Meet The Team
Catherine Kanter
(she/her)
Integrative Psychotherapist (MA, HCPC, MBACP, BAAT)
At different times in our lives we may feel overwhelmed and struggle with issues that we can’t seem to find our way out of alone. I offer a therapeutic space where you can feel safe to explore any experiences, feelings or thoughts. As an integrative therapist, I am able to use different therapies in response to your needs.
It’s not always easy to express emotions in words. Internally we may have the answers - we just don’t know how to unlock them. Using creative tools, such as visualisation, metaphor, breath and drawing can help make sense of thoughts and feelings and shine a new light on old patterns of behaviour.
I am LGBTQ+ friendly and work both in person and online.
Penny Foley
(she/her)
Integrative Psychotherapist (MA, HCPC, MBACP)
People come to therapy for many reasons, including difficulties with relationships or family life, challenging events such as bereavement, loss or trauma, and emotional distress such as anxiety, depression and obsessive thinking.
I offer a collaborative and compassionate approach, with your goals and needs at the forefront: a safe and non-judgmental space where you can give voice to your life experiences and unhelpful thoughts, and we can explore together how best to understand them and make changes.
Sometimes long-held beliefs about ourselves and where we fit in deserve to be challenged, allowing us to stop what happened in the past from dictating our future. I work with adults using a range of therapeutic approaches, including CBT in which I hold an advance diploma. Therapy can help you to live your best life – which is what we all deserve.
Andrew Buurman
(he/him)
Gestalt Counsellor (MBACP)
Sometimes we lose touch with who we really are. Life's experiences, and the ways we've learned to cope with them, can create patterns that keep us stuck, disconnected from ourselves and from what we need to feel whole.
While therapy is serious work, it doesn’t have to feel heavy all the time. I believe humanity, honesty, and even laughter can play an important part in making sense of life. This work can be transformative, allowing real change
I work with a range of difficulties including anxiety and depression and addiction, Whatever brings you to therapy, my hope is that our work together helps you find your way back to the person you already are.
I work online.
Candida Benson
(she/her)
Integrative Psychotherapist (MA, HCPC)
Hello, I'm Candida, welcome to Courtyard Therapy.
Oscar Wilde famously advocated, 'Be yourself, everyone else is taken'. Wise, witty words but at times complicated to implement.
Therapy is about beginning a safe conversation with our often painful thoughts and feelings. It offers a place to begin, gently, to unpick the knots. A space for distress to find a voice and for that voice to be heard. When words become tricky, clients can use, should they wish, the studio art materials for a more embodied experience. Stretching our creative muscles can offer profound access to unconscious material, bringing it into the light. The more we understand our patterns, our behaviours, our fears, our hopes, the greater agency we have; and from this the increased potential to celebrate and enjoy 'being ourselves'.
Please feel free to email with any questions/queries.
Chris Opychral
(he/they)
Integrative Arts Psychotherapist (MA, HCPC, BAAT)
I work with adults on a one-to-one basis, offering support for a wide range of challenges including anxiety, depression, shame, trauma and difficulties stemming from childhood. Drawing on a broad scope of therapeutic modalities, my aim is to tailor our approach to working together to meet your individual needs, integrating creative techniques to facilitate expression and exploration.
Through a collaborative process, my intent is to empower clients to reclaim a sense of agency, find meaning, and navigate life’s hardships with resilience and authenticity. Whether you are seeking to unravel past traumas or cultivate a deeper connection with yourself, I will provide a safe and supportive space for growth and healing.
I am both an LGBTQIA+/GSRD and neurodiverse-affirming practitioner, and I work both online and in person.
You’re welcome to get in contact if you want to know more.
Fiona Donald
(she/her)
Integrative CBT Therapist (MBACP, MNCS Accred)
I am an accredited integrative CBT therapist, using different evidence-based ideas to help you identify and process what is going on for you. My starting point is always with the understanding that life is difficult for all of us sooner or later – unfortunately! From that premise we will work together to question any underlying beliefs that may be causing issues, while empowering you to reach your goals. I also draw on principles from Compassion Focused Therapy which considers our actions from an evolutionary perspective and which can be an extremely helpful way of understanding why we behave as we do. It is especially useful for shame, low self-esteem and social anxiety.
I aim to create a warm, non-judgmental space and am a great believer in the restorative power of humour. This work helps build resilience and unconditional self-acceptance. I have worked in the NHS, privately and with Armed Forces veterans and have experience with anxiety (in its many forms, including emetophobia, OCD, social, relationship and health anxiety), depression, anger, low self-esteem, shame, imposter syndrome and moral injury. I work with all age groups from 16 upwards.
I look forward to meeting you!