Sam Smith

There is always a variety of daytime and evening slots available for booking via my website. I'm not available at weekends.

If you're interested in booking but can't find a time to suit you, do get in touch.

Hi! Do you read?

Are you moved and affected by what you read and sometimes wish you could 'honestly and openly' talk to someone about how it's left you feeling? 

You've come to the right place.

I'm Sam, an experienced psychotherapist, and in my Person Centred bibliotherapy service I provide a safe and ethical space for you to reflect on and explore your emotional responses to the books you read.

Life is often challenging. You may be experiencing particular difficulties, or be struggling more generally with being a human in what can feel like a mad world. You may be curious about what makes you you, or be looking for a new way to gently understand yourself and nourish your mental and emotional well-being. 

Whether you have had therapy in the past or are completely new to it, approaching your emotions 'sideways' through the situations and characters you meet in books can offer a refreshing way to see yourself and your challenges more clearly. 

Whatever is going on in your life will be mirrored in your responses to what you read; 'Books are the mirror of the soul'  according to Virginia Woolf, and I think she was right.

Online from my home library I can connect with you wherever you feel most comfortable and offer you a confidential, ethical and gentle opportunity to understand yourself better, to grow and to be heard. 

"Cathartic, eye opening and one of the best things I’ve done on my journey to get to know myself better"

"A gift of time and attention, with lasting positive effects"

As a Person Centred Therapist I won't interrogate or direct you. I'll carefully listen and help you explore your thoughts and feelings at your own pace, enabling you to connect more authentically with yourself and understand yourself more deeply.

I've worked in many settings including schools and pupil referral units, and as the Adolescent Psychotherapist in a specialist psychiatric inpatient unit. As a core member of a university therapy team I was instrumental in delivering new opportunities for young adults to access therapy, including developing a Single Session Therapy model that reduced waiting times to provide support when clients most needed it. I also developed and delivered a bibliotherapy service called Fiction Prescription.

All sessions are bookable through my website. These include:

* Single Session bibliotherapy, bookable one at a time to suit you

* Regular bibliotherapy sessions 

Sessions last for 60 minutes and are online via GoogleMeet.

More details can be found on my website: www.fictionprescription.org

[I also offer packages of sessions to employers who want to support wellbeing initiatives for their staff. If there is a bespoke arrangement that you'd like to discuss, do get in touch.]

I offer a free 20 minute introductory/discovery session, with no obligation.

I'd love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.