Notting Hill Psychotherapy
Annie Pleshette Murphy
Couple and individual psychotherapist
BA, Psychology (cum laude), Harvard University
MA, Psychology, New York University
Additional trainings in couples counselling and family therapy
Tavistock Relationships, London, and The Couples Institute, California
The aim of therapy isn't just self-knowledge; it's using that knowledge to
break old patterns and build better ones.
My background
Prior to training as a psychotherapist and setting up my practice in London in 2014, I lived in New York, where I started my career as a journalist and author. My area of expertise was child development and family dynamics. I was Editor-in-Chief of Parents magazine for over a decade and the Parenting Correspondent for ABC-TV's Good Morning America from 1998 to 2011. I have written two books: The 7 Stages of Motherhood: Loving Your Life Without Losing Your Mind and The Secret of Play: How to Raise Smart, Healthy, Caring Kids from Birth to Age 12.
Over the course of my career, I interviewed hundreds of people grappling with often profound challenges and I witnessed the deeply healing effect simply telling their stories often had on them. The most gratifying aspect of my work is listening to my clients with compassionate curiosity, not judgment, in the hope that they feel understood, supported, and capable of change. In our work together, we develop strategies to realise that change.
My approach
I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. Having worn many hats – journalist, editor, executive, writer, board chair, not to mention wife and mother – I bring a rich, eclectic toolbox to my work with individuals and couples.
Our relationships with our partners, family and friends impact our emotional and physical wellbeing every day: stress compromises our immune systems; anxiety is contagious; depression disrupts sleep and saps energy; anger can be toxic.
I provide a safe space in which to explore these and other difficult feelings and to help you think – in the deepest sense of that word – about whatever is getting in the way of your enjoying satisfying relationships with family, friends, work colleagues and, most importantly, with yourself.
Some of the issues I can help with
• Low self-esteem, depression and/or anxiety
• Stress management
• Anger management
• Conflicts with partners, family, colleagues
• Loss of trust
• Loss of desire
• Feeling unheard/unseen in relationships
• Difficulties with expressing needs/desires
• Trauma, shame
• Conflicts over or anxiety about money
• Transition to parenthood
• Parenting challenges
• Separation/divorce
• Co-parenting after separation/divorce
• Retirement, illness, ageing
• Loss/bereavement
Contact me
Please contact me by email or by phone to arrange an initial consultation.