My Approach

I respect that every child is unique and brings to therapy different life experiences, belief systems and feelings. Our earliest experiences can set the tone for what we come to expect from others and from the world. Children may also be carrying scripts they have been given, roles they have been placed in, family patterns that have shaped how they see themselves and others, and masks they have had to wear to survive and feel safe in the world.

My approach is non-pathologising and aims to view the child holistically. I am less interested in what is "wrong" with a young person than in what has happened to them, what sense they have made of it and what they have had to do to cope. I look at the whole child: their relationships, family, school, culture and community, as well as their body and mind. Like a plant, a child grows in response to their environment. Given warmth, nourishment and space they flourish, and in harsher conditions they adapt in whatever way allows them to survive, still bending towards the light. What can look like difficult behaviour is often a creative adaptation that once kept them safe, and I meet it with curiosity and respect. Therapy offers a different kind of environment, one where new growth becomes possible.

For this reason I am integrative in my approach, drawing on psychodynamic theory and attachment theory, underpinned by current interpersonal neurobiological research and my background in the arts. This allows me to tailor my approach to each individual and to offer both short-term and long-term therapy. The therapeutic relationship is at the heart of my practice. I believe there is real strength in vulnerability, and that connection and change begin when we feel safe enough to be seen. That takes courage, and children and adolescents can struggle to put their feelings into words, so I work with five art forms: art, play, music, drama and sandplay. I tailor these to each client's strengths, with the aim of creating the safety they need to open up at their own pace. This allows me to gently get alongside a young person and understand how relationships and experiences have shaped their inner emotional world. Together we make sense of what emerges, building self-understanding, resilience and self compassion.

I adhere to the UKCP and BACP codes of ethics, maintaining confidentiality and following safeguarding procedures where necessary.

About Me

Hello, my name is Sarah. I am an Integrative Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor and Therapeutic Consultant, and for over 20 years I have worked alongside children, young people and the adults who care for them.

I have always been curious about how our earliest relationships and experiences go on to shape who we become. As part of my three-year Master's, I completed a two-year infant observation, visiting a mother and her baby every week to observe their developing relationship. It gave me a first-hand view of how our earliest experiences shape the brain and human development. I am also intrigued by the interconnectedness of mind and body. In particular how emotions and unresolved life experiences affect our physical health, and how feelings that have not been processed can show up in the body as physical ailments.

I began my career teaching art, where I saw that creativity is a key to our inner world and to the stories we have not yet written or made sense of. I learned that art, play and imagination, held within a trusting relationship, are what make healing and growth possible. Later on in my role as a specialist support assistant and as a therapist within CAMHS, I worked with young people with special educational needs and those affected by trauma. I learned that a child's ability to learn depends first on their emotional wellbeing. Above all, I have seen how one caring, consistent adult can change the story a child tells themselves, helping them to know their value and to trust again.

I believe that supporting a child means supporting the adults around them. I offer therapeutic consultations to parents and carers: a warm, collaborative space, free from shame or judgement, to think together about ways of coming alongside their child. My aim is to empower parents with a sense of autonomy and agency, so they can choose what they want to carry forward from their own stories and what they would like to edit or change for their own family.

I have been a clinical supervisor since 2018 and hold a Diploma in Supervision from Terapia. I supervise qualified and trainee psychotherapists and counsellors, safeguarding teams, youth offending teams and a young people's substance misuse service. I provide consultancy and training to schools including inset days on topics such as trauma informed practice.

I hold a three-year Master's in Integrative Child Psychotherapy, a Postgraduate Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic Application of the Arts and a Certificate in Integrative Counselling Skills. I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist, a registered member of the BACP and a professional member of IATE, with full professional liability insurance and an up-to-date DBS certificate. My private practice is based in Croydon, with sessions available online and in schools.

I work with

• Children and young people
• Families
• Private healthcare referrals

Types of Therapies Offered

• Integrative Child Psychotherapist

What I can help with

• Abuse
• Addiction
• Autism
• Bereavement
• Bullying
• Depression
• Disability
• Divorce
• Domestic Violence
• Eating Disorders
• Family
• Gender
• Mental Health Issues
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Parents
• Phobias
• Post-Traumatic Stress
• Suicide
• Supervision
• Trauma