Leon McRae

Please note I am not currently accepting referrals.

Hi, I'm Leon. Thanks for visiting my profile. I am a psychotherapist with over 15 years’ experience in helping adults, families and young people overcome the obstacles, both past and present, that cause distress. Drawing on the fruits of 20-years of interdisciplinary training and experience in mental health, counselling, psychotherapy and law, I work with clients from all backgrounds and identities to create a personalised plan of treatment(s) dedicated to optimising autonomy, creating space after the experience of trauma and enhancing interpersonal possibilities. My approach to health, well-being and empowerment is rooted in respect for relationships, embodiment, diversity, compassion and empathy, so that I am able to meet you, wherever you are in life. Please feel free to reach out to discuss how I can help you.

It has been consistently shown through research that the quality of client-therapist relationship is fundamental to the potential benefits of talking therapies. This does not merely mean that you feel you "click" with your therapist; it also means that you have chosen to work with a therapist who values meeting you in your uniqueness, without being threatened by the inevitable differences between you. Inherent within this conception of therapy is that your therapist can hold the space in a way that feels safe. Nevertheless, you may have in mind that you wish to work in a particular way with a therapist. You may already know that there are many different therapeutic modalities. I originally trained as an Integrative Psychotherapist, which means I recognise the collective fruits of many different modalities, including psychoanalysis (exploring the unconscious), object relations (childhood development), attachment theory (the making and breaking of affectional bonds) and transactional analysis (personality development as a product of social interactions). Upon graduation, however, I was awarded a scholarship to study Jungian and Post-Jungian Analytic Psychology, which has led to interest in working more deeply with clients to bring unconscious elements of the psyche (such as profound fears, shame, destructive habits and disavowed aspects of yourself) into conscious awareness through exploration of metaphor, symbolism and the tension of opposites, so that you can cultivate deeper resilience, self-acceptance and personal renewal. This means that I can respond effectively and diversely to what you bring to therapy.