Safe to feel Therapy
A safe space to talk, feel heard, and heal.
Supporting you with anxiety, low mood, self-esteem, emotions, to help you build a sense of self-worth and connection, and improve the relationship with yourself and the world.
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
About
Welcome to this space. I am an Integrative therapist and member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
I specialise in supporting adults (18+) who are experiencing challenges related to anxiety, relationships, emotions, self-esteem, mood, sense of connection and belonging.
I understand that taking the step to approach a therapist can be difficult. The prospect of starting therapy in itself, can bring up lots of feelings.
Perhaps you want something to change in your life, and now you feel ready to try. I realise we are all different and I want to reassure you that I am committed to meet you where you are. I will work with you to build a relationship based on trust, empathy, honesty, and openness, and I will create a safe and confidential space to allow you to be true to yourself.
Qualifications and titlesMBACP Integrative therapist
Therapeutic Counselling Level 4
Counselling Studies Level 3
Counselling Skills Level 2
Speech and Language Therapy Degree
Background and experienceFeelings matter counselling Service - Integrative Therapist - 3 yearsWellbeing and Recovery College, NHS Trust - Student Support Officer and Trainer - 3 yearsBody and Soul charity - You are not alone programme - Volunteer outreach - 2 years
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
Therapy
Many can be the feelings and thoughts that bring you here: perhaps you are struggling but can't quite make sense of it. Perhaps you feel stuck and unable to move forward in life. Maybe you feel resentment, shame, or feel anxious in social situations. Sometimes these thoughts and feelings can be overwhelming and can cause us to resort to coping mechanisms that don't always help.
Whatever may be causing distress or lack of fulfilment in your life, I can support you in finding clarity and developing the understanding and the tools to improve your relationship with yourself and the world. I'm here to listen to you, and help you understand your story. My integrative approach involves using flexibility to help me understand where you are in your journey, and adapt the work and focus depending on your needs at the time. I will work with you in a way which is relational: we may look at your present and past experiences, we will work together and, as you lead in the direction you want to go, I will come along with you, bringing a genuine commitment to support you in your journey to you.
Therapy Services
Initial consultation
During this 50 minutes initial consultation, we will have the chance to meet and discuss some aspects of what brings you to therapy and what your expectations are. I will tell you more about me and my approach, and about the practical aspects involved in starting therapy. This is a way for you to get a sense of the next steps and gather a little more info to help you decide whether you would like to book a follow up session.
Online individual therapyOnline Therapy sessions happen via secure videolink. All you need is a private and quiet space, and a reliable internet connection. Online therapy is particularly useful for those who have limited time and are not able to commute to a physical venue. Each session is 50 minutes in duration.
In person individual therapyFace to face therapy sessions take place in a lovely and comfortable private therapy space. This is located a 5 minutes walk from the Hackney Central Station on the Mildmay line. There is a comfortable waiting area where you can help yourself to tea or coffee. Each session is 50 minutes in duration.
Prices
Initial Consultation: £50
Online sessions: £60/session
Face to Face sessions: £70/sessionI offer limited spaces at a discounted rate based on income and employment status. Please email me for details.
The following information applies to those seeking urgent help in the UK
PLEASE NOTE:
Safe to Feel therapy is not an emergency service.
A mental health emergency or crisis, is as serious as a physical health emergency.
If you feel you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe, or if someone's life is at risk, call 999 or go to A&E.
In other cases:
Call 111 or use 111 Online and select 'mental health' option: 111 will tell you the right place to get help.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment: A GP can advise you about helpful treatments and also help you access mental health services.
Free listening services
Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: [email protected] for a reply within 24 hours
Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19
If you're under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill.
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
Contact
Please send a message below to get in touch
PLEASE NOTE: due to mail filtering (especially Outlook/Hotmail), responses to enquiries coming from this account could be diverted to your spam/junk folder.Please check your spam if awaiting for a reply.
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
Thank you
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
Blogs
The impact of our early experiencesSome of us have had a difficult start in life.
These early experiences can have a lasting impact on how we think of ourselves, how safe we feel in the world, and how we approach our relationships.
Much of this, lives in our unconscious, and we carry it with us in a way that we don’t always fully comprehend.
For many of us, it is only later in life that we begin to realise the many ripples of our beginning.
We might start to recognise that we have been struggling with the same feelings or with scenarios that appear to repeat themselves. As we begin to acknowledge these thoughts, we may begin to open up to a new perspective.This can often feel like a daunting process as our learned, internalised models of relating to ourselves and the world kick in, to protect us from what feels like an unfamiliar and dangerous territory, “change”.
Our unconscious tells us that our defences kept us safe so far… after all, while we may be in pain, if we dropped our protection, something even worse could happen. Because of this, we carry on, while our inner self is in deep conflict. The truth is that while these defences kept us safe once, they may in fact be the thing which is stifling our growth and sense of fulfilment today.
There is way through this however, while our thoughts and feelings may be unpleasant they teach us about us. We can get to know ourselves, we can discover our resources, become our own friends, nurture compassion, and begin to heal.
And I think that is where therapy comes in. It can help to understand and experience ourselves in a new way and re-write our own story.
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.
Two things can be trueI find this simple statement to be a very meaningful and helpful one. The initial posit of Dialectic behavioural therapy (DBT), is the belief that two apparently opposing ideas can be true. This thinking derives from Dialectics, the ancient art, within Greek philosophy, of seeking the truth by arguing a point and its opposite, until a truth is reached that allows for both theories, recognising their validity and plausibility.
In DBT, this truth is that acceptance and change can both live within ourselves. It is because we accept ourselves and our experience that we can change.
Learning acceptance implies the recognition that our own experiences, thoughts and feelings, are valid. When we are unable to accept our feelings, we are essentially fighting against them and against, our thoughts, and circumstances, instead of trying to understand them.
By accepting our experience instead, we are finally able to get closer to ourselves and feel the uncomfortable feelings, and begin to go past the judgement. Accepting how we feel, may help us find a place of self-compassion and begin to break free from a cycle of guilt, blame, and shame, which reinforces a negative concept of self. Moving away from a feeling of being 'broken', we may stop thinking we must strive for perfection to make up for what we perceived as unacceptable flaws, and we may begin to open up to the possibility of actualising change from a place of self-compassion and ownership. As we do this, we are, in fact, already changing.
© Rita Mazzucchelli. All rights reserved.