Reasons People Seek Therapy
Feeling like something isn't right, but not sure where to start?
If you're searching for a therapist near you, there's a good chance you're not looking for a diagnosis, you're looking for someone to help you make sense of what's happening and find a way through it. Individual therapy with Kevin George is trauma-informed, relational, and adapted to you rather than applying a single model to everyone, drawing on psychodynamic, CBT, systemic, Jungian, and Internal Family Systems approaches depending on what fits.
Below are some of the most common reasons people reach out. If you don't see your exact situation, that's fine, most people don't arrive with the "right words," they arrive with "this is what's happening."
Anxiety Therapy
For when your mind won't switch off, or worry has started running the show.
If you've found yourself typing "I can't stop worrying" or "how to stop anxiety at night" into a search bar, you're not alone, and you don't need a diagnosis to start addressing it. Anxiety therapy helps you understand what's driving the anxious thoughts and physical symptoms, whether that's racing thoughts, sleep disruption, panic, or a constant low-level sense of dread, and build practical ways to interrupt the cycle.
Common signs this might help: persistent worry, difficulty switching off, panic attacks, health anxiety, social anxiety, anxiety affecting sleep or concentration.
Depression and Low Mood Support
For when getting through the day has started to feel heavy.
Low mood and depression don't always look like sadness. Sometimes it's exhaustion, numbness, losing interest in things you used to enjoy, or a sense that nothing quite means what it used to. Therapy offers a space to understand what's underneath the low mood, whether that's a specific event, a longer pattern, or something harder to name, and to work towards feeling more like yourself again.
Common signs this might help: low energy, loss of interest or motivation, persistent low mood, feeling flat or numb, difficulty seeing a way forward.
Stress and Burnout
For when work, life, or both have become too much to carry.
Burnout is one of the most searched mental health terms right now, and for good reason: exhaustion, cynicism, and a drop in performance are increasingly common, particularly for people under sustained pressure at work or at home. Therapy for stress and burnout looks at what's driving the overload, helps you set boundaries that actually hold, and supports you in reclaiming energy and perspective rather than just pushing through.
Common signs this might help: chronic exhaustion, feeling detached from work, irritability, difficulty switching off, physical symptoms of stress.
Relationship Difficulties
For patterns that keep repeating, with a partner, family member, or in relationships generally.
Not every relationship issue needs both people in the room. Individual therapy is often the right starting point when you want to understand your own part in a repeating pattern, whether that's conflict, distance, jealousy, difficulty trusting, or feeling unheard, before deciding whether joint sessions are needed.
Common signs this might help: repeating relationship conflict, difficulty communicating needs, trust issues, feeling unseen or unheard in relationships.
(If you and a partner or family member want to attend together, see Couple / Family Therapy.)
Grief and Bereavement
For loss that doesn't move in a straight line.
Grief rarely follows the pattern people expect. Therapy offers space to process loss, whatever form it takes, bereavement, the end of a relationship, a loss of identity or role, without a timeline attached, and without needing to "get over it" on anyone else's schedule.
Common signs this might help: grief that isn't easing, complicated feelings about a loss, difficulty processing a death or major loss, grief resurfacing unexpectedly.
Trauma Therapy
For experiences that still affect you now, even if they happened a long time ago.
Trauma therapy isn't only for single, dramatic events. It also supports people carrying the effects of prolonged difficult experiences, family environments, or safeguarding concerns, drawing on Kevin's background across private law, safeguarding, and family systems work. The approach is trauma-informed throughout: paced to you, without pressure to relive or explain more than feels manageable.
Common signs this might help: flashbacks or intrusive memories, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, difficulty trusting, trauma affecting daily life or relationships.
Low Self-Esteem and Confidence
For when self-doubt has started shaping your decisions.
Low confidence often shows up as second-guessing, people-pleasing, avoiding opportunities, or a persistent inner critic. Therapy looks at where these patterns came from and works towards a more stable, less conditional sense of self-worth.
Common signs this might help: persistent self-doubt, people-pleasing, difficulty asserting needs, harsh self-criticism, avoiding opportunities out of fear of failure.
Life Transitions
For the moments that change everything, career change, divorce, becoming a parent, retirement, identity shifts.
Even positive change can be destabilising. Life transition support helps you process what's ending, what's beginning, and who you are in the middle of it, particularly relevant for former athletes and others navigating identity change after a major life stage ends.
Common signs this might help: difficulty adjusting to a major change, identity uncertainty, anxiety about the future, grief connected to a life stage ending.
Anger
For when anger feels bigger than the situation calls for, or gets pushed down until it isn't.
Anger is often a signal for something else, unmet needs, old patterns, or unprocessed hurt. Therapy helps you understand what anger is protecting or expressing, and build ways to respond rather than react.
Common signs this might help: frequent irritability, anger that feels disproportionate, difficulty expressing anger safely, anger affecting relationships or work.
FAQ - The Check In
Do I need a diagnosis to start therapy?
No. Most people who reach out don't have a diagnosis, and you don't need one. You only need to be able to say what's been happening for you. Kevin works with the experience you bring, not a label.
What if my reason for seeking therapy isn't listed?
That's common. The areas on this page are the most frequent reasons people get in touch, but many people come with something harder to name, or several things at once. If something feels wrong and you want to understand it, that is reason enough to make contact.
What kind of therapy does Kevin offer?
Kevin is a BACP-registered therapist. His work is trauma-informed and relational. He draws on psychodynamic, CBT, systemic, Jungian and Internal Family Systems (IFS) approaches, choosing what fits you rather than applying one model to everyone. For some people that means practical strategies for managing symptoms. For others it means understanding the patterns underneath them. Often it is both.
How do I know if therapy is right for me?
If a difficulty is affecting your sleep, work, relationships or sense of yourself, therapy can help. An initial conversation is a chance to talk through what's happening and decide together whether working with Kevin is the right fit. You are under no obligation to continue.
What happens in the first session?
The first session is about understanding what has brought you to therapy and what you would like to be different. Kevin will ask about your current situation and some relevant background, at a pace that feels manageable. You won't be pushed to share more than you are ready to.
Will I have to talk about my past or relive trauma?
Not unless and until you choose to. Trauma therapy with Kevin is paced to you. The aim is to reduce the hold difficult experiences have on your present life, not to make you retell them in detail. Feeling safe and stable comes first.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on what you're working on. Some people benefit from a focused piece of work over a few months; others prefer longer-term therapy to address deeper or repeating patterns. This is reviewed with you regularly so the work stays useful.
Do you offer online therapy?
Yes. Sessions are available online as well as in person at locations in Westminster, Beckenham and London Bridge. Online therapy works well for people with busy schedules, those living outside London, and anyone who feels more comfortable talking from their own space.
Should I come alone or with my partner or family?
Individual therapy is often the right starting point, particularly if you want to understand your own part in a repeating pattern. If you and a partner or family member would like to attend together, see Couple / Family Therapy. Kevin can help you decide which is more suitable.
I'm not sure I'm ready for ongoing therapy. Is there another option?
Yes. The Check In offers single sessions for people who want space to talk something through without committing to regular therapy, with monthly options available if you would like continued support.
I'm a former athlete. Is this relevant to me?
Very much so. As a former professional footballer, Kevin has particular experience supporting athletes through identity change, retirement, performance pressure and life after sport. See also Performance Therapy.
Is therapy confidential?
Yes. What you discuss stays between you and Kevin, within professional limits. As with all BACP-registered therapists, confidentiality may need to be broken only where there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, or where the law requires it. This is explained fully before therapy begins.
How much does therapy cost?
[Insert fees or link to fees page.]
What should I do if I'm in crisis?
Therapy is not an emergency service. If you are at immediate risk, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. You can call Samaritans any time on 116 123, or call NHS 111 and select the mental health option for urgent support.
How do I get started?
Get in touch through the contact page to arrange an initial conversation. You don't need to have the right words. Telling Kevin what's been happening is enough.