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Friday 12-7pm and Saturday 9-3pm

Some other options for parent work and online also. Please contact me.

My name is Lora Linhares-Marx and I am a qualified Child & Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. I work with children and young people up to 18 years old and I also offer Therapeutic Parenting Support sessions. The Psychodynamic approach works with the idea that behavioural problems may be an expression of underlying internal distress. By providing a space to gently explore the underlying emotions, safe connection can be made between conscious and unconscious worlds.

I’m passionate about providing emotional support to young people and their families and have been working in this area for over 10 years. I have experience working in the NHS, Schools, Charities, and in private practice. I am committed to providing a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space for children and families where we can explore issues at your own pace and work towards meaningful change.

I work with a variety of issues including low mood, anxiety, challenging behaviours, self-esteem and friendship issues, loss, bereavement, parental separation and other experiences of trauma. Whilst my core training is in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, in my one-to-one sessions with young people I offer a non-directive, individualised and child-centred approach which incorporates elements of Mindfulness, Mentalisation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) informed tools and creative play within the work.

As well as working directly with young people, I can offer Therapeutic Parenting Support sessions. These sessions can compliment the direct child work, or can be used as an option for parents of young people who are too young/not ready to engage in work themselves or receiving support elsewhere.

I hold a Masters Degree in Child & Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and further qualifications in Mental Health Nursing and Psychotherapy.

Child psychodynamic psychotherapy is a gentle and thoughtful way of helping children make sense of their feelings and experiences, especially when something feels difficult or stuck.

In regular sessions with a trained therapist, children are invited to play, talk, and use creative materials like toys, sand trays, paints, and clay. These give them different ways to explore and express feelings that might be hard to put into words.

The therapist pays close attention to what the child brings — both in how they play and how they relate — helping them think about what might be going on underneath the surface.

Over time, this can help children feel more understood, less overwhelmed, and better able to manage their emotions and relationships.

In parenting work, I draw on psychodynamic thinking to help parents reflect on what might be happening beneath the surface of their child’s behaviour — and their own emotional responses to it. Together, we explore how past experiences, unconscious patterns, and early relationships may be shaping the current dynamic. This approach creates space for deeper understanding, rather than quick fixes, and can help parents feel more grounded, less reactive, and more attuned to their child’s emotional world. It’s a collaborative, compassionate process that supports parents to respond with greater curiosity, patience, and confidence.

GETTING STARTED

You may set up your first appointment and arrange a telephone call by sending me an email with a brief description of your situation together with any other relevant information or questions.

If you prefer to discuss on the phone first, I can offer a free 20-minute phone consultation where we can briefly discuss the reasons for you seeking psychotherapy or parenting support.

If you are seeking therapy for your child, on the first session I will meet with you without your child to understand the area of difficulty. I will ask you about your child’s development, your current concerns and what your expectations for therapeutic support are. After this, I will invite your child in for an initial assessment and progress onto regular support should this feel appropriate.

If 1:1 therapy isn’t felt to be the right option for the child, I may suggest parent support initially to equip parent with some tools to start connecting and offering emotional containment. This may be the case for families involved in court proceedings or where there are ongoing safeguarding issues or recent trauma.

Whilst I am able to offer short-term or long-term support, depending on what you would like, before children can express and experience painful feelings, they need to build trust and feel safe by experiencing a consistent therapeutic space. In order to achieve this, I would recommend a minimum of 6 sessions to support the young person to build trust with the process of therapy. After this, I would recommend booking sessions in blocks of 6 where possible so the young person has a sense of how long the support will be in place for. While I will offer parent review sessions as part of a package of care, elements of the therapeutic work must remain confidential unless there is a need to share information related to risk.

I offer weekly or fortnightly sessions.

I have a fully equipped child-centred room in E8 with lift access and fully accessible for wheelchair users.