Sara Koster-Marcon | Online Couples & Family Therapist (Systemic Psychotherapist)
Sara Koster-Marcon
Systemic Family & Couples Psychotherapist
Relationship specialist
MSc, PG Dip CYP IAPT, PG Dip, BSc .
Who I work with
I work with individuals, couples, families and parents.
People come to me on their own as often as they come as a couple. If you are struggling with a relationship, you do not need your partner to be willing to attend for the work to be useful - a great deal can change when one person starts to look at the patterns they are caught in.
Individuals - working on relationships, anxiety, confidence and difficult life events
Couples - communication, disconnection, affairs, and deciding whether to stay or separate
Families - including families with young children, teenagers and adult children
Parents - consultations for parents worried about a child's emotions or behaviour, with or without the child present
How I work
I have worked as a systemic psychotherapist for over 15 years, across children's and adult NHS services in London, alongside schools, local authorities and healthcare teams.
My approach is systemic. That means I am interested less in what is wrong with you, and more in the patterns you find yourself repeating - with a partner, with family, and in the story you tell yourself about who you are.
Most of the difficulties people bring to me have a shape to them. Something happens, you respond in a way that once made sense, the other person responds to that, and the two of you end up somewhere neither of you wanted to be. Together we slow that sequence down and look at it properly.
What sessions are like
Sessions are collaborative and paced to you. Over time we will:
Identify the patterns of relating and coping that are keeping you stuck
Explore the beliefs you hold about yourself, about others and about past events, and how these shape what you feel and do
Build your ability to recognise what your body and nervous system are telling you
Develop steadier ways of managing strong feelings, both on your own and with the people close to you
Find the resources that already exist in you and in your relationships
The aim is a settled and connected sense of who you are, both by yourself and with others.
Life events often bring people to therapy - moving home, a new job, a birth, a bereavement, a break-up, an affair, or communication that has quietly broken down. These are exactly the moments when it helps to have somewhere to think.
Sara’s Specialisms
Relationship difficulties · Parenting difficulties · Depression · Anxiety · Low self-esteem · Stress and worry
Relationships and couples
Relationship and communication difficulties
Infidelity, affairs and betrayal
Separation and divorce
Codependency
Fear of abandonment
Sexual difficulties within a relationship
Family life and parenting
Parenting difficulties
Family conflict and family issues
Attachment difficulties
Supporting parents of children with ADHD or autism
Difficulties between parents and adult children
Anxiety, stress and worry
Generalised anxiety (GAD)
Social anxiety
Health anxiety
Work-related stress
Sleep difficulties and insomnia
Mood, confidence and self-esteem
Depression
Low self-esteem and low confidence
Anger
Adjustment difficulties
Seasonal affective disorder
Fertility, pregnancy and new parenthood
Infertility
Miscarriage and baby loss
Pregnancy and birth
Post-natal anxiety and depression
Identity, transition and loss
LGBTQI+ issues
Gender identity
Bereavement and loss
Major life transitions
I also meet with parents concerned about their children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties.
I believe in providing a safe and warm space for clients who reach out to further explore their lives and stories. My approach aims at building people’s strengths and relational resources in a collaborative way.
Sessions in English and Italian
I offer therapy in English and Italian. If Italian is your first language, being able to talk about painful things in the language you first learned to feel them in can make a real difference.
Therapeutic Approaches & Models
Solution Focused Therapy
Structural family therapy
Systemic Couples Therapy
Systemic Family therapy
Interpersonal therapy
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
Mindfulness
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
Integrative Therapy
Person-centred therapy
Psychodynamic therapy
Rational Emotive Therapy (RECBT)
Schema Therapy
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Sara works with:
Children (Under 10 years)
Adolescents (10 - 15 Years)
Adolescents (16 - 18 Years)
Adults (19-65 Years)
Elderly (65+ Years)
Sara offers:
Individual Therapy
Couples Therapy
Family Therapy
Client testimonials
Sara Helped Us Reconnect and Strengthen Our Marriage After 15 Years
“My husband and I were struggling with our marriage and lack of communication after 15 years together. Reaching out to Sara was the best decision in order to get us back on track. She really challenged us to think about so many aspects and influences that were affecting us as individuals and also as a couple. She is a warm, friendly and open therapist who I have no hesitation in recommending.” Anonymous Couple
Sara’s Supportive Guidance Transformed My Thinking and Behaviour
“Sara has a wonderful manner with her clients. I felt very comfortable speaking to her and opening up to her (which is one of the main reasons I sought out therapy in the first place.) Sara challenged me in my ways of thinking and ensured I was thinking analytically about my behaviours and actions, in a supporting and safe way. I felt an enormous sense of achievement after our sessions and felt like Sara celebrated this.” Jodie
A Warm, Approachable Therapist Who Put Us at Ease
“Sara was an extremely approachable and knowledgable therapist. She put us both at ease and was able to use her skills and experience to guide and structure our sessions.” Anonymous
Sara Helped Me Find My Confidence and True Self
“Sara has helped me find my real self. She guided me session by session with clear goals about what I wanted to get out of our meetings. She is very warm and made me feel comfortable when talking about difficult stuff. I now feel more confident and see life from a happier place.” EM
Sara Guided Our Family Through Challenges and Improved Communication
“After our sessions I thought everyone should have family therapy! Our son started to have behavioural difficulties at school. We couldn’t see a way out. She helped us see the problem from a wider perspective and not make him the problem. We can now all see what we do to contribute to that. We found better ways of communicating our emotions and be there for one another. Sara also helped us set up meetings with the school to make sure we are all on the same page in supporting him.” AW
Marriage Saved Through Sara’s Transparency and Patience
“My wife and I were struggling in our marriage for a long time. The sessions with Sara helped us finding solutions to our issues. We now feel equipped to talk to each other and enjoy our marriage again. I was initially reluctant. Her transparency and patience helped me see the benefits of therapy.” DM
Professional qualifications and registration
MSc Systemic Individual, Couple & Family Psychotherapy - King's College London & Institute of Psychiatry
PG Dip Children and Young People's IAPT - King's College London, UCL & Anna Freud Centre
PG Dip Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression - King's College London, UCL & Anna Freud Centre
BSc Psychology - Università degli Studi di Padova
Cert Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - King's College London, UCL & Anna Freud Centre
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) accreditation - The Association for Psychological Therapies
Family-Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) - Anna Freud Centre
AMBIT Lead: Team Leader for Adolescent Mentalisation Based Integrative Treatment - Anna Freud Centre
Registered member, UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
