Monika Smolar, UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist

Monika Smolar

London W4
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Monika Smolar, UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist

Monika Smolar

London W4
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My Approach

I offer long-term and short-term therapy.
Sometimes we might agree to see each other for six - eight sessions and then review, at other times you might want open-ended, long-term therapy.
I work both in-person and online, on Zoom.
I have appointments available during the day, in the evenings and sometimes at the weekend.
At times we all need to talk to someone who is independent and outside of our situation; someone who is non-judgemental, confidential and listens to us empathetically.
Now and then we need some space to reflect on and work through issues we might be having; with our partners, family or friends.
Sometimes unresolved difficulties, memories or traumas haunt and trouble us. Maybe we're struggling with some unwanted and outdated behavioural patterns, habits or addictions.
We're only human and taking the time to reflect upon and talk through our triggers and issues can be helpful and healing. Having that weekly space to focus on our needs can be tremendously therapeutic. It's a great investment in our current and future mental health and wellbeing.
Im an Integrative Psychotherapist and that means that I combine and integrate different therapeutic approaches e.g. CBT, psychodynamic, client-centred, existential, EMDR, compassion-focused therapy.
The sessions are focused on you and on what you need and want, what might be most helpful for you.

About Me

Hello,
It's not easy to choose a psychotherapist or counsellor so take your time.
I have worked as a psychotherapist and counsellor for over 25 years and remain passionate about my work and the transformation and change it can bring to peoples' lives. I have witnessed so many people change during therapy and reach the goals they want.
I work with individuals; adolescents, young adults, older adults as well as couples. I also see parents for parental consultations. I also do EMDR.
You, the client are always at the center of any therapy I do. I adapt the way I work dependent on what you need and want from the therapy. I may guide you, provide you with helpful tools, techniques and strategies if that is what you need and want. I am there for you.
You may feel you want a space to reflect, think about and explore what is going on in your life. Maybe you've come to therapy to try and work through some difficulties from the past or make sense of what's happening in your life currently. Maybe you're not sure what you want from therapy but you know you want to talk to someone who is outside of your situation, non-judgmental, empathetic and confidential.
I am here for you, to listen to you and what you need in a non-judgmental, confidential setting. This is a space where you will be listened to and heard and together we will work out what you need and what will help you.
I work with a variety of psychological and mental health issues; trauma, abuse, depression, anxiety, relationship, couple and family issues.
I have had a private practice for many years and work both online, using Zoom, and in-person, out of my premises in Chiswick and Kensington, West London.
I also work at a university; the LSE, where I have been providing therapy to students and staff for over 19 years.
I also work at Jewish Womens' Aid where I provide therapy to women who have experienced coercive control, domestic abuse and sexual violence.
At the university I facilitate a variety of groups and workshops in Perfectionism, Procrastination, Low Self-Esteem, Stress Management, Anxiety, Good Self-Care. I have been running a Bereavement Group for students for over seven years.
I also offer a fast and effective type of therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy. This works very effectively by lowering the distress levels of most psychological and mental health issues and conditions; from anxiety and depression to trauma and abuse.
In the past I have worked at The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, The Richmond Fellowship (a therapeutic community for those with severe mental health problems), for MIND, at Turning Point, in primary and secondary schools (Twyford Church of England School) with adolescents and for a specialist eating disorder service.
I have lived and worked in several different countries and experienced a variety of cultures, languages and religions. I speak different languages; I am partially fluent in Polish and have a basic knowledge of Swedish, Hebrew and French.
Please do look at my website.
I wish you all the very best finding a psychotherapist/ counsellor.
Monika

I work with

  • Couples
  • Families
  • Groups
  • Individuals
  • Private healthcare referrals

Special Interests

Like all UKCP registered psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors I can work with a wide range of issues, but here are some areas in which I have a special interest or additional experience.

I work with coercive control, emotional, psychological, mental, financial, religious, physical and sexual abuse. Therapy can be extremely helpful and healing when working with abuse of any kind. We look at giving you a space to speak and verbalize your experiences, to have your voice and truth heard, we work on how to raise your self-esteem and feel more positive and optimistic about your future etc. I have a lot of experience working with the above issues.
I have worked extensively with individuals who have experienced a bereavement either recently or a long time ago. The loss of someone can shock us so much that we start to question everything in our lives and feel our whole lives have been turned upside down. Sometimes we're not sure how to grieve or we find it hard to move on from the loss. It can be very helpful to explore all of this and all the consequences of loss and bereavement in therapy. I have worked with individuals of every age and also spent many years facilitating Bereavement Groups.
EMDR is a fast-acting, efficient technique type of psychotherapy which is increasingly well-known and popular, amongst both therapists and clients. It has been well-researched and, as a result, is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) for the treatment of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). It is now increasingly used for other problems (including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain), which may have their root in problematic memories. When we experience a difficult event in life our brain works to 'process' the difficult feelings so that we can resolve the situation in our mind. We have all had a difficult experience at some time that we have been able to get over. We may feel very distressed, but eventually the feeling is worked through and we are able to live with what has happened. Sometimes, the difficult event is so hard or traumatic, that our brain has trouble processing. We may then have 'frozen' memories of that event and experience similar feelings every time it comes into our awareness. This is an unresolved or 'traumatic' memory. EMDR is a way of unblocking the natural system of processing, so that it is no longer 'frozen'. It uses a procedure to help the brain start to re-process difficult and traumatic material. The technique used is called 'bi-lateral stimulation' because it aims to stimulate alternately each side of the brain (left/right). In sessions this is done either with eye movements or with some other bi-lateral stimulation. I have seen how effectively and quickly people can be helped using EMDR.
At times we all need to talk to someone who is independent and outside of our situation; someone who is non-judgemental, confidential and listens to us empathetically. Now and then we all need some space to reflect on and work through issues we might be having; with our partners, family or friends. Sometimes unresolved difficulties, memories or traumas haunt and trouble us. Maybe we're struggling with some unwanted and outdated behavioural patterns, habits or addictions. We're only human and taking the time to reflect upon and talk through our triggers and issues can be helpful and healing. Having that weekly space to focus on our needs can be tremendously therapeutic. It's a great investment in our current and future mental health and well-being. Most of us have experienced anxiety, stress, low mood or depression but for some of us these feelings stay and we find we cannot rid ourselves of them or work through them so easily. They start to affect our life, our well-being, our capacity to enjoy and take part in life. Therapy can be very effective in helping us with anxiety, low mood and other mental health issues.
I work widely with relationship difficulties, couple issues as well as parental and family challenges and troubles. It is not easy being in a relationship, part of a couple just as it can be very challenging being a parent. Our relationships; with our partner and our children are so important to us and so essential to our well-being, mental health and our happiness and satisfaction levels in general. It's worth trying to sort out any difficulties we might have in this area.

Types of Therapies Offered

  • Integrative Psychotherapist

What I can help with

  • Abuse
  • Adoption
  • Age-related Issues
  • Anger Management
  • Anorexia
  • Anxiety
  • Bereavement
  • Bulimia
  • Bullying
  • Cancer
  • Chronic Illness
  • Couple Issues
  • Cultural Issues
  • Depression
  • Disability
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Violence
  • Eating Disorders
  • EMDR
  • Employment Difficulties
  • Family
  • Health-related Issues
  • Identity Problems
  • Infertility
  • Mental Health Issues
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Online Counselling
  • Parents
  • Phobias
  • Physical Abuse
  • Post-Traumatic Stress
  • Prescribed Drug Dependence
  • Race Issues
  • Relationships
  • Separation
  • Sex Problems
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Sexuality
  • Step Families
  • Stress
  • Suicide
  • Supervision
  • Telephone Counselling
  • Terminal Illness
  • Training
  • Trauma
  • Workplace Counselling

Types of sessions

  • Face to Face - Long Term
  • Face to Face - Short Term
  • Online Therapy
  • Telephone Therapy

London Office

Rooms For Therapists
1A Belmont Road
Chiswick
London W4 5UL
United Kingdom (UK)

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Cost:

Sliding scale.
Depends on time of day and whether session is in-person or online.

Concession:

Sliding scale.

London Office

Rooms For Therapists
2-4 Kenway Road
Kensington
London SW5 0RR
United Kingdom

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Cost:

Sliding scale.

Concession:

Sliding scale.

London Office

61
Dorset road
Ealing
London W5 4HX
United Kingdom

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Cost:

Sliding scale.
Depends upon time of day; daytime sessions can be less as are online appointments.

Concession:

Daytime and online appointments can be less.

UKCP College

  • Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy College (HIPC)
Monika Smolar

Monika Smolar

London W4

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