DR KRYSTAL-JANE VERASAMMY

WHO ARE YOU?

I am a fully qualified Counselling Psychologist born in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago.  I hold a B. Sc honours degree in Psychology, a M. Sc degree in Developmental Psychopathology, and a doctorate in Counselling Psychology.  I have worked therapeutically with a diverse range of clients from both London, UK and Trinidad and Tobago.  As your therapist, I aim to offer a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space for you to talk about anything you want, however difficult.  Together we may process and make sense of your difficulties to develop self-awareness and increase insight.

HOW YOU WORK?

I work with young people (11-17 years) and adults from a relational stance, placing the therapeutic relationship at the core of my practice.  I aim to work in a way that is supportive, explorative and collaborative.  As a practitioner, I adopt a pluralistic approach to therapy.  The pluralistic perspective suggests that there is no one best set of therapeutic methods.  That in fact, different clients may find very different therapeutic methods helpful in counselling and psychotherapy, at different points in time.  This simply means that a client may find that different techniques and practices from different therapeutic modalities may be helpful.

Given this, I have been trained in the person-centred approach, cognitive-behavioural therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy.  These different therapeutic modalities may help different clients, in different ways as we are all unique.  Therefore, when we meet we will collaboratively discuss your goals for counselling and from there the therapy I provide is tailored to the unique needs, aims and concerns of each individual client.

I provide both short and long-term counselling, working over a few weeks or several months to a year, depending on your individual needs and wishes.

YOUR CORE VALUES, WHAT ARE THEY?

Research professor, Dr Brene Brown writes that we need the courage to be real, the compassion to love ourselves and others, and the connection to give true purpose and meaning to life.  These are the gifts that bring love, joy, laughter and gratitude into our lives.

Like her, I admire and appreciate my clients’ inner strength and resilience to speak openly and honestly about who they are and their experience.  Courage allows us to tell our stories.  Compassion is not a virtue, it is a commitment.  It’s something that I choose to practice with my clients.  For me, I can only respond compassionately to someone telling his/her story if I have embraced my own story.  Compassion is to accept the struggles that make us human – our fears, imperfections, losses and shame.  We are wired for connections.  As humans, we need to connect.  Connection is the need to feel accepted and to believe that we belong and are valued for who we are.  As such, I aim to be non-judgemental and offer positive regard for all the part of you – both good and bad.

WHY CHOOSE YOU AS A THERAPIST? WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOUR THERAPY THAT MAKE YOU UNIQUE?

I believe that to experience pain, loss, hurt and suffering is part of being human.  Suffering helps us to remember that we are human.  As such, I believe that some mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression, among others are not simply psychiatric diagnoses to be treated with medication but are due to uncertainty, trauma or loss that as humans we experience.  Thus, my aim is not solely treat your diagnosis, but moreover to explore and understand your subjective, internal world to help you make sense of your difficulties.

As a person, I am warm, friendly and supportive.  Clients have also reported that I am trustworthy, patient and non-judgmental and have found such qualities helpful, as it created a safe and confidential space.  I am extremely committed to my clients’ therapeutic process hence I strive to be present with them in their deepest and darkest innermost selves.  Moreover, I see myself as multicultural.   I have a huge respect and desire to learn about culture and diversity.  Thus, I have an inherent willingness and openness to work therapeutically with a diverse range of clients whether they differ in age, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality and/or socio-economic status.

WHAT THERAPIES DO YOU OFFER?

As mentioned above, I offer person-centred therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy.  I also offer acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectic behavioural therapy, the latter being most effective for persons with borderline personality disorder.  After your initial assessment I will discuss with you which therapeutic modality may be most beneficial for you.   We will also discuss the number of session that you may need, and this may range from either six to twelve sessions or more long-term therapy, which can be for a year.