families communicate better, adapt to changes in family life, and resolve conflict. You may be offered family therapy if you are experiencing problems which involve and affect the whole family. This may be the case if just one member of the family is in difficulty, but it is having an impact on everyone. Parenting issues and changes in family life such as divorce or separation are also examples of issues which can be effectively worked through with a family therapist.
Intensive Therapy Options
Intensives allow individuals, couples and families to stay in an extended space of healing and exploration not always possible in weekly therapeutic sessions in order to explore deeply rooted difficulties. Intensives are a wonderful compliment to our individual, couples and group therapy programs, and are individually designed to provide a personalised space for hope and healing. An individual therapist—or team of therapists—works with you individually or with your partner or family to explore intimacy, sexuality, trauma, enhance communication, and resolve conflict.
Retreats
Whether you are going through a`challenging life transition or crisis, or exploring your life's purpose, a retreat allows you the space and time for personal exploration, growth, healing, relaxation, deepening insights and replenishment. A retreat offers you a safe and confidential space to turn inward, reflect and heal, away from the world of ordinary everyday demands, pressures and responsibilities.
We offer retreats in the UK and Greece.
Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy
Our approach is integrative and holistic, with an understanding that psychosexual issues are not just purely physical dysfunctions, but also both psychological and emotional. Depending on the nature of the issue and situation, sessions can be attended either by individuals and /or couples.
Relationship problems can be explored in individual therapy, couples therapy, group therapy, intensive couples workshops and retreats. We work with individuals and couples of all sexual orientations, gender identities and sexualities.
Erectile dysfunction
Ejaculation problems such as rapid or delayed ejaculation
Overwhelmed anxiety around sex, relationships and intimacy
Sexual trauma
Sexual abuse or assault
Sexual health issues
Compulsive sexual behaviours
Vulval pain conditions
Loss of desire and arousal difficulties
Vaginismus
Dyspareunia (pain during intercourse)
Sexual orientation questions or insecurities
Pornography issues
Orgasmic or anorgasmic problems
Sexual phobias or aversions
Fears around lack of sexual experience
Difficulties with or lack of intimacy.
Communication problems in a relationship, including frequent arguments, blaming, conflict.
Differences in sexual desire within the relationship. It is perhaps one of the most common sexual problems with couples.
Sexless relationship. Some couples lose the desire to be sexual with each other. It can be caused by various factors including living busy lives, having children, getting older, feeling stuck or bored within the relationship.
Healing after the disclosure of infidelity. Infidelity has a tremendous negative impact on relationships, marriage and sexual lives.. The healing process and the re-building of trust and compassion can be long and challenging, but it is possible.
Receiving or dealing with a spouse's diagnosis of severe or terminal illness. This can be one of the biggest stressors in a relationship, and couples often need support to go through this transition.
Ending a relationship in a constructive way. Couples therapy can also help with ending a relationship. Ending a relationship in a meaningful and therapeutic way, with understanding, compassion and empathy, is important and a great gift of love to oneself.
Poor and distorted body image often affects one's sexual life, social life and relationships. Body image issues can include frequent preoccupation with one's body image, size and shape to the extent of controlling their life, as well as other self-destructive behaviours, such as excessive exercise, dieting, juicing, detoxing, avoiding love, experiencing intimacy and sexuality issues.
Body image issues can be explored in individual therapy, group therapy, intensive workshops and retreats.
Trauma Therapy
Trauma is a unique individual experience of an event or enduring conditions that are disturbing or non-nurturing, in which a person's ability to integrate his/her emotional experience is overwhelmed, or they experience a threat to life, bodily integrity or sanity. A traumatic event or experience can have a long lasting psychological impact on the individual, resulting in the loss of functions, such as maintaining a job or
relationships.
Some of the most common symptoms of psychological trauma may include the following:
Intrusive thoughts of the event that may occur out of the blue
Nightmares
Visual images of the event
Loss of memory and concentration abilities
Disorientation
Confusion
Mood swings
Avoidance of activities or places that trigger memories of the event
Social isolation and withdrawal
Lack of interest in previously-enjoyable activities
Easily startled
Tremendous fatigue and exhaustion
Tachycardia
Edginess
Insomnia
Chronic muscle patterns
Sexual dysfunction
Changes in sleeping and eating patterns
Vague complaints of aches and pains throughout the body
Extreme alertness; always on the lookout for warnings of potential danger
Overwhelming fear
Obsessive and compulsive behaviours
Detachment from other people and emotions
Emotional numbing
Depression
Guilt – especially if one lived while others perished
Shame
Emotional shock
Disbelief
Irritability
Anger
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Eating Disorders
Addictions
Compulsive Sexual Behaviours
Our approach is holistic and it combines conventional therapies, creative and body based approaches, as well as neuroscience. Our approach is consistent with the three phase model of The International Society for the Study of Trauma (ISSTD):
1. Symptom reduction and regulation
2. Processing traumatic memories
3. Consolidation and integration
Our programme includes individual, couples, group and family
therapy, and a bespoke combination of:
Psychodrama
Art therapy
Mindfulness
Meditation
Restorative pilates
The Bowen Technique
Nutritional therapy
EMDR
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a therapeutic approach that uses the natural healing functions of the brain to heal itself.
Old disturbing memories are stored in the brain in isolation. This prevents learning and healing from taking place. The old distressing material just keeps getting triggered over and over. In another part of your brain, you already have most of the information you need to resolve this problem; the two just cannot connect. Once EMDR starts, a linking takes place. New information can come to mind and resolve the old problems.
It allows for the rapid re-processing of traumatic memories into a functional state.
EMDR has received the most positive outcome in research with 30 worldwide randomised controlled trials. Five out of seven indicates that EMDR is most effective to treat PTS and PTSD.
EMDR is now the recommended treatment for trauma in the UK by The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2005).
Eating Disorder Therapy
Eating disorders thrive on shame, which holds its victims trapped within their illness. Eating disorders affect both men and women and it is very important that sufferers receive therapy as quickly as possible. We believe that full recovery from an eating disorder and trauma is possible and we recognise that an eating disorder is an illness that begins in the mind, not the body. Our approach is holistic, tailored to address the root causes of an eating disorder, not just the symptoms. Therapy can include a bespoke combination of individual therapy, nutritional therapy, group therapy, family support, meditation and body based approaches.
Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening mental illness where sufferers restrict the amount of food that they eat, they experience a deep fear of gaining weight, and they may do a lot of exercise or use laxatives to burn calories. Sufferers of anorexia often have a distorted image of themselves, and think they’re larger than they really are. They experience a deep fear of gaining weight, and will usually challenge the idea that they should. There are two sub-types of anorexia:
Restricting Anorexia: Sufferers of this type of anorexia would usually restrict their food intake and frequently over-exercise to maintain a low weight.
Binge/purge type anorexia: With this type of anorexia, people would restrict their food but also binge on foods and induce vomiting.
Sometimes, someone’s symptoms may not exactly match all the criteria a doctor checks for to diagnose anorexia. For example, they may remain at a weight considered “normal” for their age, sex, and expected development. It is very important that all sufferers receive treatment as quickly as possible.
Sufferers of bulimia nervosa are caught in a cycle of eating large quantities of food (called bingeing), and then trying to compensate for that overeating by vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, fasting, or exercising excessively (called purging). During a binge, people with bulimia do not feel in control of how much or how quickly they are eating. Some people also say that they feel as though they’re disconnected from what they’re doing. The food eaten during a binge may include things the person would usually avoid. Episodes of bingeing are often very distressing because people with bulimia place strong emphasis on their weight and shape, and may see themselves as much larger than they are.
Diabulimia, known also as Diabetic Bulimia, is a combination of an eating disorder and Type 1 Diabetes, in which people with type 1 diabetes deliberately give themselves less insulin than they need or stop taking it altogether for the purpose of weight loss.Sufferers of diabulimia may well show the signs associated with other eating disorders, such as symptoms of anorexia. On the other hand, controlling their insulin may be the only way they manipulate their weight and they otherwise have fairly normal eating patterns.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is a serious mental illness where people experience a loss of control and eat large quantities of food on a regular basis. People with binge eating disorder eat large quantities of food, over a short period of time (called bingeing). These binges are very distressing. Sufferers find it difficult to stop during a binge even if they want to, and some people with binge eating disorder have described feeling disconnected from what they’re doing during a binge, or even struggling to remember what they’ve eaten afterwards. Binge eating usually takes place in private, though the person may eat regular meals outside their binges. People will often have feelings of guilt and disgust at their lack of control during and after binge eating.
Orthorexia is a term was coined by Dr Steven Bratman in 1997, and it refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating “pure” food. Food considered “pure” or “impure” can vary from person to person. As with other eating disorders, the eating behaviour involved – “healthy” or “clean” eating in this case – is used to cope with negative thoughts and painful feelings, or to gain a sense of control. Orthorexia sufferers might feel extremely anxious or guilty if they eat food they feel is unhealthy.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others. BDD can seriously affect a sufferer's daily life, including their work, social life and relationships.
Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder (MDD) is a type of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). It is popularly known as “Bigorexia” by the media. It consists of a preoccupation with not being sufficiently muscular or lean (when this is not the case). They worry that they are small and undeveloped.In efforts to fix their perceived smallness, people with muscle dysmorphia lift weights, do resistance training, and exercise compulsively. They may take steroids or other muscle-building drugs. The constant preoccupation with perceived smallness interferes with their social life, relationships, academic and career accomplishments.
Compulsive Sexual Behaviours
Sex is a normal and important part of life, and people express themselves sexually in very diverse ways. How much sex or the type of sex one has does not define sexual compulsivity. The broadest definition suggests that it is any pattern of out-of-control sexual behaviour that has a significantly negative impact upon a person’s life. It is a pattern of behaviour that cannot be stopped. Sex is used to manage or numb painful feelings.
Compulsive sexual behaviours occur, when sex becomes a disproportionately high priority and obession, so that more and more time is spent planning, engaging in or recovering from the chosen sexual activity. The negative consequences of this behaviour affect a sufferer's relationships, social life, work life, law, finances, health and their sense of worth.
Struggling with compulsive sexual behaviours is not a choice and it is often a very shameful and lonely experience both for the sufferers and for their partners. Compulsive sexual behaviours may be rooted in one's early years in response to trauma.
Our approach is holistic, tailored to address the root causes of compulsive sexual behaviours, not just the symptom. Our approach is based on clinical research on neuroscience, human sexuality and psychology. The aim of therapy is to help a sufferer explore their sexual and relational system, their sexual urges and desires, their emotional world and core beliefs. Therapy also incorprates psychological and behavioural interventions to manage impulse control and help the sufferer to self-regulate. It is important that a sufferer addresses the possible underlying trauma(s) and root causes of their compulsive sexual behaviours. When appropriate, healing the relationship that has been affected by the compulsive sexual behaviours is an important component of a sufferer's recovery.
Individual therapy
Couples therapy
Psychoeducation
Group therapy
Support for partners
Nutritional Therapy
Nutritional therapy is the promotion of health through personalised nutrition and lifestyle support. It is a whole-body approach to nutrition and lifestyle medicine that addresses the potential underlying causes of ill-health, rather than focusing on symptoms.
Evidence-informed, it involves a wide range of tools which are used to assess individual health status and identify potential nutritional imbalances that may be contributing to symptoms. The focus is always on the individual client.
Our approach is non-diet and we subscribe to the Health at Every Size Movement. This means that we do not prescribe any way of eating based on ever changing fashions, media or social media. We us scientific evidence and clinical experience to help our clients find their own individual well-being. We are sensitive to ethical and religious diets, but no other diets. We believe that true health is not about the body size, but eating to one's own individual needs, pleasures, lifestyle.
Body Based Approaches
The Bowen Technique is a very gentle, deeply-relaxing, non-invasive technique which comprises sequences of precise rolling moves on the body. It is neither massage nor manipulation. It can be done on bare skin or through light clothing. The gentle moves stimulate energy flow allowing the body to re-set itself holistically. Results can be remarkable, even from the first session; often only a few sessions are needed to address the presenting problem. There are frequent but very essential pauses throughout the session when the practitioner will leave the room or distance him or herself from the client so that the body is left in peace to respond and start the healing process. The practitioner can target a specific problem or address the body as a whole.
Core Energetics has its roots in psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich's theory of Character and how a person's psyche soma or mind/body connection is affected through the stages of development. John Pierrakos MD and Alexander Lowen MD, both Reichian students co-created "Core", as it is so-called, and encompassed bio-energetics in the approach. When John met Eva Green, Core became a marriage of body psychotherapy and spiritual development. Eva, as the third co-creator, developed the Pathwork, a body of lectures that guide people's connection to Higher Self as an integral part of the journey of self-transformation.
The Bowen Technique has been reported to bring relief to many conditions and is often effective in treating anxiety and stress, arthritis, asthma and other respiratory conditions, children’s problems (colic, bedwetting, dyslexia & dyspraxia etc.), chronic fatigue, digestive problems, hormonal imbalance, muscular-skeletal conditions, pre and post surgery, as well as many more. It is important to note that Bowen treats the person as a whole, not the condition. That said, the practitioner knows which series of moves (known as a procedure) are likely to influence certain areas of the body.
Bowen is considered appropriate for anyone from pregnant women and newborn babies to the frail and elderly. There is even a separate modality of Bowmen for treating animals! It may assist recovery from many conditions from traumatic injury to chronic illness, depending on each individual’s capacity to heal. A client occasionally may feel slightly uncomfortable for a day or so after a treatment while the body realigns and detoxifies, but no adverse side effects have been reported in the 60 years of the Bowmen Technique being used.
Clients often report major or total improvement in seemingly unrelated problems that they may have forgotten to mention to the practitioner. Improved energy levels, sleep and general well-being are also often noted. Whilst not absolutely everyone will respond to a treatment, the Bowmen Technique can help in a large proportion of cases.
A Bowen session initiates many beneficial changes that continue for several days. It is therefore recommended that other manipulative therapies should not be applied between sessions as it can interrupt the process and undermine the overall effectiveness of the Bowen work. The optimum time between sessions is 6-10 days.
Core will give you access to a wider view of yourself and an understanding of less conscious motivations related to the stages of growing up. Core brings consciousness to how, when we are healthy, our energy flows. Life is a process and in constant flux. Often when we feel overwhelmed by change or anxious and stressed about how we perceive and interact with the world, there is a felt cost on our life energy. We can become disconnected, numb and feel stuck or mechanical, and we often block our energy, and lose our flow on a spiritual, mental, emotional and physical level. By allowing ourselves to open up, we reconnect with our body, our intuition, our inner guidance, regaining our sense of ground, safety and direction. We unlock our creativity and unlimited potential.
Core therapy process uses basic verbal interaction, bodywork techniques ranging from body awareness and impulses, bioenergetics, Gestalt, voice dialogue, visualisation, inter-personal relationship to create self-awareness, and creative expression through movement and sound. The aim is to heal old wounds, restore flow, and increase your potential to enjoy life. Sessions are dynamic, playful, creative, and support you in developing the fullness of your being, connecting you with your truth, your spirituality, and fulfilling your life purpose. With a helping hand, we can find a lighter way of being and a richer sense of who we are.
Spirituality / Energy Healing / Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.
Benefits of Reiki
The use of Reiki in conjunction with all other medical, massage or therapeutic techniques brings together the physical with the spiritual, which stimulates the hidden forces of the body for healing.
With Reiki you can:
• Harmonise and improve your health and your way of life.
• Improve your physical, emotional and mental well-being
• Heal and increase your personal incentive.
• Balance and improve your energy.
• Remove toxins from your physical body.
• Help relieve tension and relax your body.
• Ease your stress and depression.
• Heal disease and ease the pain in your musculoskeletal system: bones, joints, problems with the spine, back pain, cartilage, muscles, tendons, rheumatism, arthritis and others.
• Alleviate respiratory diseases such as asthma, the effects of pneumonia, and other breathing difficulties.
• Helps with conditions in the urinary system: kidneys, urethra and bladder.
• Improve problems in the reproductive system.
• Strengthen the immune system.
• Reduce pain and side effects of medication, chemotherapy and different radiation treatments.
• Support prior to surgical procedures – reduce amount of painkillers and improve speed of recovery.
Art / Creative Therapies
Creative therapy is a type of therapy that uses non-verbal expression like art or music as a means to communicate our inner world. Finding clarity in your thoughts can often be difficult using words alone, so creative therapy can help you to communicate your inner experience and what you’re feeling in other ways. It can help an individual to access and navigate their own thoughts and feelings and discover a sense of self, which can often be lost when struggling with mental health.
Creative therapy can take many forms. Some of the more widely practised types include:
An important thing to remember is that creative therapy is not about making judgements about our artistic abilities. Anyone can benefit from it, regardless of your experience or reservations.
Art
Drama
Movement
Music
Psychodrama
Psychodrama is an experiential psychotherapy, with psychodynamic, systemic and existentialist foundations. Psychodrama engages participants holistically, paying attention to behaviour, thoughts, emotion and the body. It uses creative action methods with groups, couples and individuals. Action Methods are used to enable past, present and future life events to be explored. Issues or problems and their possible solutions are enacted rather than just talked about. Psychodrama offers the opportunity to practise new roles safely, see oneself ffrom outside, gain insight and change.
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