Aviva Stafford Psychology

Welcome

If you’re struggling right now, please know you’re not alone. It’s likely you’re experiencing understandable human responses to adverse life experiences.

My work is about helping you unpack, understand, and retune these responses so that you can ultimately reconnect with what is important to you to live a full and meaningful life aligned with your values.

Therapy with me is evidence-based, collaborative, and goal-focused. We start with an initial assessment which may take one or more sessions depending on how much you would like to work on. I’ll then share a treatment plan with you, explaining what we can do and how it will help. I am happy to facilitate short- or long-term therapy depending on what suits you. 

I offer a safe, validating space to explore the impacts of previous experiences on current thoughts, feelings and behaviours. I believe (and research supports) that a good therapeutic relationship is key to positive therapy outcomes. So my first priority is doing my best to ensure you feel heard, empowered, and safe with me.

Supporting people who have experienced trauma, and helping them understand and heal from its impact, is a cause particularly close to my heart. ‘Trauma’ has many different shapes and sizes, and there is no one-size-fits all approach. I ground my work in evidence-based approaches and draw on a variety of different models to provide an integrative approach, tailored to your individual needs. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for a free 20-minute initial consultation via video or phone call.

Contact me

  • “Aviva explained all these [strategies and tools] to me in a clear way, and I really enjoyed our discussions around them. We practised most of them in the sessions, but they are tools I have been able to take away and use ongoing. Aviva really listened to what I had to say and came up with the appropriate practices that would most help me. She was kind, compassionate and patient throughout our sessions. The pace worked well, and I felt safe at all times, especially in the more challenging discussions and practices. The sessions with Aviva were transformative and have in all honesty saved me these past few months. Aviva is an amazing therapist, for all the reasons mentioned before. I’ve honestly got so much out of our sessions that I can take forward and practise myself. She’s given me the tools and the confidence to do this. Aviva is a wonderful human being and I’m grateful to have met her.”

  • “Aviva led me through my first experience of EMDR to help me deal with health-related trauma. From start to finish, she put me at ease, she was calming and she invited gentle conversation without demanding it. I didn’t know what to expect from the EMDR therapy but she guided and supported me through it. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions but I left feeling centred and calm, and with a sense of having overcome something significant. Her approach was professional but also friendly and considerate and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone seeking psychotherapeutic support.”

  • “I expected that the EMDR may help me feel less nauseous when I thought of a certain memory, but what I didn’t expect was to feel such a release of emotion and such a connection to the core wound it struck for me. I found myself almost going back in time and rewriting my mindset and narrative. It was incredibly powerful and mind blowing. Aviva did an amazing job of allowing me to go through what I needed to go through; of gently guiding me on my own path, making me feel reassured and safe but totally in control. Thank you for creating such a safe and warm environment for me to explore my emotions.”

  • “Having not experienced EMDR before, I was unsure what to expect. Aviva had a warm, calm approach that helped alleviate any anxieties. She created safe therapeutic space and empathised with my distress. I was pleasantly surprised to find EMDR so effective and in a short space of time, and its effects have been longstanding. I’m glad I engaged in sessions and am grateful to Aviva for her help in working through difficult memories!”

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