Dr Claire Asherson Bartram Gestalt psychotherapist , NW5

I am an experienced Gestalt and Integrative psychotherapist, supervisor and group leader.  I have been working since 1991 when I qualified with a diploma in Gestalt Therapy. I have considerable experience in the field with many areas including personal development, life change, loneliness, relationship and family difficulties, stepfamilies, grief, depression,stress, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, living more easily with past events and finding solutions to difficult situations in the present.

In addition to my private practice in North London I teach counselling skills at the Minster Centre and supervise MA and doctoral dissertations. I also offer workshops and groups on Gestalt, family relationships and creative awareness.

My approach is relational and creative. I make the assumption that we are each experts on ourselves and given the right environment are able to make use of our expertise. I invite people to pay attention to their emotional feelings and body sensations, to become aware of their strengths, limitations and personal resources. Sometimes I suggest exploration aimed at heightening awareness.

In 2009 I completed my doctorate (with Metanoia and Middlesex University), titled 'Narratives of Mothers in Stepfamily Situations'. Contemporary families come in many forms, including traditional nuclear, stepfamilies, single parent families, same sex families and those without children whether by choice or otherwise. Each have specific challenges arising from the intertwinitng of biological, social and psychological factors.