Jan O’Mahony

I can help with...

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Low self-esteem
• Relationship difficulties
• Traumatic childhood

Types of clients I see

• Individuals

Languages I speak

• English

Location(s)

• Room 302 at 180–186 King's Cross Rd, Kings Cross, WC1X 9DE
• Online

Types of therapy I offer

• Existential
• Psychodynamic

My approach 

I am a MBACP-registered counsellor and have been in private practice for over 18 years. I work with individuals, from teenagers to the elderly and all of those in between, on a short-term basis of 10 to 12 sessions or on an open-ended basis long term.

Talking with friends and family is invaluable, but sometimes it might feel too risky to expose them to your darker thoughts and feelings. This is when having your own private space to express and explore what you are experiencing may become attractive to you.

I work in a collaborative way with every person I meet. Together we explore what it is you are experiencing – eg how you feel, what you think, what you think others’ expectations of you are, what your taken-for-granted attitudes are, how your values may be challenged – so you can see yourself more clearly.

I will not label you or categorise you. Therapy is a process of discovery, which most of us would never embark on if it were not for the problems we suddenly encounter, yet it is an enriching process.

My approach is a mixture of psychodynamic and existential. Psychodynamic counselling stresses the significance of our early childhood experience in shaping our patterns of relating and our sense of self. It highlights how these patterns are still active in our adult relationships even though we are unaware of them and they may no longer reflect our adult status.

By becoming more aware of these patterns and how they influence the way in which you interpret the world and your place in it, you can make adjustments to this world view which will serve you better.

From existential therapy I agree that there are certain fundamental aspects of human existence which challenge us and can make us anxious: we must create meaning in our lives; our lives are finite; we are ultimately alone; and we are thrown into a world not of our making. To encounter any of these may be scary and challenging but are not pathological and can, indeed, highlight our freedom to pursue a life of meaning and significance in our own terms.

Training, qualifications and experience

I trained at Westminster Pastoral Foundation and gained a Certificate in Counselling Skills, then went on to the University of East London and gained a postgraduate Diploma in Counselling.

I worked in Bath in Somerset and set up a counselling centre of 8 therapists, including myself. We took referrals from local GPs and EAP as well as through our website. We also organised weekend workshops and conferences for counsellors and psychotherapists with speakers from around the world. I still work in Bath one day a week.

I also provided the counselling service to GP practices in Bath and Bristol and have worked as a therapist at Nightingale Hospital, a private hospital in Marylebone.

I have been an examiner for a counselling training course in Pakistan.

Before training as a counsellor I was a lecturer in further education in Tower Hamlets and Hackney as well as working on curriculum design in secondary schools in Bow. In Wiltshire I worked at Wiltshire College training care workers and providing courses on introduction to counselling and assertiveness training.

Professional affiliations

• I am registered with BACP
• I also belong to the Society for Existential Analysis
• I am DBS checked

Code of ethics

• I abide by the BACP code of ethics

Fees

• £60 for a 50-minute session