I am licensed in the UK with over 11 years of professional work experience.
My training background is a Doctorate in counselling psychology and I have experience of working within the NHS and the private sector. My approach is integrative, drawing on the approaches that best suit the issues clients bring into therapy depending on the clients’ needs, working towards goals that are important to the client.
I aim to provide an empathic, supportive space where clients can freely express their thoughts and feelings and feel seen and heard. While therapy helps clients to process difficult or painful thoughts and feelings, I believe that therapy can also focus on the potential of my clients. I work with her clients to identify and draw on their inner resources to live a fuller, more satisfying life.
My experience includes working with depression and anxiety, couples counselling, bereavement, OCD, trauma, addiction, PTSD, abuse, agoraphobia, panic attacks and many other issues. I understand the internal and external pressures people can put on themselves, which can lead to unhelpful or damaging coping strategies. I work with my clients to identify healthier ways of managing emotions and stress and has a special interest in eating disorders.
I has also gained valuable experience in working with children through her training with Place2Be, a leading charity specialising in working with children and adolescents. My work with the younger client’s emphasis on creating a safe, supportive, non-judgmental space to simply be whilst gently facilitating the opportunity for the young clients to explore, better understand and express their through and feelings and achieve positive change through arts and play therapy. I also understands the importance of providing parents the space to explore and understand the difficulties their children may be experiencing and offers sessions to parents to allow the opportunity for parents to explore their child’s needs and how to best support their children through these difficulties.
Additional areas of focus: Addictions, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Sleeping disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Coaching, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Abandonment, Adoption and foster care, Aging and geriatric issues, Antisocial personality, Attachment issues, Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Avoidant personality, BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture, Blended family issues, Body image, Cancer, Caregiver issues and stress, Chronic pain, illness, and disability, Co-morbidity, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Dependent personality, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), Dissociation, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Drug and alcohol addiction, Eating and food-related issues, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Fatherhood issues, Fertility issues, First responder issues, Forgiveness, Gender dysphoria, Guilt and shame, HIV / AIDS, Hoarding, Hospice and end-of-life counseling, Immigration issues, Impulsivity, Infidelity, Intellectual disability, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Veteran and Armed Forces Issues, Money and financial issues, Mood disorders, Multicultural concerns, Narcissism, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Personality disorders, Phobias, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Postpartum depression, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy and childbirth, Prejudice and discrimination, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-harm, Self-love, Sex addiction, Sexual assault and abuse, Sexual dysfunction, Sexuality, Smoking / vaping cessation, Social anxiety and phobia, Somatization, Traumatic brain injury, Trichotillomania, Visually impaired, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Existential Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Imago Relationship Therapy, Jungian Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems
BACP Therapist - Registered Member MBACP #376824
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Pegah Houshmand. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Pegah is excellent in every way and remains the same as she was when we first engaged with each other.
Written on Feb 05, 2025 after therapy with Pegah for 1 year and 5 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, and adhd
I've only had 2 sessions so far with Pegah and I feel so much positive change has already happened. I've saw several counsellors/therapists and psychologists in the past but she is by far the best. I left my very first session feeling like a part of me had returned and I think this is due to her amazing ability to really see you and make you feel heard. Her approach is gentle, but not too gentle it comes across as fake. You can tell she's a real person who is genuinely listening and she has a good sense of humour too. She comes across as someone who is highly intelligent with a lot of knowledge about how our minds work - I feel like I'm in very safe hands. For me, Pegah has the perfect balance of everything you'd want from a person who is helping you learn more about yourself.
If you're on the fence about whether or not to start therapy as you're worried about not clicking with your therapist, I hope this review helps.
Thank you Pegah, I'll always remember our sessions and everything you've taught me.
Written on Jan 23, 2025 after therapy with Pegah for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, coping with life changes, and adhd
Pegah has been incredibly helpful in supporting me through a very difficult time in my life. She has helped me to understand my emotions better, challenge unproductive or unhelpful thoughts, and ultimately find ways to move forward positively in my life. She is always understanding and empathetic and never judgmental.
Pegah is very responsive and organised, responding to journal entries through the BetterHelp platform which I have found really helpful for working through things between our regular sessions. She also provides very practical advice and techniques that can be undertaken in your own time to improve your mental health. She's a great therapist and I'd highly recommend to anyone in need of extra support or going through a difficult time.
Written on Dec 27, 2024 after therapy with Pegah for 8 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, self esteem, and coping with life changes
She’s awesome
Written on Dec 11, 2024 after therapy with Pegah for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, and addictions
Time goes by so fast when I'm having a session with Pegah, she listens carefully and shows expressions that indicates she is listening to me. She is super down to earth and I'm not nervous when I talk to her, I can be transparent when it comes to my emotions with her!
Thank you Pegah for being who you are :)
Written on Nov 08, 2024 after therapy with Pegah for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, and adhd
Pegah Houshmand is a really considerate person who listens and respects the issues I have, she gives me time to go through the things I need without feeling rushed. We are working towards a goal of emdr therapy, yes it will take time to get there but I feel good about the approach we are going with. She doesn't judge me or my opinions she does challenge my thoughts on myself in a really good manner and I feel this is very constructive for what I need for my therapy. I would recommend Pegah whole heartedly. I'm very happy with therapy I am receiving.
Written on Oct 21, 2024 after therapy with Pegah for 1 month on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, and adhd