New South Shields therapy practice aims to open the mind - and skip waiting lists
The new private therapy practice has opened in South Shields - and it can be people seen to fast.
A new private therapy practice with a team of professionals passionate to help people to better know their own minds has opened in South Tyneside.
Experts at The Harton Practice specialise in supporting adults and children dealing with a range of emotional traumas and who are ready to explore their innermost feelings.
Their evidence-based therapies include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and they also specialise in areas such as drug and alcohol recovery, anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
And they deliver at pace – with appointments available almost immediately following initial consultation, rather than up to two years on the NHS.
Skip the waiting lists for therapy
Founder Sarah O’Callaghan, 41, a psychotherapist and highly experienced former mental health nurse, has based her business in new premises in Moor Lane, at Harton Village.
The South Shields-born mum’s experience is also in learning disabilities, forensic mental health, children’s eating disorders and community mental health.
She has created a team whose members deliver therapies, either in person or securely online, in their own area of expertise.
They are art therapist Nasima Begum, Kieron McIvor, a drug and alcohol specialist nurse, Dr Nicola Burton, who specialises in child psychology, and CBT therapists Jeanette Callaghan and Amy Hockings.
Sarah believes her enterprise is alone in South Tyneside in providing accredited, private therapy by a team and from a single location.
She said: “I have found exactly the right premises here at Harton.
‘Personalised and flexible support’
“While our therapy programmes largely mirror those provided by the NHS, we look to deliver far more personalised and flexible support.
“Those delivered by the NHS are very structured and are often not the right fit for the individual all the way through. One size does not always fit all.
“Undertaking therapy is a very hard thing to do but at the point someone would come to see us, it’s likely they have already crossed that bridge.
“It may be that they have a single event trauma or multiple complex traumas, or perhaps their trauma is related to family, in the case of children.
“Even when ready to seek therapy, people can find it difficult to open up, but I know it is a path that is definitely worth following.”
Sarah added: “NHS consultations do happen quickly, but it can then be 18 to 24 months before therapy starts.
“With my practice, therapy can start almost immediately after consultation and there is flexibility as to how long it lasts.
“We offer a very welcoming and supportive environment and I’m very much looking forward to establishing The Harton Practice.”
Sarah is a qualified and accredited CBT and Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist.
She also supports in areas including trauma, anxiety, OCD, stress and burnout, low self-esteem and social anxiety.
Nasima’s expertise is recognised by the Health Care Professions Council, and she is a member of the British Association of Art Therapists.
Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art-making as the primary avenue of expression.
Kieron is a qualified and accredited professional with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and works as an addiction therapist and recovery coach.
Dr Burton works with children and adolescents and offers comprehensive psychological assessments.
More information is at www.thehartonpractice.co.uk