My name is Philippa Whiting and I am a registered member of the UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy) and the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy).

 

I have been working as a psychotherapist since 2015, and I love my job. I feel privileged to build relationships with my clients and be trusted with their most vulnerable experiences. Like many therapists, it is not my first career. Prior to training as a therapist, I worked for the NHS in mental health services for over a decade. I enjoyed working with patients and being part of their recovery, but I wanted to create a better work/life balance for myself, find a job with less meaningless paperwork, more time dedicated to clients and give up shift work. After spending some time with my psychologist colleagues, I realised that 1:1 psychological work was a better fit for me and decided to train as a therapist. 

 

I like that therapy is a collaborative process with the client maintaining their autonomy and being in the driving seat of the work. Although as a therapist I am a trained professional, I also value being able to bring my authentic self into the therapy room - warmth and humour belong there too, you won't get a 'blank slate' approach with me!

 

In particular, I find working with clients on their body image and relationship with food particularly rewarding. We all interact with food every day, multiples times a day and our experiences with food impacts us all. Developing a peaceful relationship with food and our body can trickle down to other areas of our lives, such as self esteem and relationships with others, so improving our experiences with food and our body can improve our wider mental health.