Kalpna Hirani Counselling in Central London, Waterloo SE1

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Now - Online (By 'online' I mean voice and video sessions using apps such as Zoom)

I would like to help and support people who may be struggling through social distancing, isolation or the anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. It's natural to worry and feel anxious in light of the uncertainty surrounding the current situation. Its important to remember the emotional impact on people’s emotional health and wellbeing. I am therefore offering free 10-15 minutes befriending sessions by telephone (please text or email to book a suitable slot).

Welcome
I’m a qualified therapeutic counsellor and registered member of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy ("BACP" *). I offer a confidential, supportive and respectful space to enable you to explore, openly and freely, your emotions and aspects of your life. I will support you to develop your own understanding of your situation, empowering you to bring about effective change that you feel is right for you, so you can be the best person that you can be.

These pages will lead you to how I can provide you with a personalised approach in supporting you with your emotional wellbeing and personal development. To find out more, please take a look around and read about how I can be of help.

I normally offer face to face counselling therapy in Central London, Southwark SE1, close to Waterloo and Lambeth North station. For the foreseeable future I'm not offering face-to-face sessions.

How counselling can help
Many people think that by bottling up your emotional difficulties and not seeking help, you are being strong. In fact, admitting to your difficulties and dealing with your problems, takes courage. Merely masking or burying your issues, does not fix them. Seeking support from a qualified counsellor often means you have taken the first step to resolving the problem.

Counselling can provide help and support in a variety of ways. Many seek counselling due to events or circumstances, which may have led to overwhelming challenge or confusion. The emotional impact caused as a result needs to be addressed to enhance the quality of their lives. If left unchecked these can affect their wellbeing.

Others seek counselling not because they are depressed or traumatized or vulnerable but to finding meaning and purpose, improve their loving relationships or simply because they would like support in achieving the personal growth they are striving for.

Although it can sometimes feel scary to take the first step to reach out, learning to cope in healthier ways can make doing so more than worthwhile. You don't need to continue to struggle on your own. I’ll support you with whatever may be troubling you or getting in the way of living a happy and fulfilled life. As your counsellor, I can provide support in a personalised approach to emotional wellbeing and personal development. My commitment to you is to provide support by helping you to identify and work through your difficulties, and enabling you to find your own way forward in life.

I offer a free telephone consultation of up to 20 mins so you can ask any questions you may have and gain an understanding of how you might get the most out of our working relationship. There will be no pressure or obligation to book further sessions unless you wish to.

Get in touch and schedule a free 20-minute telephone consultation now!

The sooner you get help, the faster you can get back to enjoying life.

My approach
My training in many different approaches enables me to bring together elements of different theories and ways of working. This is based on the idea that each person is an individual so one type of therapy doesn't fit everyone. I use a Person-Centred approach as a basis of my counselling practice and bring in other theories such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Gestalt and working creatively to ensure that my approach is flexible and tailored to the needs of each individual.

By being in tune with how you are feeling and by understanding your experiences, I will support you so that you can see a way forward and work towards a growing sense of inner peace and contentment, with more focus and clarity.

Many people find online counselling/psychotherapy useful but it is not the same as face-to-face therapy in many ways. Face-to-face therapy has many advantages but it cannot offer some of the benefits of online counselling. For example, online counselling empowers clients and they can feeling more in control of therapy by being in their own physical space (often in their own homes). For clients, this could be the difference between counselling being 'do-able', and not too overwhelming. It also allows much more flexibility in booking days and times to support your needs, especially if you are confined at home.
If you are feeling particularly unwell or desperate, it is better that you try to get some face-to-face support if possible; and in case of emergency contact your GP or local Accident and Emergency service. On a practical note, if you would like to try online therapy and it seems suitable for your needs, I'd be happy to talk you through the simple set up.


What I can offer
I offer a compassionate, non-judgemental, empathic and warm environment to enable you to feel safe enough to self-explore. I do not diagnose or categorise. With me, you can be your true self and be honest about how you are really feeling.

Rather than tell you what to do or offer you advice, I will offer a supportive environment, being fully present, actively listening to your concerns and being respectful, so that any changes you choose to make are ones that you feel are right and suited to you.

I will ensure that you feel sessions maintain direction and focus, empowering you to review your progress regularly, always holding your autonomy in mind. My way of working is gentle but sufficiently challenging to help you grow. I work at a pace that suits you, and I offer a space to safely contain what you bring. As your counsellor, I will strive to create a relationship based on equality rather than being ‘in charge’.

Therapies I offer include:

  • Stress
  • Anxiety / Generalised anxiety disorder
  • Panic attacks
  • Anger management
  • Feeling sad
  • Post natal depression
  • Low self esteem
  • Parenting
  • Young people
  • Relationships
  • Loneliness
  • Bullying

    I am the counsellor people choose when they need help with:

  • Life changes and transitions - Those who have gone through or are going through major life changes such as:
    - Illness
    - Personal loss, bereavement and grief
    - Environmental shifts
    - Menopause
    - Loss of purpose, status or responsibility
    - Challenges that come with relocation.

    We all face difficult life changing events. When these arise, a short period of counselling can be an effective way to process your feelings and work through any lingering thoughts and emotions.

  • Work related issues- In our fast-paced society, more and more people find it challenging to juggle work and home life demands. We frequently have to deal with high levels of daily stress, which, not only negatively affects our emotional wellbeing, potentially resulting in anger, irritability, depression, and anxiety, but also our physical wellbeing, causing symptoms such as headaches, digestive problems, high blood pressure and insomnia.
    Finding ways to lower our stress levels is therefore extremely important for our overall health. It is also natural to want to be successful and to feel negative or ashamed when things go wrong or don't go as planned. I can support you with issues such as:
    - Stress and anxiety
    - Change at work
    - The loss of a job
    - Dealing with retirement
    - Career change
    - Redundancy
    - Conflict
    - Burnout
    - Bullying.

  • Personal Development – If you have concerns about:
    - How you feel about yourself
    - Are feeling unworthy
    - Feeling ashamed for not being like how you imagined yourself
    - Self-doubt
    - Self-care, resilience and coping mechanism

    Is any of the above preventing you from living a more fulfilled life? Perhaps you may be doubting yourself which is hindering your capabilities and would like to feel more empowered to achieve your full potential. Would you like to simply explore ways to take better care of yourself and live a happy and fulfilled life? I can provide support so you are able to achieve your goals.

  • Expatriate & Cultural Counselling - Are you struggling to adapt to a new culture and feeling homesick, or feeling lonely? Differences in experiences, values, beliefs and norms of living, can sometimes cause tension and misunderstandings between people from different backgrounds or generation. Talking with an experienced counsellor about your reality and your situation can help you find ways of managing emotions and feelings. As your counsellor my role is to respectfully accept your worldview unconditionally and work professionally and ethically.

  • Infertility – Fertility treatment is a significant emotional journey, and may have an impact on your relationships with others. The emotions can be conflicting and intense. Counselling is an opportunity to explore any emotional difficulty, fears, anxieties, or distress that you might experience during your fertility journey. It can help you to explore relationship issues with partners, family, friends or colleagues and coping strategies, options which can change aspects of your situation.

  • Stress, anxiety and panic attacks - The fight, flight or freeze response can be useful for our survival as the stress this induces within us, motivates us to keep ourselves safe. When we get stuck in the stress response too long due to feeling unsafe in our environment, it can potentially consume us to the point that we don’t see a way out and we feel engulfed in our anxiety response. At times this can manifest as a panic attack. If issues such as these, or stress or anxiety, are affecting your life, counselling can help.

  • Depression, loneliness and sleep issues – Are your feelings of sadness and low mood stopping you from leading your normal life and making everything harder to do and seem less worthwhile? Do you feel numb, empty and that you can't see a way forward? Perhaps you feel isolated, alone and trapped in your head and unable to talk about how you are feeling to anyone around you. Loneliness interferes with sound, plentiful sleep and can be connected to feeling depressed. Depression is a very lonely and scary place to be stuck in. I want to support you in finding your way out of this dark place.

  • Student life - You may be struggling in coping with academic expectations, feeling stressed and anxious. The purpose of counselling is to support you to make your own choices and decisions and I can help you talk through your problems without judging you. Remember, talking to someone doesn't make you a failure. You can talk to me about anything that is troubling you or causing you emotional/psychological distress to help process your thoughts and emotions, and bring clarity for the way forward.

    Whatever issues you are facing, I will strive to work with you, to help you find a way forward. If you are interested in finding out more about what I offer, please take a look at my service and fees page. If you have any questions about how counselling and therapy could work for you, please do contact me.

    My training and qualifications
    I have a diploma in therapeutic counselling and training in counselling children and young people. I have regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD), clinical supervision and have had training in various approaches, such as Person-centred approach, Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and working creatively. Having this knowledge, skill and experience allows me the flexibility to use different approaches and to adapt according to your needs.

    I have an enhanced DBS certificate for working with young people and adults.

    In 2018, I carried out primary research to investigate employees experience of emotional wellbeing in the workplace.

    In addition to my private practice in Central London locations, Southwark, close to Lambeth North and Waterloo stations, Euston, King’s Cross and London Bridge stations, I also work at a young people’s counselling service in West London.

    I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP *) bacp This is the largest professional body for counsellors in the UK. I have many years of experience working with adults and teenagers (17 years and over).



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