How I work

While our experiences growing up impact and shape who we are as adults, I believe that we all have the capacity for change, through a process of understanding, learning, healing, growth and above all, connection. Therapy can lead to a profound sense of wellbeing and meaning in our lives. Engaging in this process with me can help you discover who you are, what really matters to you and how you want to be in the world.

Psychotherapy invites us to be curious about the conscious and the unconscious, about the embodied and the intellectual, therefore the work is both rational and deeply mysterious.

My approach to therapy may be right for you if you are willing to be in an open ended process which evolves and develops over time. My way of working is not best suited to a short term set of sessions aimed at managing one specific problem or experience. If you feel drawn to exploration, to going on an adventure, one which embraces curiosity, courage, compassion and connection, I may be the right therapist for you. I will share tools and new ideas with you when you need them, and primarily our work will be a healing adventure rather than a solution-focused cure.

If you would like to find out if we might work well together, I invite you to come for an initial session. This is an opportunity for you to get to know me and how I work as well as giving me a chance to get to know you and what you want for yourself. After this initial session, you can decide if you would like to continue working with me and we will book a series of sessions. We will review our work together regularly so that you and I both ensure that you are getting what you want.

I work with many professionals, artists and actors who, due to their work commitments, are not able to attend regular weekly or fortnightly sessions. I am open to creating a plan of sessions that works for you and which supports the goals of the therapy.

I am a member of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility. This means that I am committed to locating counselling and psychotherapy in its social, political, ecological, and economic context. I recognise the impact of the political dimension on the client-therapist relationship. I see it as part of my work as a psychotherapist and person to identify and challenge adverse discrimination at all levels within the profession and in the wider world.

Areas of particular interest and experience 

As well as being a leading practitioner and experienced psychotherapist in the field of eating disorders and body image, I have a particular interest in areas such as relationships, parenting, work stress, bereavement, existential questions and sexuality. I am also a Course Tutor at Homa London (www.homa.london) a Humanistic Psychotherapy Training Centre.

Private Couples Retreats in Italy

I run couples retreats with my partner Ben Gold, also a psychotherapist, at our home in the south of Italy. Our retreats offer a unique opportunity to escape to Puglia for a truly insightful and nourishing, private 5 night private couples retreat. Immersed in the peace of the olive groves you will have time to focus on your relationship. Time to connect with each other, to listen, to talk, to untangle the challenges and to celebrate the joys of being together. Coming on a Privat Couples Retreat is the perfect way to do the essential work needed to support a loving and satisfying relationship. Give yourself some dedicated time to be together with daily couples therapy sessions, time to practice new ways of communicating and being together and lots of opportunities to enjoy the delights of Puglia.

The Private Couples Retreat includes:

Four hours of daily morning and late afternoon sessions with Sophie & Ben (A total of 16 hours of couples and individual sessions).
Use of the swimming pool, yoga pergola, indoor spaces, hammocks and grounds for rest and relaxation.
Beautiful self-catering accommodation in our Trullo which has been renovated to a very high standard with air-conditioning and wifi.
Tea, Coffee and all the basics in a beautifully equipped kitchen.
All bedding and towels, pool towels and luxury bathroom toiletries.
For more information, dates and prices visit https://www.magicaltrulloinpuglia.com

“Everything about this retreat was perfect – from the peaceful nature that surrounded us, the beauty, comfort and style of their ‘Trullo’ where we stayed, to the location of our sessions under the ancient trees. They created the necessary safe space needed for us each to go deep, understand and root out what was at the core for each of us, also offering us practical, helpful methods for moving forward.” Elizabeth Lovius 2024

Qualifications

I trained as a Humanistic Psychotherapist at Spectrum, a centre and practice for Humanistic Psychology and UKCP accredited organisation. I completed the graduation process in 2011 and am an experienced psychotherapist with more than 17 years of private practice experience and over 20 years of experience working with psycho-educational groups.

Fully qualified and accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Accred 653187).

• BACP Accreditation
• Spectrum Diploma in Humanistic Psychology
• Spectrum Postgraduate Course in Psychotherapy
• 16 years of Post Graduate Continuation Course in Psychotherapy (2006-21)
• OCR Certificate in Counselling Skills
• Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Sexuality
• Anger in the Therapy Room
• Working with Groups
• A Group About Groups
• The Heart of Parenting
• Action Techniques
• Childhood Sexual Abuse
• Developing Clinical Skills
• Re-parenting
• Gestalt – Theory and Practice
• Professional Seminars
• Psychotherapy Online & Telephone
• Brief Therapy
• Ins and Outs of Anger
• Relationship Making
• PVRL

Other Training and Qualifications

As a human being and a psychotherapist I am committed to life-long learning and continue to develop my personal and professional skills.

* I am a Wild psychotherapist

Wild Therapy

• Recognises the interdependence of everything that exists
• Sees work as a psychotherapist as relational
• Identifies the role of the other-than-human and more-than-human in the therapeutic process
• Acknowledges and support liminality
• Celebrates embodiment as a central aspect of our existence
• Welcomes the spontaneous and the unknown, trusting what arises of its own accord
• Seeks to transform fear-based defensive practice into undefensive, contact-based, adventurous practice.

Currently I am training with Pink Therapy – Certificate of Study: Essentials in GSRD Therapy

Other courses and training I have undertaken:

National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion.

Shadow Work – Basic Facilitator Training (BFT). Shadow Work is a facilitated processes that allows individuals to explore and change  behaviour patterns. Based on Cliff Barry’s synthesis of ancient and modern tools, Shadow Work uses a four-directional map of the mind to identify and work through our shadows.

The Heart of Parenting courses and ongoing parenting groups.

I trained as a Walk Leader with Natural England.

PGCE in Education and  2 years of a Masters in Education with the Open University.

I ran ongoing women’s therapy groups for over 10 years and currently run a parenting group.

It is important to me to be visible and accountable for my work. I am in regular supervision and continue to develop my personal and professional skills through CPD and other courses.

Before training as a psychotherapist I worked in management at Marks & Spencer and later trained as a secondary school teacher of modern languages. I took a break from paid employment to have my two children and went on to set up my own business with my sister in 2000: Beyond Chocolate, Empowering people to know and trust their bodies and shortly after began my training as a psychotherapist.

Contact:

You are welcome to contact me by phone or email. I am always happy to have an informal chat on the phone if you would like to find out more about working with me.

07904125997
sophieboss@homatherapypractice.london