Damien Kelly MBACP
Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Damien Kelly MBACP
Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Whatever brings you to psychotherapy, I understand that starting is an important step, and I am here to support you.
I aim to create a warm and compassionate space where you can safely explore your thoughts and feelings. Together, we’ll build a trusting relationship tailored to your unique experiences, ensuring that you feel heard and empowered. As an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist, I am fully committed to providing a supportive and empathetic atmosphere that encourages positive change.
I offer confidential therapy sessions at my two conveniently located central London practices:
Cavendish Square / Harley Street
(minutes from Oxford Circus)
&
Caledonian Road
(within walking distance of St. Pancras, King's Cross)
Psychotherapy, or "talk therapy," is a collaborative treatment method focused on dialogue. It involves discussing thoughts, feelings, and behaviours to understand emotional challenges and pain.
Individuals can explore troubling emotions and behaviour patterns in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. Psychotherapy offers many benefits, including symptom relief, new coping strategies, improved communication and interpersonal skills, and enhanced self-esteem.
It can also help manage mental health disorders, tackle life challenges, and encourage personal growth. Through psychotherapy, individuals gain self-awareness, set personal goals, and work towards meaningful change.
My therapeutic approach is grounded in Bowlby’s attachment theory, which focuses on the long-lasting impact of our earliest relationships with childhood caregivers, such as our parents.
It emphasises the importance of early relationships in enabling us to grow and develop a healthy sense of self and the issues that arise when these relationships are insufficiently secure and supportive. Therefore, attachment therapy is based on a co-created relationship between the therapist and the client.
Additionally, I incorporate psychoanalysis to explore unconscious processes, providing deeper insights into the complexities of the human psyche.
I possess considerable experience in assisting individuals who are dealing with trauma, substance misuse (including chemsex), shame, loss, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. My professional background includes working with those who have experienced institutionalised childhood sexual abuse.
I have effectively implemented Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to provide tailored support to individuals diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) or who exhibit similar characteristics.
I graduated with a BA Hons in Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin, and later earned an MSc in Clinical Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London.
As an Inspired Personality Disorder Service Manager, I provided dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) to individuals diagnosed with personality disorders.
My journey also included four years of UKCP-accredited training in attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Bowlby Centre in London.
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (MBACP) and a graduate member of the British Psychological Society (GMBPsS). I am currently working on registering with the UKCP.
My professional journey encompasses a variety of experiences in private practice, the NHS, and the voluntary sector.
Up to fifteen minutes
A limited number of low-cost, twice-weekly psychotherapy sessions are available.
Central London
Cavendish Square / Harley Street
17a Cavendish Square, Westminster, London, W1G 0PH, United Kingdom
North London
Caledonian Road / Islington
150 Caledonian Road, Islington, London, N1 9RD, United Kingdom
Phone: 07521 246 241 Email: kelly.therapy@pm.me
If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, feel free to contact me at
Kelly Therapy is an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy practice providing individual therapy services for adults.
I hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin (BA Hons), and a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London (MSc).
With over ten years of experience working in mental health services, including two years as an Inspired Personality Disorder Service Manager, I also completed four years of UKCP-accredited psychotherapy training with the Bowlby Centre.
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (MBACP), a trainee member of the UKCP, and a graduate member of the British Psychological Society (GMBPsS).
I offer psychotherapy sessions from Tuesday to Thursday.
As a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, I aim to create a safe and confidential space where you can explore whatever you choose to bring to therapy. My role is to offer as much reflection, support, attention, and expertise as possible. I provide long-term, open-ended, one-to-one, in-person therapy sessions. My therapeutic approach is attachment-based, relational, and psychoanalytic.
A session lasts for 50 minutes.
All sessions are expected to be attended in order to ensure consistency in the therapy process.
We will take breaks over Easter, Christmas, and summer.
I work directly with clients and do not accept third-party referrals or insurance payments.
I abide by the Bowlby Centre ethical guidelines and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) ethical frameworks, which are available on their websites (https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk) (https://thebowlbycentre.org.uk)
Additionally, I adhere to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (https://www.bacp.co.uk)
Therapy is a fully confidential activity and an aspect I rigorously adhere to. As part of my ethical code of practice, I have regular clinical supervision during which I discuss my work. I also write session notes that are anonymised and held securely for five years after you leave therapy. Any other personal information, such as your address, telephone number, and information disclosed on the pre-therapy questionnaire, is confidential and stored securely. However, if I need to consult anyone else about your case, such as your GP, I will only do so after discussing it with you.
In exceptional circumstances, where there are severe acts of harm to oneself and others, in criminal cases or if I am summoned to appear before a court of law, maintaining confidentiality may not be possible. It should be stressed, however, that this is unusual, and you will be consulted and kept informed in all cases.
You can terminate your therapy whenever you wish. Yet, as reviewing our work together is an integral part of the therapeutic process, I suggest committing to at least six sessions once therapy is embarked upon before you decide not to continue.
In the case of longer-term treatment, I also recommend spending several sessions working towards an ending. Our relationship will potentially be significant, and an essential aspect of our work together is to address the relationship’s ending.
If a life-threatening or urgent emergency arises, contact the emergency services on 999, go to your nearest hospital A&E department, or phone a crisis helpline such as the Samaritans (free call: 116 123).