Yesim Caylakli Teksal

I provide a calm and confidential space in which you can talk openly about what brings you to therapy. You are welcome to contact me by email to enquire about availability or to arrange an initial phone conversation. All communication is treated with care and confidentiality.

I work with adults who experience anxiety, depression, emotional overwhelm, self-doubt, or difficulties in relationships, often despite functioning well in daily life. Many people come to therapy wanting to understand why certain emotional responses or relational patterns keep repeating in their lives.

I offer a calm, thoughtful, and confidential space where we can explore what you are experiencing at a pace that feels manageable. You are welcome to contact me by email to discuss your situation before arranging an initial session. 

My practice is based in Clapham, SW London, with sessions also available in Central London (W1) and online. I offer therapy in both English and Turkish.

The difficulties people bring to therapy often have roots in early caregiving relationships, where emotional needs may not have been met in consistent or reliable ways. As a result, people may have learned to take emotional responsibility, minimise their own needs, or adapt themselves in order to cope or maintain connection. While these adaptations were understandable at the time, they can become limiting in adult life.

Much of my work is with women — and with others who have learned to carry emotional responsibility, manage others’ needs, and adapt themselves in order to belong. While these ways of coping were often necessary earlier in life, they can later leave people feeling depleted, constrained, or disconnected from their own identity.

Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns and begin changing them, developing clearer boundaries, a stronger sense of self, and greater freedom to live in ways that feel authentic and sustainable.

My approach is collaborative and reflective, supporting you to develop greater awareness, emotional clarity, and a more integrated understanding of your experiences. The work is paced carefully, and you are not expected to manage it on your own.

I work integratively, with a strong Gestalt foundation. My practice is relational, present-focused, and psychologically informed, drawing on attachment-based and psychodynamic therapy.

I also bring a culturally aware perspective to my work. Our identities, family histories and cultural contexts shape how we relate to ourselves and others. I offer therapy in both English and Turkish, and I am mindful of how language and culture influence emotional expression, meaning, and belonging.

A developmental understanding of adult emotional life underpins my work, informed by long-standing practice across NHS and private settings, including work with children, young people, and families.

The first stage of therapy is building a sense of trust and safety, so you feel able to talk openly about what brings you to therapy. The initial session is an opportunity for us to explore your current difficulties, your expectations, and whether working together feels appropriate for you at this time.

We can discuss what you would like from therapy and whether a short-term or longer-term approach may be most helpful. Sometimes more than one initial session is needed before deciding how to proceed. This process is collaborative, and you are not expected to have everything worked out in advance.