Maria Dokanari Psychotherapy / Child, Adolescent & Adult Therapy
About Maria Dokanari Psychotherapy / Child, Adolescent & Adult Therapy
Welcome. I am an accredited Integrative Psychotherapist & Clinical Supervisor. I offer therapy to children, adolescents and adults. My work is relational and involves the therapeutic use of the Arts. I am based in Muswell Hill and in Manor Gardens, London.
Maria Dokanari Psychotherapy / Child, Adolescent & Adult Therapy Description
Welcome. I am Maria. I am a qualified Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor and I provide therapeutic support to children, adolescents and adults. My approach is Integrative. This means that I am trained in several psychotherapeutic approaches, which enables me to create a therapy based on each individual's needs. I am also trained in the Therapeutic use of the Arts.
My private practice is in Muswell Hill, N10. To book an initial consultation, you can contact me at mariadokanari@yahoo.com or on 07956699601. I can offer sessions in English or Greek language.
Psychotherapy:
I work on a one-to-one basis to help children or adults who experience emotional difficulties or go through a life crisis, as well as with both, parent and child in joint sessions, to help strengthen their relationship. I also offer support and consultancy to parents.
My work takes place in the context of an empathic therapeutic relationship. In a safe, caring and confidential space, I help children and adults work through psychological pain and trauma and improve their relationship with themselves and others, as well as cope with every day stressors and live more fulfilling lives. Part of the work can be using image, metaphor, play and the Arts (clay, paint, music, puppetry, poetry, drama, sandplay, dance and movement), that can encourage self-awareness, enable creativity and offer individuals a language to talk about their feelings in a safe and non-threatening way.
With children in particular, the Arts can be a powerful way of sensory or non-verbal communication, which, through a trusting relationship, can be an emotionally regulating and therapeutic experience.
I have experience in working with children, adolescents, adults and families with a range of difficulties around: trauma, bereavement, anxiety, social anxiety, negative body image, low self-esteem, depression, self-harming, aggression, withdrawal, ADHD, Autism, bullying, abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, divorce, illness, substance and alcohol abuse, fostering, difficulties in social skills and peer relationships, attachment and relational difficulties, gender and sexuality related difficulties.
Past experience:
Past experience includes working at CAMHS, NHS (National Health Service ÔÇô Schools and Triage), where I supported therapeutically high-risk clients who struggled with complex issues, and within education (nurseries, primary and secondary schools), where I provided therapy to students and supervision to school staff.
I have trained in child & adolescent psychotherapy, parent-child work, psychology, art psychotherapy, counselling, relational psychotherapy. I have also undergone official training and have qualified as an accredited clinical supervisor.
I work sensitively and support clients around difference, diversity and equality (e. g. LGBTQI, sex, gender, sexuality, race, culture, physical ability, neurodiversity).
Supervision:
I offer supervision, support and guidance to adult and child Counsellor and Psychotherapists, coaches, practitioners of helping professions and practitioners who work in health and education. I also offer reflective practice and consultancy to all professionals (non-clinical) who want to benefit from a supportive space in which they can reflect on their work and gain insight into their personal and professional development.
I offer one to one or group supervision.
I have regular clinical supervision and I abide by the code of Ethics of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE).
Initial consultation
To book an initial consultation, please contact me on the provided contact details. In the first meeting, we will explore your concerns (or your concerns regarding your child), I will answer any questions you may have and we will decide together if therapy is suitable for you (or your child). The initial consultation (and subsequent parent meetings) are charged at the standard session rate.
The duration of therapy depends on the individual circumstances and we regularly review the work together.
Sessions last 50 minutes and take place on a weekly basis, on the same day and at the same time.
All sessions are confidential.
Reviews
"WeÔÇÖre not meant to ÔÇťbounce backÔÇŁ after babies. Not physically, not emotionally, and definitely not spiritually. WeÔÇÖre meant to step forward into more awakened, more attuned, and more powerful versions of ourselves. Motherhood is a sacred, beautiful, honorable evolution, not the shameful shift into a lesser-than state of being that our society makes it seem."https://revolutionfromhome.com /ÔÇŽ/we-arent-meant-to-bounceÔÇŽ/ÔÇŽ
Such an honest article on Post Natal Depression.
It's not helpful to demonise our fears and anxieties, our anger, the not-so-comfortable feelings and thoughts we have. They are part of us and they are there for a good reason; if the reason is no longer present and we feel a bit stuck, our bodies and minds are telling us that they still need care, empathy and understanding. A punitive and judgemental attitude towards ourselves is definitely the most unhelpful thing we can do. How would it be, if today you approached your 'most frightening thing in the world' with curiosity and empathy, asked it what it needs and told yourself that it's OK to feel this way? čî║
Image credit: 'There is nothing wrong with you' Cheri Huber
A helpful attachment and trauma informed article for teachers to read https://www.tes.com/ÔÇŽ/article/how-attac hment-theory-helps-bÔÇŽ
Such a moving article about the Grenfell Tower tragedy. So many tears uncried... https://www.theguardian.com/ÔÇŽ/hidden-me ntal-health-legacy-gÔÇŽ
'It was dark outside. My four-year-old granddaughter was about to cross the sidewalk, when she noticed a swarm of black ants covering the area on which she was about to step. Alarmed at the sight of them, she was filled with anxiety, frozen in helplessness.
Deep attachment to a caring adult is the key to helping children feel safe and preventing the problems that stem from alarm. Children need to rest in secure relationships, in the context of home and in any framework in whi...ch they are cared for. Parents, teachers and caregivers together must be mindful of this most basic need.
Holding hands together - old and youngAs my granddaughter stood frozen before the ants, I came alongside her, took her by the hand and said, ÔÇťLetÔÇÖs count to three and then weÔÇÖll run and jump over the ants!ÔÇŁ ThatÔÇÖs what we did and we made it safely to the other side ÔÇô together. This story is a metaphor. When our children are facing alarm, we must hold on to them, keep them attached to us and help them safely to their destination. Then they can grow up and become independent.'
https://neufeldinstitute.org/understandin g-anxiety-in-youÔÇŽ/ÔÇŽ
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Please like and share to spread the word about the first support group in London for people with intersex variations x Support @InterWednesday , the UK's first ever intersex support group! NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY 3rd JULY 7-9pm 86 Caledonian Rd, Kings Cross, London N1 9DN @lgbtfriend... https://mobile.twitter.com/InterWednÔÇŽ/Ô ÇŽ/1137667354542989312ÔÇŽ
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Asking for help is the most courageous thing we can do. Encourage your children to ask for help, offer them help and model it for them by asking for help yourself and showing them that itÔÇÖs ok to need help. This way when they struggle, they will come to you and let you know, or if you are not around, they will ask someone they trust for help. Now it can be a scraped knee, later a broken heart or a mental health difficulty. Also, by encouraging and normalising asking for help, we show them how to be gentle to themselves and that they deserve support. That we all deserve support. That problems can be solved with help and that they donÔÇÖt need to resort to self-medication, bottling it up and later exploding, zoning-out or isolation. ItÔÇÖs OK to ask for help. Always.
Thank you for this Miranda Hart čî║
ÔÇťBereavement is the state you are in after the death of someone you care about. The level of loss is usually proportional to the importance of that person in your life. And if you have a complicated relationship, the feelings of loss will be equally complicated.
Mourning or grieving is the process of adjustment, facing the reality of the personÔÇÖs death. But there is a central paradox here: we must strive to find a way of living with something that we donÔÇÖt want to be true. Ou...r feelings of pain are what will, eventually, cause that change, so we have to experience the pain to make the adjustment.
Often itÔÇÖs what people do to avoid the pain that does them harm. Drinking, getting very busy, overworking ÔÇö in the short term these may make the individual feel better, but in the long term they donÔÇÖt, for psychological and physical reasons.
The grieving process is the movement from feeling sad to needing to have a break from that and get on with life. Blocking grief will make it last longer; studies have consistently shown that unresolved grief is to blame for the mental-health disorders of up to 15 per cent of people with psychological problems. And not dealing with feelings about a death reduces the capacity for joy ÔÇö when there is a new loss it intensifies what is already being felt, and over time that builds up.ÔÇŁ
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ÔÇŽ/how-to-cop e-with-grief-the-theÔÇŽ
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