Gestalt Psychotherapy in Bristol & Online

Hello and welcome.

Are you feeling low, stuck or overwhelmed and looking for support? Perhaps you have managed okay until now in your life, or maybe you have been struggling alone with difficult feelings for a long time.  Psychotherapy can help you to understand yourself better and experiment with different ways of relating to yourself and your world.

I’ve been in practice since 2017 and fully qualified as a UKCP accredited psychotherapist in July 2022. People often come to me for therapy struggling with

  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Lack of confidence & self-esteem
  • Depression, feeling low & hopeless
  • Feeling unsure who you are or what you want
  • Loneliness & difficulties reaching out to others
  • Unsatisfying or abusive relationships
  • Problems coping with loss and grief

Often these difficulties have roots in early relationships and traumatic experiences, and so making changes requires patience and time within a trusting relationship. In therapy, at your own pace, we’ll your explore your life situation together and make sense of it.

My approach is Gestalt, which means I’m especially interested in your here-and-now experience as you share with me. I’ll often focus on what’s happening for you physically as well as your thoughts and feelings.   We’ll explore ways to help you get more in contact with your embodied feelings as so often depression and anxiety are a result of a long history of suppressing emotions. Gestalt therapy often involves spontaneous experiments encouraging your awareness and emotional expression, to help you explore different parts of yourself.

I believe the most important part of therapy is the relationship, and it is through sharing yourself with someone you feel safe with that difficult feelings become more manageable and new choices become available. 

The first step is to meet me for an initial assessment to see if we might be a good fit.

I practice in Queen Square and Stokes Croft Practice Rooms Bristol Tuesdays and Wednesdays, & online.

Therapy rooms to rent in Stokes Croft, Bristol | The Practice Rooms

I’m a full clinical member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and adhere to its code of ethics, My membership number is 2011171978.

Contact and Practicalities

If you are interested in working with me, please email me at lauralouisemartin84@gmail.com.

We may then have a short phone call if you want to ask any questions before we set up an assessment session to see if we might be a good fit.

Sessions are weekly for 50 minutes, at the same time each week.

My fee is £67.

Psychotherapy tends to be long-term (12 months +), though sometimes short term work may be more appropriate for you. I work with an open-ended contact so we can decide what is right for you as we go along.

Background and experience

After working in education and social care in a range of roles in the UK and abroad, I trained for six years as an Individual and Group Psychotherapist with the Gestalt Centre, London. In May 2019 I set up my private practice. I also work with university students.

While training, I volunteered for three years at Camden and Islington Bereavement Service, supporting people following often traumatic losses, such as a sudden death and suicide.

In November 2023 I completed a 14 month training in Systemic Family Constellations, with Barbara Morgan, and am currently an apprentice on her 2024/25 training.

Qualifications

Advanced post graduate Diploma in Individual and Group Gestalt Psychotherapy (UKCP accredited) – The Gestalt Centre, London 2022

MA in Gestalt Therapy Theory Studies – The Gestalt Centre, London and London Metropolitan University, 2018

Post-graduate Diploma in Gestalt Therapy – The Gestalt Centre, London and London Metropolitan University, 2017

Post-graduate Certificate in Gestalt Therapy – The Gestalt Centre, London and London Metropolitan University, 2015

Advanced Diploma in Professional Development – The Gestalt Centre, London and London Metropolitan University, 2013