How I work:

I love how the therapy process, just by its very design, helps you bring your focus back to yourself. It encourages you to start to really listen and pay attention to what’s true for you, notice the things in your life that aren’t serving you, and give intentional space to change what doesn’t feel good. 

Part of this may be uncovering your patterns and understanding why you feel and act the way you do, exploring how your past is impacting your present, and understanding the stories you’re telling yourself, or the beliefs you’re carrying in the background.  

It can be incredibly empowering to identify the parts you play (often without realising) in the circumstances or relationships that are causing you unhappiness, anxiety or stress. 

I believe that when you better understand the ‘why’ behind your behaviour, thinking and feelings, you’re free to then start exploring how you can create the change you’re seeking, instead of perhaps hoping for the people, places and things around you to change first (which they rarely will). 

Therapy gives you the opportunity to explore what it would be like to live the life you truly want, as opposed to what’s expected, or what you’ve maybe somehow fallen into. 

Whether you want support with your work, friendships, romantic relationship or decisions that impact the overall shape for your life, therapy with me is about reaching a point where you’re living in a way that centres what makes you feel good, happy and content, not what other people, or the world in general, expect from you. 

Clients often come to me because they:

• Feel lost and unsure about the direction of their life and what they truly want
• Feel disconnected from their feelings and/or find it hard to express them
• Have objectively good lives but still feel anxious or like something is missing
• Want to better understand themselves, their thoughts and feelings
• Are curious about repeating patterns they notice in their lives
• Are navigating big life decisions, changes or relationship difficulties
• Have complex and challenging relationships with their parents or other family members
• Have friends in their life but don’t really feel known or understood
• Say yes to things they don’t want to do because they feel bad for saying no
• Feel guilty about the impact they have on other people if they put themselves first
• Want to feel happier, more content and for life to feel lighter and more enjoyable
• Are ready to try something new, because what they’ve been doing isn’t really working

My approach: 

I work in an open-ended way, meaning we will continue to meet regularly for as long as the therapy continues to feel helpful; this involves reviewing often, revisiting your reasons for coming and checking in about the progress we both feel we’re making.

My clinical training informs my practice (if you’re curious, I draw on psychodynamic, transactional analysis, relational, trauma and attachment-informed thinking) as well as my experience of working with lots of clients over many years. 

I also bring my personal experiences of life as a millennial woman to my work where it feels helpful and supportive. I know how meaningful it can be to sit across from a therapist who recognises their humanness, who is open, friendly and ultimately a person navigating the world, too. 

Honesty and integrity are central to my work and I see value in sharing ideas, suggestions, tools and resources that I think might be helpful to you, when it feels welcome. 

My training: 

• Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling from the Northern Guild of Psychotherapy
• Additional 2 years of Integrative Humanistic Psychotherapy study at postgraduate level

I’m a Professionally Accredited member of National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (my registration number is: NCS21-01979) with 8+ years of clinical experience. I have regular clinical supervision to ensure I’m practicing ethically and giving my clients the best that I can. I also continue to learn through additional training courses and professional development and I am fully insured. 

Areas of interest: 

My practice has become increasingly focused on the areas of people-pleasing, codependency and boundaries, and I have a real interest in how these themes show up for women especially. 

I have developed frameworks for letting go of the guilt we feel for putting ourselves first, models for setting healthy boundaries and written numerous courses, run groups and hold workshops around these topics, too. 

You can explore my work in these areas via my instagram or my website. 

I have many years of experience supporting people impacted by someone else’s drinking/alcoholism, where patterns of people-pleasing and difficulties with boundaries are incredibly common. 

Other areas of experience: generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic attacks, trauma, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, self-doubt, perfectionism, grief, burnout and stress. 

For therapists 

I mentor fellow therapists through what I call ‘business supervision’, supporting them with the practical things that clinical supervision doesn’t cover, from managing finances to marketing on Instagram and creating digital products. (More info: www.elsieowen.com/mentoring). 

I’m also a visiting tutor on the Homa therapy training, co-leading the marketing module. 

Availability & fees:

I meet most clients at the same time each week, for as long as the therapy continues to be helpful. Fortnightly sessions are also an option we can discuss. 

In-person at Homa Therapy Practice (WC1X): Wednesdays 8am – 12pm 

Online: Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am – 2pm 

Fee: £125 per 50-minute session.

Next steps:

If you’d like to explore starting therapy with me, please reach out by email or via my website to organise a free introductory Zoom or phone call; this will help us establish whether we feel we’ll work well together and plan next steps if so.