Berenice is a wonderful therapist who is genuine in her compassion, and a total professional who can help you move through feelings with a depth of knowledge on her technical practice whilst handling emotions carefully.
The Awareness Centre
The Awareness Centre (TAC) is one of London’s leading providers of in-person counselling, psychotherapy, and psychosexual and relationship therapy. Our services are BACP accredited. We also offer online appointments. We offer a warm and welcoming environment for clients seeking support for their mental health. With over 300 therapists specialising in a wide range of issues in more than 20 languages, we provide confidential therapy services tailored to adults, adolescents, and children. Whether you are looking for individual counselling or family or couples therapy, we’re here to help you find the right therapist for you – you do not need a GP referral. Call our team on 020 8673 4545 or book an appointment online.
Our Training School offers a complete professional journey from Foundation level through to our BACP Accredited Diploma in Counselling, equivalent to Levels 3–5. Our Diploma includes an in-house counselling placement, where you’ll gain meaningful experience working with real clients in a safe, supervised environment. You’ll build your skills, deepen your confidence, and graduate ready to practise. We also offer Clinical Supervision Training, empowering qualified counsellors and therapists to expand their expertise and enhance their practice. Call us on 020 3051 8235 or email [email protected].
Our Therapy Services
Therapists practicing in our private therapy service are qualified and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists and are registered or accredited. They work in person and online and are specialists in working with many issues.
We also have a team of therapists coming to the end of their training and working towards full qualification and registration who offer low-cost therapy from our Clapham & Tooting centres.
You do not need a GP referral to see a private therapist, unless you are using your private healthcare insurance. We work with adults, children, and adolescents and we have no waiting list for our services. Book an appointment online or call our reception team today on 020 8673 4545 to be referred to see a therapist at a time that works for you.
Our qualified private counsellors and psychotherapists are all either registered or accredited with one or more of the following professional bodies.
I’m so grateful to have found Laura. She has such a warm, human approach that makes it easy to open up and work through challenges. Feeling heard and supported is really important to me, and she creates a space where I feel completely safe and understood. Her guidance has already made such a difference in my life, and I’m excited to continue this journey with her. I truly appreciate her care and expertise and would recommend her to anyone looking for a compassionate and effective therapist.
Sunah has been my therapist for 3-4 months now. I had a great experience working on myself with her. She is very caring and approachable making it easy for me to trust her and share a lot of personal information as i never felt judged. I look forward to every session with her and time flies by during the session. Above all she has helped me stand up for myself and feel more secure in my thoughts and decisions which is something I have struggled with and am still working on. Anyone would be blessed to have her as a therapist and she means a lot to me.
I started my therapy sessions with Jackie in June 2023 after going through a toxic breakup. Initially, I went to therapy to help me heal from my breakup, but I found that the more I was attending sessions, the more I realised I had a lot of emotional turmoil and unhealed generational trauma I needed to work on.
Jackie was patient with me, she listened and helped me compartmentalise what was happening and helped me look at it in a different lens. Since stopping therapy with Jackie, I react better to my triggers, I’ve gained a new sense of confidence and I know what is important to me and what I should focus on. Thank you for everything, Jackie.
Working with Shirley was truly transformational. From the very first session, she was warm, kind and welcoming. I always felt supported and genuinely cared for throughout my journey, and it made such a difference knowing I was in safe, compassionate hands. Her sincerity and empathy helped foster a strong therapeutic relationship where I felt comfortable enough to open up and work through difficult issues from my childhood. I genuinely looked forward to our sessions, and I’m so grateful for the progress I made with her support. I can’t thank her enough and would highly recommend her to anyone considering EMDR!
I started to visit Riana on a weekly basis at a very low point – and when I had run out of tools to help myself independently. Almost two year later, and Riana has helped me navigate some massive changes in my life, such as a new job, mending rifts with family and friends, and embarking on a new relationship – each change coming with its own unique challenges, and learning a lot about myself in the process. Riana met my issues with patience and wisdom and allowed me to find inner strength by being a source of stability for me when I felt life was turned upside down. I thoroughly recommend Riana and The Awareness Centre – thank you!
I attended Shirley, to treat me for PTSD, which I had for 2 years. It had gotten to crisis point. The guidance and help I received from Shirley was exceptional. Shirley introduced me to EMDR, which worked incredibly well for me. She guided me through each step and checked in with me at all times. I was amazed at how quickly I came to terms with the trauma that brought me to be treated by Shirley. I am continuing with good mental health, and am very grateful for Shirley’s expertise and professional skills. I have had therapy sporadically over a long period of time and would rate Shirley as being one of the best. I would highly recommend her therapeutic skills and knowledge.
I started therapy regularly with David a couple of years ago when I was at rock bottom and going through a lot in my personal life which I couldn’t see a way forward. He massively helped me to understand my feelings, deal with past traumas and navigate to a place where I was able to get back to work and come off antidepressants. Luckily I have only had to have 2 ad hoc sessions since stopping therapy but overall I’m in a really good place. I have David to thank for being so understanding and using techniques / exercises to help me through this. I know if I ever needed therapy again I would go to him and couldn’t recommend him enough.
I was so impressed how quickly everything was put into place, that was very, very helpful. It is my first experience of talking therapies and its been very helpful and I would look towards continuing it and using it again at times when I feel very over-whelmed. Riana has been really good listener and able to remember lots of different things and offer different strategies to manage things better on my own. Many thanks to the service.
Holly was very warm right from the start and I felt I could be completely honest with the thoughts and feelings I had through a very challenging period of changes in my family life. Our weekly sessions gave me an opportunity to take stock of what was happening, acknowledge the pace of change and how I was responding. In fact, I returned to Holly a while later when circumstances became more challenging again as I knew how beneficial it was to have that regular time and space to reflect and clarify my thoughts.
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Low-Cost Counselling & Psychotherapy Service at The Awareness Centre
We believe in making therapy accessible to everyone. We offer affordable therapy at our Clapham and Tooting centres, with therapists coming to the end of their training at our training school or with our external training providers. Our trainee counsellors and psychotherapists are carefully selected and develop their clinical experience with The Awareness Centre, while working towards full qualification and registration.
Whether you need short or long-term support, our trainee counsellors and psychotherapists are here for you. They offer confidential, affordable support seven days a week. Book an appointment online or call our reception team today to be referred to see a therapist at a time that works for you.
We Are Here For You
The Awareness Centre is open seven days a week, with early appointments from 7am and the latest sessions at 9pm. Book an appointment online at a time that works for you, or call us on 020 8673 4545.
Our clinical reception team is always on hand to assist you in deciding what type of therapy is right for you. We’ll talk to you about what you’re experiencing and help you take the right step forward.
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Introducing A Bunch of Therapists – a new podcast opening the door to real conversations from inside the therapy room.
Ever wondered what makes therapists… therapists? Step into a world where mental health professionals become the storytellers, sharing their own raw, unfiltered journeys and insights. Join hosts Michaela McCarthy and Dipti Solanki as they flip the script, turning candid conversations with fellow therapists into powerful revelations about the human experience – from both sides of the couch.
Whether you’re in therapy, considering it, or simply curious about how it works, this podcast offers real insight into the therapeutic journey – what it feels like, why it matters, and how it can change lives.
New episodes every Thursday.
We provide short-term NHS Talking Therapies in Lambeth, Sutton and Wandsworth. Our counsellors and psychotherapists are either in training or have qualified in many approaches to therapy. We offer face-to-face or online sessions. You can self-refer or be referred by your GP. All NHS clients must be 18+.
The NHS will triage you for this counselling service by phone. Therapists work with clients who want to explore their symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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Take the first step and book your counselling appointment today. We do not have a waiting list.
FAQs
The first step in starting counselling is to find a therapist you can work with. If you’d like to make a start, check out our team of therapists to see which have the experience and expertise for the issues you’re bringing to therapy.
If you’d like more guidance in deciding on the specific mental health services or professionals that are right for you, please call our team on 020 8673 4545 and they will point you in the right direction.
If you are seeking private therapy or low cost counselling , you can self-refer and call us on on 020 8673 4545 or book an appointment online. However, you do need to be registered with a GP to use the low cost service. If you are using your private healthcare insurance to pay for your therapy, you will need a GP referral. For our NHS counselling service, you can either self-refer or be referred by your GP.
Once you’re booked in for an appointment, your therapist will call to confirm day and time, check any details, and to answer any practical questions you might have. Your counsellor won’t be able to provide a therapy session on the phone before you start. You’ll be able to talk about your issues during your first full session.
We don’t offer interpreters for our low-cost and private counselling services; however, our multilingual therapists offer counselling in over 20 languages.
Our Diploma in Integrative Counselling was accredited by BACP in May 2024. BACP do not accredit Foundation Certificate or Supervision courses. However, our courses are created according to BACP guidelines and the competence framework for supervision.
We welcome students with no formal qualifications or previous experience to join our Foundation Certificate In Counselling. To join our Diploma in Integrative Counselling you will need the TAC Foundation Certificate in Counselling, or equivalent qualification from another training provider. For the Diploma in Clinical Supervision, you need to be a qualified counsellor, psychotherapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Please see the individual course pages for more detail about enrolment requirements.
Our courses are not currently eligible for student finance. However, we do offer a direct debit monthly payment system to support your monthly budget