James Angel

I believe that psychotherapy can get to the root of distress. Through a safe and confidential therapeutic relationship, we can expand our awareness and come to live with more fulfilment, freedom and self-acceptance.

Having been in therapy myself, I know first-hand that the process and effects can be profound. Part of this means looking at how experiences and relationships from earlier in your life are affecting things now. And part of this means learning to be with your present-day experience in a different way - becoming more mindful and curious about your emotions, your mind and your body.

Areas of Interest

My training in attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be particularly helpful for people struggling in their relationships with others, including partners, friends, family or colleagues. By exploring and understanding harmful patterns from our past, we can learn to let them go and create more satisfying relationships - with others and with ourselves.

I also have specialist expertise in working with individuals struggling with chronic pain and physical symptoms. When pain persists without a clear medical explanation, this is often rooted in fear, stress and a dysregulated nervous system. I support people to feel safer in their minds and bodies, dialling down the brain's pain-responses and easing physical symptoms.

I believe that psychotherapy should tackle forms of oppression and marginalisation, for example on the basis of race, class, gender or sexual orientation. I prioritise the impact of power and oppression within my clients' lives and within the therapy relationship.

Qualifications & Experience 

• Four-year clinical training in attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy at The Bowlby Centre

• Registered member, UKCP

• Registered member, BACP

• I have worked as a psychotherapist in a range of settings including private practice and the NHS

• I teach trainee psychotherapists at The Bowlby Centre