Get to know us - Manuel Toren

I’m an integrative psychotherapist, and I really enjoy helping people to get back on their feet. My aim is to give clients the tools they need to be their best and make the most of their lives. I began working clinically in 2011, beginning with mental health charities before moving on to work in the NHS in 2017, where I still work today. I have also been working in private practice since 2016.

I am very experienced in the treatment of panic disorder, PTSD and OCD, depression and other anxiety disorders including social anxiety, health anxiety, phobias, body dysmorphia, and generalised anxiety, as well as problems such as low self-esteem, perfectionism, sex & relationship issues, and professional issues. I also have a special interest in medically unexplained conditions such as IBS, ME, and fibromyalgia, and have undertaken research in this area.

As an integrative psychotherapist, I combine psychoanalytic, existential, humanistic and cognitive-behavioural approaches to psychological treatment and to coaching. On a personal level, my approach is based on a fundamental respect for the individual and their potential as a human being. My person-centred therapeutic stance is the basis for therapeutic rapport, which builds trust and enables further, deeper work.

With new clients I begin with a clinical assessment, which facilitates the development of a tailored treatment approach. This collaborative approach meets clients’ specific needs, addresses key clinical issues, and promotes the effectiveness of the therapy. A thorough clinical assessment is holistic, can take more than one session, and covers the features of the clinical problem(s) in detail, including how these problems impact your life, the development of these problems, a general history of your life, an understanding of your current lifestyle and living situation, and discussion about medical health issues. Identifying your key goals for therapy is a critical part of the assessment, as it enables me to tailor the therapy to your needs.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an important part of my therapeutic integration, as it addresses many of the problems that keep clients stuck, often in problems that they fully understand and yet feel powerless to change. CBT can be an extremely powerful tool for achieving change.

Psychodynamic theory is an important part of my approach, so I will attend to unconscious processes such as transference, projection, and the individual’s structure of psychic defences. I use dream analysis where appropriate to facilitate insight into unconscious processes.

I draw on a range of techniques, including Focusing, as a way of accessing blocked emotions, thoughts, and feelings, which can then be discussed during therapy, and Gestalt therapy techniques such as chair work, or analysis of body language and posture.

I have experience working and offering help with a wide range of psychological difficulties including the following: