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Anjelena Santos

BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT)

Pronouns: She/Her

I'm a BABCP accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, with over 15 years experience across various NHS settings as well as private practice.

I view therapy as a partnership and I strive to build a safe, non-judgemental and empathic relationship as we work together to develop a shared understanding of your difficulties and how both past and present challenging experiences may be impacting on your abilities to cope in the here and now. I value the unique co-creation process of working together and providing guidance to help process key difficult experiences, develop new perspectives and ways of coping in order to make meaningful progress and life-long changes.

By investing in my own mental health through personal therapy and over a decade of mindfulness and yoga practice; I value a more holistic, whole-person approach to mental health and wellbeing. This is reflected in my highly personalised sessions, where more emphasis is placed on the mind-body connection to nurture a deeper processing of emotional experiences, enabling long-lasting personal shifts and growth.  

I know that starting therapy can feel daunting and seeing if we are a good fit is integrative to making life changing progress happen; that’s why I offer a free initial brief consultation to give us both an opportunity to ask each other a few questions and give a better idea of what you can expect from our sessions.

Anjelena is a specialist in the treatment of:

  • Anxiety

  • Anxiety - Stress

  • Anxiety - Agoraphobia

  • Anxiety - Generalised (GAD)

  • Anxiety - Death

  • Anxiety - Health

  • Anxiety - Panic / Panic Attacks

  • Anxiety - Performance

  • Anxiety - Separation

  • Anxiety - Social

  • Anxiety - Phobias

  • Excessive worry and rumination

  • Grief and Traumatic Bereavement

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  • Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum

  • Pregnancy and Baby Loss

  • Low Self-Esteem

  • Loneliness

  • Perfectionism

  • Procrastination

  • Life transitions

  • Sleep issues

  • Trauma - Childhood Trauma

  • Trauma - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  • Trauma - Complex PTSD

  • Trauma - Dissasociation

  • Trauma - Road Traffic Accidents

  • Trauma - Rape / sexual assalt

  • Trauma - Childhood sexual abuse

  • Work - Stress

LGBTQIA+ and Diversity Competencies

Anjelena has actively sought continued professional development in a number of diversity and inclusion in therapy trainings. This has included;

  • Fostering Queer Joy: Affirming Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with LGBTQIA+ Youth and their Families

  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy for Gender Identity

  • Addressing Unconscious Bias & Systemic Microaggression

  • Working with and adapting for Autism (ASD/ASC)

  • Delivering CBT with autistic clients to improve mental health

  • CBT for adult ADHD: Helping clients turn intentions into actions

Therapies Anjelena can offer:

  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

  • Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)

  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy

  • Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) 

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • Mindfulness - Based Cognitive Therapy

  • Solution Focused Therapy

  • Somatic Interventions

  • Polyvagal Interventions

Anjelena Works with:

  • Adolescents (16 - 18 Years)

  • Adults (19-65 Years)

  • Elderly (65+ Years)

Languages spoken fluently

  • English

  • Russian

  • Brazilian Portuguese

Client Testimonials

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support and expertise over the past 6 months. Your support helped me overcome some very dark moments in my life. I feel more reassured and confident in facing the world with all the tools and skills I have learnt." - Ayesha 

"I would like to say a very heartfelt thank you for your guidance and support over the last few months, it has been life changing, eye opening and incredible.  I feel so much better equipped to tackle life now and I am grateful I had the opportunity to work with you." - Louise 

"Anjelena is lovely. She struck the perfect balance of professionalism and being real and treating you like a person, being friendly, not cold and like you`re just a patient. She was so insightful and helpful and I just can`t say enough how great she is." - Amy

Qualifications and Further Training.

  • 2021 – 2022 Royal Holloway University of London Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (IAPT Programme)

  • Fully accredited BABCP membership number: 00001--4237 2017 – 2018

  • University College London Postgraduate Diploma in Low Intensity Cognitive

  • Behavioural Interventions 2015 – 2016

  • King’s College London MSc Clinical and Forensic Psychology (Distinction)

  • Attachment and Compassion Focused Therapy (2024)

  • Compassion Focused Therapy for the Self-Critical Mind (2024)

  • Using Compassion Focused Therapy to Work with Shame Based Trauma Memories (2024)

  • Loss, Grief and PTSD linked to traumatic bereavement (2024)

  • Interpersonal Processes in CBT (2024)

  • Developing Meta-competencies in CBT (2024)

  • Chairwork in CBT in practice (2024)

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy for Trauma (2023)

  • OCD presentations in the new parents (2022)

  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy in practice (2023)

  • Compassion focused Therapy in practice (2023)

  • New parents and infants mental health (2022)

What is Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)?

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a psychological approach designed to help individuals develop and cultivate compassion towards themselves and others to enhance well-being. Developed by Dr. Paul Gilbert, CFT is grounded in the understanding that compassion can be a powerful motivator for change, helping to alleviate feelings of shame, self-criticism, and negative self-image.

CFT therapy combines techniques from cognitive-behavioural therapy, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, and neuroscience. It focuses on teaching individuals skills to regulate difficult emotions, develop self-compassion, and build inner strength to face life's challenges. CFT is particularly effective for those who struggle with self-criticism and high levels of shame and can be applied to a range of psychological conditions, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

What are Polyvagal Interventions

Polyvagal interventions in therapy are based on Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, which posits that the state of our autonomic nervous system affects our emotional and social behaviour. According to the theory, our nervous system has three distinct states: safe and social, fight or flight, and freeze or collapse. These states are influenced by the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in regulating heart rate and other functions.

In therapy, Polyvagal interventions aim to help clients move into the 'safe and social' state, where healing, growth, and positive social interactions are more possible.


What are Somatic Interventions?


Somatic interventions in therapy involve a body-centered approach, focusing on the connection between the mind and body in the healing process. These interventions are based on the understanding that trauma and stress can manifest physically in the body, often in the form of chronic pain, tension, or other somatic symptoms.

 

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