Nicole Castellani

I am currently seeing clients face to face as well as working online.   I offer Zoom and Teams calls. 

My hours are flexible. I work from 9am to 8pm from Monday to Thursday. I am also  available on some  Friday mornings.

I see clients face to face at two locations:

Yi Dao Clinic, 61 Mill Lane, West Hampstead, NW6 1NB

Rooms for Therapists, 224 Iverson Road, NW6 2HL

Hello my name is Nicole, and I am a counsellor and psychotherapist with over twenty years experience. 

Life at times can be challenging, people can feel lonely and isolated, stuck into old patterns of  behaviour, confused about what to change. Reaching out can be hard and trusting others difficult. It's at these times that therapy can help. My way of working has you at the heart of it, my aim is to help you develop the qualities that you need to face your life's challenges past and present. 

I work holistically, taking into account all the many dimensions that makes us human. Stress and pain can cause us to shut down some aspects of ourselves, causing anxiety, depression and other symptoms. 

My approach is integrative as I trained in different modalities. What is important is that we have a shared journey together which is shaped by your needs.  I promote empathy and unconditional positive regard, believing that each client possesses the inner strength to overcome their challenges.

I sometimes use CBT as I feel that it helps to deal with daily life difficulties and can help to develop some healthy strategies for dealing with past and present challenges. CBT can challenge negative thinking, reframing some of your thoughts and behaviours creating a new and healthy road map.

I also work using a psychodynamic frame work as it can uncover the influences of early life conditioning and how that has impacted  and shaped our lives.

I  work in a creative way using mindfulness, meditation, visualisation, art therapy, and imagery as it can be revealing of parts of yourself that are not yet known to you.

I am trauma and neurodivergent informed.

I held a part time post co ordinating a project domestic  abuse for 8 years, working with all genders  who were  in  abusive relationships.  

I also worked for 16 years as a team Leader and therapist in a project for substance  and alcohol abuse; this has given me the experience to work with addictions.  This can also include gaming and sexual addictions.

I work both face to face and online via Zoom and Teams.

I offer an initial free  telephone assessment to discuss any issues where  you feel that you need some support,  and how  therapy could benefit you.

You can contact me by phone or email to arrange your first appointment and to set up your first  face to face appointment.

I am flexible around appointments for those with child care issues or work patterns that deviate from the traditional.

Therapy involves meting weekly (online or in-person) for sessions that last fifty minutes. It is a safe space which is confidential and non judgemental, and it gives you the chance to connect  and understand  your current difficulties. 

You can have either short term counselling for a specific issue that is troubling you. This could be a crisis at home or at work, low self-esteem or feelings of anxiety or unhappiness.  

I can also offer you long term therapy for getting more  in depth  emotional support and gaining more  understanding of your struggles past and present, making lasting changes to your well being.

Please do check my website as I work with many issues.

Prior to our first session, I ensure that we have a brief phone conversation so that you can tell me a bit about yourself and what brings you to therapy. This is complementary. It is a chance for you to outline what you are seeking from therapy and what you hope to gain from it. It its a time where you can ask questions and get more information about therapy.

Then, if you would like to work with me and to meet me in person, we will set up our first session together. In this session, I will take a more in-depth history and focus on the difficulties that you would like to work through.