Why did you become a therapist? 

After working in the charity sector for many years, I found myself unfulfilled and frustrated by the distance between me and the charities we were helping. I began volunteering on a helpline for women experiencing domestic violence and found the work so much more fulfilling and purposeful. I knew I needed to change careers, so did my research before embarking on a Master's degree in Psychotherapy. After years of not quite knowing where I fit, or how best to use my time, I really felt at home in the field of Psychotherapy - I found a way to combine my intellectual curiosity with my empathic nature and passion for supporting others.

What can a new client expect when they first contact you? 

I appreciate how daunting it can be to reach out when you're feeling low, vulnerable or overwhelmed. I handle most of our enquiries myself - ensuring you're greeted with warmth, compassion and professional understanding. As a specialist psychotherapist, I'll ask a couple of questions about the aspects of your/your child's life you're struggling with, and any goals you might have, then make a recommendation of how to proceed. It might be that I work with you/your child myself, or that I pair you with a specialist from the broader Vitus Wellbeing team. I've collated a team with a broad range of specialisms to ensure we can match each person to the right therapist for them. Once I've made a suggestion, it's completely up to you if you choose to go ahead and book an initial session or not - there's never any obligation or pressure to continue - therapy should always be a choice and we're here for those who choose us. 

What range of issues can you help people with?

Because of the breadth of expertise across the team, we're well-equipped to help with a range of issues - both in adults and in children. 

In adults, we commonly help those struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, burn-out, feeling lost, relationship difficulties, bereavement, abuse, trauma, low self-esteem, fertility struggles, life changes or perfectionism. 

In children, we often see those struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, self-harm, developmental disorders, behavioural problems, communication difficulties, neurodiverse diagnoses, family separations, exam stress or ill-health. 

We also work with couples, providing vital support for their relationships, and with whole families - teaching healthier ways to communicate, bond and accept one another's strengths and weaknesses. This isn't an exhaustive list though, so please do reach out if you're unsure if we can help - there's no harm in asking. 

Can you give us an example of how you’ve helped a whole family?  

Of course! It's always so fulfilling to help a whole family. For meaningful change to occur - especially in a child's life - it's of enormous benefit for the whole family to get involved, although I know it isn't always possible.

For example, a Mum recently asked us for help with her 11-year-old daughter - she was struggling with mood swings following some disruption at home. The parents had recently separated and the daughter was showing a lot of anger about the change. We initially paired her daughter with Sharon, one of our specialist child therapists. Sharon and the daughter bonded quite quickly and worked together to better understand the situation at home. Some weeks they'd talk, other weeks they'd play games or draw pictures while discussing what was happening at home. With the daughter's permission, Sharon invited the parents to occasional therapy sessions - providing the family with a safe space to openly discuss any recent fallings out they'd had. Sharon also introduced the parents to Kim, our parent support coach. With Kim's support, the parents were able to learn new parenting techniques and strategies that helped whenever their daughter felt overwhelmed or triggered. They also learnt how to better communicate with one another about the separation and how to understand, interpret and respond to angry behaviours when their daughter acted out.

The family initially reached out to us in January and were communicating more openly, feeling calmer and getting along better within three months. While we could have worked well with the daughter on her own, the results were amplified because both parents were willing to meet with Sharon and Kim, too.

What are the latest developments at Vitus Wellbeing?

As we've grown over the years, our team has expanded to meet the needs of our clients. We're proud to have specialist psychotherapists for our neurodiverse clients - our sought-after practitioners support children and adults with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia (whether suspected or diagnosed). 

We've always had a great reputation for our excellent work with children in South-West London - it's notoriously hard to find therapists you can trust for under 18s - so we've expanded our team of expert child psychotherapists, too, so you know your child is in safe hands.

Just this year, we've begun partnering with small to medium sized businesses and start-ups, as well. We can now match their employees to a therapist from our team, ensuring the right support is available whenever an employee is overwhelmed or finds their mental health is affected at work. Our corporate packages have already reduced sick days and improved staff performance and satisfaction within the companies we've supported. 

Tell us more about your corporate packages.

Sure! We all know that bigger companies can afford wonderful employee wellbeing packages for their staff, but that just isn't the case for many small to medium-sized businesses, and many start-ups. While I've been happy to provide ad-hoc support for them over the years - whether through the odd phone call with a company founder, director or HR lead or offering one-to-one therapy for individual members of staff - we're now pleased to formalise that offering and extend it to more businesses. 

Our corporate packages are tailored to the needs of each company. We can still offer one-to-one therapy to individual members of staff who are struggling (and we have increased capacity to do so, either online or in our Fulham therapy rooms), but we can also offer specialist mental health training to teams or whole companies, too. If you run a business and would like to discuss any difficulties you or your team may be facing, I'd be more than happy to have a chat. We can work on an ad-hoc basis or agree to offer a set number of therapy sessions/training events, which you can allocate across your business as required. The beauty of being a small business ourselves is that we understand the pressures other small businesses are facing, and we can adapt our packages so you're not paying for services you don't need. If anyone would like to know more, drop me a message - I'll help as much as I can.

What’s your connection to Thomas’s?

It's been a pleasure to help a number of Thomas's families to improve their mental health. With our Fulham location and excellent transport links, we're well-placed to support children, adults and families alike from the Thomas's schools and neighbouring areas. 

Through our specialist private therapy sessions, we've proudly helped students to overcome anxiety, stress or low moods, as they become more confident and resilient towards the challenges that lie ahead. We've also supported parents with difficult life events or past traumas through one-to-one therapy and provided parenting coaching when new challenges have arisen at home. We're excited to continue our partnership with The Directory and to support more Thomas's families this year!

April 2024

Directory Offer: Free 20 minute phone call with our Founder plus 20% off your first session.

For more information visit: www.vituswellbeing.com

Contact:

Carly Webb

E: info@vituswellbeing.com

T: 020 8090 9517