6 Best Psychotherapists and Counsellors in London for Individuals, Couples and Leaders
London offers an enormous range of counselling and psychotherapy services. That choice can be helpful, but it can also make finding the right therapist feel overwhelming.
Some people need support with grief, anxiety or a major life transition. Others are looking for help with relationships, cultural identity, addiction, burnout or the emotional pressure that can accompany senior leadership.
The best therapist is not necessarily the person with the most recognisable name. It is someone whose experience, therapeutic approach and way of working fit what you are currently facing.
This guide introduces six psychotherapists and counsellors connected to London. Every person included has an individual website where you can learn more about their background, specialisms and current availability.
This is an editorial selection rather than a strict clinical ranking. Before beginning therapy, it is sensible to review a practitioner’s qualifications, professional registration, supervision arrangements, approach, fees and availability. This is especially important because “psychotherapist” and “counsellor” are not currently statutorily protected titles in the UK.
1 - Nick Jonsson
Best suited to: Senior leaders, executives, entrepreneurs and high performers dealing with burnout, loneliness, addiction, recovery or a loss of purpose.
Nick Jonsson works with people who may appear successful and capable from the outside while feeling overwhelmed, isolated or emotionally exhausted in private.
His perspective is shaped by more than two decades in senior leadership roles, together with his own experience of burnout, addiction and long-term recovery. This gives his work particular relevance for executives and professionals who find it difficult to separate their emotional wellbeing from the demands of leadership.
Nick practises as a supervised counsellor and psychotherapist while completing his postgraduate psychotherapy and counselling qualification. He is also an ICF Professional Certified Coach, Certified Master Coach, trained sober coach and the bestselling author of Executive Loneliness.
His work draws from approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, positive psychology, humanistic and existential ideas, and principles informed by recovery communities.
Areas of focus include:
Executive loneliness and isolation
Burnout and chronic stress
Anxiety and depression
Alcohol-related concerns and relapse prevention
Perfectionism, shame and high-performance pressure
Relationship and family strain
Major life or identity transitions
Purpose, meaning and emotional resilience
Nick is not based in London, but he works online with adults internationally, including London-based clients. Sessions are primarily available in English, with Swedish offered by arrangement.
You can learn more about Nick’s counselling and psychotherapy program here.
2 - Dr. Reenee Singh
Best suited to: Couples, families and individuals navigating cultural differences, migration, identity, belonging or relationship transitions.
Dr Reenee Singh is a UKCP-registered consultant family and couples systemic psychotherapist with more than 30 years of clinical experience.
She trained and worked for many years at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust before moving into independent practice. She is also the Founding Director of the London Intercultural Couples Centre.
Her work is especially relevant in a diverse city such as London, where couples and families may be navigating different cultural, racial, religious or national backgrounds.
Relationship difficulties do not always come from a lack of love or commitment. They can emerge from different understandings of family, gender roles, communication, loyalty, parenting, independence and belonging.
Rather than treating one person as the problem, systemic psychotherapy looks at relationships, patterns and the wider environments in which difficulties develop.
Dr Singh works with:
Couples
Families
Individuals
Intercultural and interfaith relationships
Migrant and internationally mobile families
Difficulties involving race, culture and belonging
Family transitions and relationship change
Alongside her clinical work, she has served as Editor of the Journal of Family Therapy and CEO of the Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. She has also published extensively on intercultural couples, race, culture and systemic psychotherapy.
You can learn more about Dr. Reenee and her psychotherapy services on her website.
3 - Julia Samuel MBE
Best suited to: People experiencing grief, loss, family disruption, major change or difficult emotional transitions.
Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist whose work has been closely associated with grief, bereavement, family relationships and the changes that reshape a person’s life.
Loss does not only refer to death. It can also include divorce, illness, ageing, infertility, redundancy, the end of an important relationship, children leaving home or the loss of an identity that once provided stability.
Julia’s work explores how people can process pain rather than suppress it, while gradually rebuilding emotional strength and a meaningful connection with life.
She previously worked as a bereavement counsellor in the paediatric department at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington and helped establish Child Bereavement UK. Her personal website states that loss has remained central to her work across more than three decades as a psychotherapist.
Her areas of relevance include:
Bereavement and complicated grief
Family relationships
Life-changing illness
Trauma and unresolved loss
Difficult transitions
Anxiety connected to change
Intergenerational family patterns
Rebuilding after personal disruption
Julia is also the author of books including Grief Works, This Too Shall Pass and Every Family Has a Story. Her website provides therapeutic resources and directs visitors to information about her current practice and support options.
You can learn more about Julia and her psychotherapy services on her website.
4 - Carol Leader
Best suited to: People seeking reflective, long-term or depth-oriented psychotherapy rather than a highly structured short-term programme.
Carol Leader is a Jungian psychoanalyst and senior psychoanalytic psychotherapist based in Ealing, West London.
She has provided psychotherapy consultations, short-term psychotherapy and longer-term intensive analytic work from her private consulting rooms for approximately 25 years.
Jungian and psychoanalytic work can be particularly valuable for people who recognise recurring emotional or relationship patterns but do not yet fully understand where those patterns come from.
Rather than concentrating only on removing immediate symptoms, this kind of therapy may explore:
Early relationships and family experiences
Repeated patterns in adult relationships
Dreams, imagination and creativity
Identity and inner conflict
Fear of change
Unconscious beliefs
Emotional blocks
The psychological impact of major transitions
Carol is a training and supervising Jungian psychoanalyst and a senior psychoanalytic psychotherapist with the British Psychotherapy Foundation. She is also connected with professional bodies including the British Psychoanalytic Council and the International Association for Analytical Psychology.
Her earlier career as an actor, writer and broadcaster also informs her interest in creativity, communication and the psychological lives of people working in the arts and public-facing professions.
You can learn more about Carol and her psychotherapy services on her website.
5 - Lucy Beresford
Best suited to: Adults dealing with relationships, confidence, identity, personal change or the emotional impact of demanding professional lives.
Lucy Beresford is a UKCP-registered integrative psychotherapist, writer and broadcaster who has worked privately in London.
An integrative therapist does not rely exclusively on one school of psychotherapy. Instead, different ideas and methods can be combined according to the person, their history and what they need from the therapeutic process.
Lucy’s earlier professional experience in finance may also make her perspective relevant to executives and professionals who work in high-pressure environments and want a therapist who understands the language and emotional realities of business.
Her work is associated with areas including:
Relationships and intimacy
Self-esteem and confidence
Personal identity
Work-related pressure
Life transitions
Emotional disconnection
Communication difficulties
Executive and professional wellbeing
She holds an MA in psychotherapy and an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy, and has worked both privately and in established mental-health settings. She is also known for translating psychological ideas into accessible conversations through books, broadcasting and media work.
How to Choose the Right Therapist in London
A strong reputation can be reassuring, but therapy is also a deeply personal relationship.
Before committing to ongoing sessions, consider asking:
Does this practitioner regularly work with the issue I am facing?
What qualifications and professional registrations do they hold?
Is their approach structured, exploratory, practical or open-ended?
Do they offer in-person, online or hybrid sessions?
Are they currently accepting new clients?
How frequently do they recommend meeting?
What are their fees and cancellation terms?
Do I feel safe enough to speak honestly with them?
An introductory call or first session can help you assess whether the relationship feels respectful, professional and suitable.
You do not need to feel instantly comfortable discussing everything. However, you should feel that the therapist listens carefully, maintains clear boundaries and can explain how they work.
You can learn more about Lucy and her psychotherapy services on her website.
6 - Anouchka Grose
Best suited to: People who want to explore deeper emotional patterns, relationships, identity, sexuality, anxiety or thoughts that are difficult to discuss elsewhere.
Anouchka Grose is a London psychoanalyst and writer whose work is grounded in the idea that people need space to speak without being immediately instructed, corrected or given a standard solution.
Her approach considers how unconscious thoughts, memories, fantasies, family experiences and relationship patterns may influence present-day behaviour.
Psychoanalysis may appeal to someone who does not simply want techniques for managing a symptom, but wants to understand why the same struggles continue to return.
Her work may be relevant for people experiencing:
Recurring relationship patterns
Anxiety and emotional conflict
Questions about gender or sexuality
Difficult family experiences
Unhappiness without an obvious explanation
Shame or thoughts that feel difficult to disclose
Creative blocks
A desire for greater self-understanding
Anouchka explains that psychoanalysis is generally open-ended and can involve sessions from once to several times per week, depending on the person and the work involved. She accepts enquiries for initial consultations through her personal website.
You can learn more about Anouchka and her psychotherapy services on her website.
Finding Support That Fits the Person, Not Only the Problem
London’s psychotherapists and counsellors cover a wide range of approaches.
Someone experiencing grief may need something different from a couple navigating cultural differences. A senior executive carrying hidden burnout may need a different kind of support from someone seeking long-term psychoanalysis.
The purpose of therapy is not to select the most famous practitioner. It is to find a qualified person whose experience, approach and presence give you enough safety to begin doing honest work.
Interested in Working With Nick Jonsson?
Nick Jonsson provides confidential online counselling, psychotherapy-informed support, coaching and recovery support for leaders, executives and adults experiencing burnout, loneliness, addiction, anxiety or major life change.
His approach combines therapeutic training, professional coaching experience and a personal understanding of what it means to rebuild life after burnout and addiction.
Learn more about Nick Jonsson’s counselling and psychotherapy support.