Owen Hills:
Gestalt Counsellor (MBACP)
My name is Owen Hills, and I am a qualified Gestalt Counsellor, with a Diploma in Counselling from the Gestalt Centre in London.
A longtime Hackney resident, my background is in primary education and music. I also have over two years’ experience as a volunteer at The Listening Place, a charity working with people suffering chronic suicidal feelings.
I offer sessions in person at HQTherapy’s rooms in Haggerston and online.
The Gestalt approach is a relational approach, centred on what is happening here and now. It is to enter into a therapeutic relationship with the counsellor and work with what emerges, honestly and without judgement. Gestalt works with the whole of a person’s experience – mental, physical and emotional – in the understanding that nothing is fixed, and that change can and does happen through this understanding. We are all works in progress.
In the therapeutic relationship, we can identify ways in which we are stuck, the ways in which we repeat patterns and self-sabotage ourselves. The roots of these things can often be found in childhood experiences and relationships.
The goal is to bring awareness to our relationships with others, our relationship to ourselves and the way we are in the world.
I can offer an attentive and compassionate space for you to explore where you are now and how you came to this place. This can be a daunting process, as I know from my own experience, but we can work at your own pace, led by your awareness and understanding of your own process.
I see my role as a counsellor as to listen, to reflect and sometimes to guide. Key to the Gestalt approach is that the work we do is a co-creation, the counsellor and client working together.
I am open to working with people of all backgrounds, identities, ages and beliefs. I am aware of the challenges we face at this time, of the anxiety and uncertainty that is present, and the very real systemic obstacles there are to the well-being of many of us. I welcome exploration of this in the counselling room.
My rate is £70 per session, with lower rates available through HQ Therapy’s reduced rate concessionary service. I am currently available on Tuesdays from 5pm for in-person sessions, but other times may be possible, and I can offer greater flexibility with online sessions.
If you are interested in working with me, I offer a free introductory phone call or online meeting to talk about what you are looking for in coming to counselling, what I can offer, and to see if we would like to work together. Following this we can arrange an initial session. Please get in touch with any questions.
***If you require more information and guidance about therapy, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page.***