Welcome to Kalpna Hirani Counselling & Psychotherapy

I’m glad you stopped by. I am dedicated to helping you navigate life's challenges with a compassionate and supportive approach. These pages will guide you through how I can offer a personalised approach, tailored specifically to your needs, providing the support and personal development you seek. To find out more, please take a look around and read about how I can be of help.

Hi, I’m Kalpna Hirani, a qualified accredited counsellor and psychotherapist based in Rickmansworth (WD3) near Watford, Hertfordshire. I offer in-person / face to face counselling and psychotherapy sessions in Rickmansworth (WD3), near Watford, Hertfordshire. I specialise in helping individuals to overcome anxiety and related issues, depression, trauma, and relationship issues through personalised in-person and online therapy. My services are also accessible to those in nearby areas such as Hillingdon (Ruislip, Northwood, Harefield) and Buckinghamshire (Chalfont, Amersham), as well as internationally via online counselling. 

There are many experiences that life may present you with. Sometimes, you may encounter challenges and feel overwhelmed. You may experience sadness, stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety and you may wish you could speak openly to someone who understands. It doesn't have to be a massive 'trauma' event that has happened to you. You may just want to talk about how you feel, or you might want to explore your relationships or maybe you’re not quite sure how an event or experience may have impacted your life so require some mental health support. No matter what you’re going through, or struggling with, there is hope.

How I can help you

Life can present challenges that may leave you feeling overwhelmed, sad, or anxious. Whether you’re struggling with a specific issue or just want to explore your feelings and relationships, therapy can provide hope and healing. Here are some of the areas I can support you with:

• Anxiety disorders (GAD, OCD, panic attacks, social anxiety)
• Depression and loneliness
• Trauma and PTSD (including complex PTSD)
• Relationship challenges and communication issues
• Low self-esteem and confidence building
• Stress management, including work-related stress
• Personal development and navigating life changes
• Expatriate and cultural counselling for international clients

You don’t have to face these challenges alone. Therapy offers a safe and supportive space to explore your feelings and work toward positive change.

Your Therapy Journey

Your journey toward emotional well-being begins with a free 15-minute consultation. During this call, we’ll discuss your needs, answer your questions, and explore how we can work together. Taking that first step may feel daunting, but it can also be the start of meaningful change.

Familiar arguments and unspoken tensions may sometimes leave you feeling stuck in your relationships. Avoiding sensitive issues may seem easier than facing the discomfort, but just like a physical wounds, ignoring these problems only allows them to worsen over time. It's important to remember that sensitive issues are like wounds, if we ignore them to avoid the pain, they will only worsen over time impacting negatively on our relationships, our emotionally and physical health. 

Therapy can help you address sensitive issues and begin the healing process. While it may be painful at first, working through these challenges can strengthen your relationships and bring you closer to the life you desire. Together, we can uncover the happier, more fulfilled version of yourself.

Don't Let Your Wounds Fester - Seek Support Today! Just text or Email to contact me. 

For your mental health support, click here and have a look at some free and useful information 

My approach

I offer a confidential, supportive and respectful space to help you to explore your emotions and life experiences, openly and freely. I will support you to develop your awareness, empowering you to bring about effective change that you feel is right for you, so you can be the best person that you can be. 

My approach is tailored to your unique needs, by being in tune with how you are feeling and by understanding your experiences, empowering you to:

• Gain clarity and self-compassion
• Work through emotional difficulties
• Develop strategies to maintain psychological well-being

I will support you so that you can see a way forward and work towards a growing sense of inner peace and contentment, with more focus and clarity. Sometimes it just makes sense to reach out for professional help rather than struggling on your own. Just contact me to book a 15 minutes free introductory telephone consultation so we can get a sense of each other and you can ask any questions you may have. Then we can decide if we are comfortable with the idea of working together! I totally understand that the first call to say you need therapy can be hard. But give it a go. Just contact me. I understand.

The basis of my counselling practice is Person Centred which means my approach is non judgemental and I work with integrity, authenticity, empathy and compassion. I also integrate techniques from:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Transactional Analysis (TA)
• Systemic Famly Therapy
• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

I can work creatively to ensure that my approach is flexible and tailored to the needs of each individual. I do not diagnose or categorise - I see therapy less as a “cure” but more as a process which sets something in motion. My way of working is based on the idea that each person is an individual so one type of therapy doesn't fit everyone. I tailor my approach to clients rather than expect the client to fit into my therapeutic approach.

I have diverse experience. My clients come from diverse local (WD3 and nearby areas) and international backgrounds, facing challenges in both personal and professional life.

As a counsellor and psychotherapist, my goal is to provide a confidential, non-judgmental, compassionate, and empathetic space where you can freely explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. You know yourself better than I ever could, and I work together with you so we can get closer to your own answers.

You can explore anything you like, at your own pace. Whatever you choose to bring into the conversation, I'm here to support you. I'll always be honest about how I'm interpreting things, but feel free to correct me if I misunderstand. If you wish, I can also offer strategies to help improve your mental health and maintain your psychological well-being.

What is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is a specialised therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and heal from traumatic memories. This method uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, to reduce the emotional impact of trauma and promote healing.

• Recognised by WHO and NICE
• Effective for PTSD, anxiety, and other trauma-related symptoms
• Often delivers significant improvements in fewer sessions

EMDR can be used as a stand-alone therapy and is immensely powerful in many instances and sometimes I use it as a complementary therapeutic tool. It's simple and safe and you can find out more about it here: 

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) – PTSD UK

I am an EMDR UK trained therapist and i can guide you through, enabling you to process traumatic memories and reduce the emotional distress associated with them.

Whether or not you choose to incorporate EMDR as part of your therapy is up to you. All my work is tailored to the unique needs of each individual and designed to make you feel safe and relaxed.

Format of sessions on offer

I offer flexible therapy formats to suit your needs:

• In-Person Counselling / face to face counselling: Sessions are available in Rickmansworth (WD3), near Watford, Hertfordshire. My location is within easy reach of Rickmansworth station, and the M25. It is in Hertfordshire and the borders of Buckinghamshire, Hillingdon and Harrow, so convenient for those in Ruislip, Pinner, Northwood, Watford, Uxbridge, Chalfont, Sarratt, Amersham and St Albans.
• Online Counselling: I offer online counselling via video meetings for those in the South East London SE1 area, and accessible from anywhere in the UK, Europe, or worldwide via secure video platforms. I've had BACP approved training for telephone and online counselling, ensuring that I'm suitably skilled and experienced in the use of live video-based technologies, to offer online counselling. 
• Telephone Counselling: Available for clients across the UK.

Many clients find online or telephone counselling convenient and empowering, as it allows them to receive support from the comfort of their own home.

Why choose Me? 

I am a member of Association of Family Therapy (AFT) as well as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and Accredited by it. This is the largest professional body for counsellors in the UK. The main purpose of the BACP Register is to protect the public and help them find therapists who are sufficiently qualified and trustworthy. It aims to reassure clients, that a BACP registered practitioner adheres to high standards of safe and ethical practice.

You're in safe hands

BACP has awarded me the mark of accreditation to indicate that I have met a high standard of knowledge, skills, experience, and development in counselling and psychotherapy. It signifies several things for clients and employers:

• Competency and Ethics: my practice is governed by BACP's Ethical Framework, ensuring that I'm practicing ethically following their ethical code, which is designed to safeguard and protect you. It also means that I'm committed to making you my primary concern while we are working.
• Trust and Confidence: I can provide clients with greater trust and confidence when entering therapy, knowing I have been vetted by a reputable organisation.
• Qualified Professionals: It indicates that I have undertaken extensive training and met a high degree of expertise and skills, been through a rigorous process involving an assessment of my qualifications, adherence to ethical standards and years of experience in clinical practice that I have accumulated to provide you with the best help and support. It assures you that you are working with a clinically competent, professionally experienced and supervised psychotherapist.

I offer a compassionate, non-judgemental, empathic and warm therapeutic environment to enable you to feel safe enough to express your inner deeper thoughts and feelings. With me, you can be your true self and be honest about how you are really feeling.

My commitment to you is to support you and provide a safe therapy space, free of judgement where you can reflect, to empower you to identify and work through your emotional difficulties, and enabling you to find a way forward in life that you feel is right for you. I will ensure that you feel sessions maintain direction and focus, empowering you to review your progress in therapy regularly, always holding your autonomy in mind.

My way of working is gentle but sufficiently challenging to help you grow. I work at a pace that suits you, and I offer a space to safely contain what you bring. As your counsellor and psychotherapist, I will strive to create a relationship based on equality rather than being ‘in charge’.

I believe a good counsellor should have the following qualities and I'm contantly working hard keep to these standards:

I have experience of working as a therapist within a private school (RMS) and organisations such as Signpost - an agency in Hertfordshire and Link which falls under Hillingdon council's Early intervention programme, both provide counselling and other support to help young people and families. 

I'm an Anxiety approved therapist.

Get in touch

Its not always easy to create change on your own. A little support can help create the change a little faster. You do not have to wait until it gets really bad to ask for the help you need. Whatever issues you are facing, I will strive to work with you and help you find a way forward. Ready to begin healing? Contact me today for a free consultation. If you don't even try you will never know. You can find ways to get in touch on my Contact page, or you can complete Email contact.

"If you’re struggling with anxiety, you’re not alone. Nearly half (49%) of the UK population have experienced anxiety in the past five years, according to our 2023 Public Perceptions Survey. It’s the UK’s most common mental health problem.. - quote from BACP

StayAlive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.

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