Maria Papaioakim Smeaton

I help adults who need support to cope with wellbeing and mental health difficulties. They may be conditions you've suffered from for a while, like depression, anxiety. They may stem from transitions or changes in life, such as a redundancy, a new baby, a divorce, single parenting, the loss of a loved or not-so-loved one, burnout, or from issues that impact us all, such as the pandemic, global conflicts, social injustice, cultural dislocation. I can help you make sense of problems related to an immediate crisis, a traumatic experience from the present or the past; if you've been in distress for what feels like forever or have been struggling with finding meaning or purpose beyond achievement or a sense of belonging. You may have a sense of being a bit behind in life, because you compare yourself to others, or an overwhelming sense of resentment, worrying, stuckness, low mood, regret, shame and need to explore and help alleviate it. I can help if you wish to understand a family estrangement or losing a friend, to explore how you relate to others or why you struggle with intimacy; why other people's lives always feel better; if you need to feel better about yourself, deal with self-blame, perfectionism or lack of assertiveness, self-esteem issues, boundaries, anger management, envy or if you are just a bit more sensitive to what others think of you. You may need help dealing with long-term health problems or a sudden diagnosis. You may need the space to explore overwhelming anxiety about your health. I can support you with habits you may have been trying to break for a while, like drinking, recreational drug use, bingeing. Also habits, which may have become a problem suddenly, like gambling or spending excessive time and/or money on particular interactive platforms while seeking connection. I have worked extensively in the field of addictions, with men and women affected by alcohol, drugs, gambling and with their families. I can contribute in making a realistic change. This is a chance for you to slow down, in a respectful, confidential and non-judgmental setting. The aim is to reflect on your situation safely with someone who is open and curious to help you explore and to recognize that you have options; to gain insight in the possible reasons (or lack of) behind actions, thoughts, emotions; to get help in order to find your own way of managing differently. I offer mindfulness, psycho-education, symptom relief and practical strategies, where appropriate. I will first need some information by email, phone or video, in order to gain understanding of your particular difficulty and assess whether I can help. This initial communication is free of charge and is likely to be between 10 and 20 minutes long. The first planned consultation session is about gaining an understanding of your particular difficulty and assessing whether I can help. Also an opportunity for you to decide whether you feel comfortable with me and for us to discuss your concerns, decide whether we can work together and how. I offer short-term and open-ended therapy with regular reviews, giving clients the chance to ask questions, articulate how they feel things are going, so we can both plan how to proceed together, look at the things that bring us together and our differences. The end of therapy is negotiated and agreed mutually, based on what was initially contracted and where we managed to get in our work together. If you are not interested in ongoing therapy, if you are perhaps looking for a one-off appointment to work through something specific or to hear yourself think or just to pause and reflect, please get in touch and we can find immediate availability together. I am an evidence-based relational practitioner and draw from humanistic theory, object relations, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioural theory, attachment theory, neurobiology, trauma theory, anti-oppressive practice theory. These are some of my clients' comments offered at the end of our work together, published with their permission: 'Maria's professional approach was always balanced by her warm and encouraging demeanor, which created a safe space where I could explore my thoughts and emotions openly. I will forever be grateful for her guidance and the profound impact she’s had on my life.' 'So much more helpful and beneficial than I ever expected' "I was able to get myself from a dark place mentally to feeling back to my regular self with a strategy in place to stop myself sliding back into bad patterns and habits. ' 'I felt I explored my childhood difficulties in a more productive way than ever before; validating and understanding my pain but also learning that it didn't necessarily need validating by an outside source to be justified. I finish our sessions feeling much more at ease with who I am and much more in tune with my feelings. Can't thank you enough' 'I feel that Maria is a very intelligent and empathetic professional who can spot things you may never realise and help you in ways others can't. Very insightful and inspiring, the entire experience works around you as an individual. It has had a life-changing impact on me. I learn the way of life, how to love, be myself, why we need other people and how to be happy again. The things I learned from Maria would go a long way to apply to everyday life onwards. I feel that I have grown up as an individual.' ''The sessions made me look at things differently. Maria challenged my preconceptions. Seeing her every week made me feel calmer and more able to deal with the everyday challenges of life.'