Rachel Cathan

I currently offer weekly appointments for private clients on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (daytime only). Sessions are provided either in-person from my therapy room in Bedford town centre or online for those who do not live locally or who prefer to work virtually. 

I aim to respond to enquiries within 24 hours, so if you get in touch and you don't hear back from me, please do check your spam folder.

I specialise in working with adults and young people experiencing anxiety (including general, social and health anxiety and panic disorder), as well as people facing the challenges of bereavement, infertility, relationship breakdown and other forms of life crisis or transition. I also support people who struggle with rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), which may be experienced as part of being neurodivergent or following a traumatic experience or experiences of rejection. 

I work with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and try to hold in mind the collective concerns we are experiencing in the present time (political division, economic instability, climate change and the rise of AI to name but a few), and to understand how this cultural backdrop impacts you as an individual and interacts with both your personal history and the current concerns that bring you into therapy.

I see it as my role to create a safe, supportive space where you are able to talk freely about any past or present experiences and feelings that are causing you pain or preventing you from living life as you would like.

​As we explore your inner world together, my aim is never to judge or advise, but rather to understand how you experience life, to help you to identify and challenge ways of being that no longer meet your needs, and to explore emerging new possibilities as you gain a deeper understanding of how you would like to live your life going forward. 

I have trained primarily as an existential therapist and my approach is informed by existential philosophy. This means that I am interested in your unique experience of life, the meaning you assign to it, the personal values that can anchor you and give you purpose and direction and the very real limitations, both individual and universal, that we all need to acknowledge in order to feel at peace with ourselves in a busy and demanding world.

I have also undertaken training in person-centred therapy, psychodynamic therapy and CBT, which I will draw upon when I feel they will be beneficial.

Finding the right therapist for you is an important first step and I  offer an initial 20 minute chat, either via video or telephone, in order for us to meet one another and to explore your reasons for seeking counselling at this time. If I feel I can be of help we can then arrange an assessment session, which is a full 50 minute session where we can explore your current situation and your concerns in more depth and think about how therapy might work for you (whether short or longer term) and, importantly, the outcomes you are hoping to achieve.

If, after this, we both feel that we can work effectively together, we will agree a day and time for your sessions and this weekly slot will be reserved for you for as long as you wish you continue.

For more information about my practice and how counselling works, please visit my website.