Natasha Albinson Therapeutic Services
Anxiety Treatment
Schema Therapy allows me to offer personalised support for anxiety, helping you understand and address the deeper patterns that may be contributing to it. While anxiety is a natural response designed to keep us safe, it can become overwhelming when longstanding schemas often formed through unmet emotional needs or difficult or overwhelming experiences continue to influence how we see ourselves, others and the world, often outside our conscious awareness. Schema Therapy helps uncover and work with these underlying schemas and coping modes, addressing the deeper roots of anxiety rather than focusing solely on its symptoms. Through a compassionate and collaborative approach, we will work together to develop healthier, more flexible ways of responding, helping you build greater emotional security and resilience.
Depression Therapy
Schema Therapy offers a deeper way of understanding depression by looking beyond the symptoms to the underlying schemas and coping modes that can contribute to low mood, hopelessness, negativity, pessimism, self-criticism and feeling disconnected from yourself and others. These patterns often develop from unmet emotional needs or difficult experiences and can continue to influence how we think, feel and behave, often outside our conscious awareness. By identifying and working with these deeper patterns, Schema Therapy aims to address the roots of depression and then create emotionally corrective and healing therapeutic experiences. We will collaboratively develop healthier ways of relating to yourself, managing difficult emotions and moving towards a more fulfilling life.
In our work together, we will focus on identifying these schemas and gently challenging them both cognitively and emotionally. For example, the Vulnerability to harm schema may trigger chronic anxiety by constantly anticipating danger, while the Defectivenesss and hame schema can undermine self-esteem by making you feel fundamentally flawed and unworthy. Similarly, the Failure Schema might fuel depressive feelings by instilling a persistent belief that you will never succeed. By addressing these core patterns, Schema therapy paves the way for more adaptive, balanced perspectives, leading to improved emotional well-being and healthier relationships.
Low Self Esteem and Self Worth
Schema Therapy offers a deeper way of understanding low self-esteem by exploring the underlying schemas and coping modes that can leave you feeling not good enough, ashamed, unworthy or defective. These patterns can become deeply embedded, influencing the way you interpret yourself, your achievements and your relationships, and making it difficult to recognise your own strengths and value. Rather than focusing only on changing negative thoughts, Schema Therapy helps you access and work with the underlying emotional patterns that keep these beliefs in place. Through experiential work and a compassionate, collaborative approach, we can begin to loosen their hold and develop a more accepting, compassionate and secure relationship with yourself.
Trauma Recovery
Schema Therapy provides a deeper framework for understanding the lasting impact of trauma, particularly the schemas and coping modes that can develop in response to overwhelming or unmet emotional experiences. Rather than focusing only on traumatic memories themselves, therapy explores how these experiences may continue to influence your sense of self, relationships, emotions and ways of coping today. Through experiential techniques such as imagery, chairwork and visualisation, we can begin to work with these patterns in a safe and manageable way, at a pace that feels right for you. Where appropriate, EMDR may also be incorporated to support the processing of specific traumatic memories, alongside the wider Schema Therapy work. The aim is not simply to reduce distress, but to help you develop a greater sense of safety, self-understanding and emotional freedom.
Eating Disorders
I work with people experiencing eating disorders and problematic relationships with food, eating and body image, including Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. Schema Therapy can be particularly useful where eating difficulties are connected to longstanding patterns of self-criticism, shame, perfectionism, emotional deprivation and coping modes that developed earlier in life. For example, a Perfectionistic Overcontroller mode may try to protect against an underlying Defectiveness/Shame schema by maintaining rigid standards and a strong need for control. Other coping modes may also lead to restriction, binge eating, emotional eating or using food and eating behaviours to manage difficult emotions.
Length of sessions and cost
The number of sessions we have will be decided collaboratively based on your needs and goals. However, if you’ve been thinking, feeling, and behaving in certain ways for a long time, it’s unlikely that just a few sessions will create lasting change. Meaningful transformation takes commitment, openness, and a willingness to do the work. By developing new skills and fostering a healthier relationship with yourself and those around you, therapy can help you navigate life with greater ease and intention. Ultimately, the goal is for you to no longer need me so you can go out, embrace life, and ride its waves with more choice and less reactivity.
Sessions are 60 minutes and charged at £90.