Psychotherapy

We have three Psychotherapists practicing at Bellenden: Monica Cabello, Azima Ryan and Sarah Cavaliere.

Psychotherapy is a form of talking therapy whereby an invitation is made to speak about one’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs. This comes with the intention of developing an understanding of one’s internal world, so that possibilities for change can be created. There is an emphasis on exploring early relationships and events in life to see how these might be linked to current experiences.

Monica Cabello has worked with people who have experienced a number of issues, such as paranoia, compulsive behaviour, anxiety, depression, eating problems and trauma in different forms. She completed a second training in Open Dialogue, which was developed in Finland in the 1980s as a response to high levels of psychosis and suicide. It places an emphasis on working with families and social networks together with the individual who is experiencing mental health difficulties. Open Dialogue draws on a number of theoretical models, including systemic family therapy, dialogical theory and social constructionism.

Monica Cabello is registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, having completed an 8 year training at the Arbours Association. Monica works part-time as a psychotherapist for a charity which supports young people.

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Therapy is a conversation, a relationship, and an opportunity for deep personal change. In therapy, as trust and rapport grows, the session can become a safe container for difficult, longstanding feelings and behaviours. These tend to remain stuck when we continually ignore them, but given light and air, they can start to soften, and transform into healing and growth.

You may be seeking therapy because you have been living for years with depression and anxiety, or can’t get out of a pattern of destructive thoughts and behaviours. Perhaps you find yourself living behind a ‘mask’ of functionality, craving a more authentic self-expression but unclear how to get there. Integrative psychotherapy draws from a range of theoretical traditions, including humanistic, psychodynamic and existential, to create a fluid approach that adapts to the particular needs that you are bringing as a client.

Azima Ryan spent many years as an actor and performer, and has been working in the field of mental health for the past decade. She has worked with new mothers at Bethlem Royal Hospital, and with people in suicidal crisis at Maytree Centre. These experiences taught her to look beneath the surface of how someone presents themselves, and to ask: what is not being said here? What would happen if the unspoken parts had a voice, and what if there was someone there to listen?

Azima has a MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy from Metanoia Institute, and continues to develop herself professionally by undertaking further training, in areas including Jungian, Embodied Relational and Psychosexual therapies. She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

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Sarah specialises in working one-to-one with clients facing difficulties in their family relationships.

Being a parent can be difficult and overwhelming. You may be struggling with a toddler’s tantrums, challenged by a teenager experimenting in risk-taking behaviour or anxious about your child’s wellbeing at home or school. As an adult, some of this difficulty can arise from our own experience of being parented and our childhood history. Relationship difficulties with your partner may result in separation or divorce and this is another area where Sarah can support you and your family through emotional distress.

Sarah has experience counselling people who have experienced miscarriage, have fertility issues or who are going through IVF. She is a trained and accredited provider of the Primary Care level 3 Triple P Positive Parenting Programme and has been accredited by the ‘Foundation for Infant Loss’, following their training programme.

Following an initial assessment, Sarah recommends that clients commit to a regular weekly session, on a short term or long term basis as appropriate. In these non-judgemental, confidential counselling sessions, Sarah can support you in unpicking these issues and exploring how they impact on your ability to parent with more confidence. This will improve both your own emotional wellbeing and your relationships with those around you.

Sarah is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy – a Registered Member MBACP (Accred) – and works according to the BACP Ethical Guidelines. She has almost ten years post-qualified experience counselling parents and children. Sarah is an accredited practitioner of the ‘Triple P’ Positive Parenting Programme. She has also completed a training programme for The Foundation for Infant Loss.