Dr Ruth Vivar, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist

About me

I am a highly qualified registered child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist. I work with children,

adolescents and young adults up to 25.

I offer individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, parent work, parent-child sessions and clinical supervision.

I have an interest in trauma related work; looked after, and adopted children. I have also worked extensively with children with neurodiversity such as ASD, ADHD and anxiety related OCD, eating disorders, school refusal and self-harm.

I specialise in therapeutic parental sessions, with an emphasis on developing a strong parental stance and reflective capacity.

Qualifications and Credentials

Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Tavistock and Essex University. MA in Social work and

BA(honors) in Social Sciences.

Assesment/Approach:

Assessment

Assessment appointments give us the opportunity to understand what your child or young person may be experiencing and how I can best support them.

I aim to build a broad picture of how they are doing across different areas of their life — at home, at school and in their relationships — while considering both what is happening now and their earlier experiences.

Sometimes the roots of current difficulties can be found in previous experiences; at other times, they may be connected to changes or challenges within the child or young person’s current circumstances.

Every assessment is tailored to the individual child or young person, taking into account their age, developmental stage and particular circumstances.

My Therapeutic Approach

I work primarily from a psychoanalytic perspective, looking beyond presenting symptoms to explore what may be happening underneath them.

An important part of my work is paying close attention to the therapeutic relationship, including patterns that may emerge within it, as well as unconscious forms of communication.

My approach is informed by my experience of working with complex mental health difficulties, alongside an in-depth understanding of child and adolescent development. I also consider the wider environment in which a young person is developing, including family relationships, identity, culture and other experiences that may influence their developing sense of self.

Where helpful, I may use psychological screening measures or draw upon methods from other therapeutic disciplines to develop a fuller understanding of your child or young person and their needs.

Professional Memberships / Registrations:

I have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service, hold a professional registration with the Association of

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists (ACP) and Psychological Professional network. In order to practice

privately I have specific case supervision as per ACP guidance. The Code of Ethics and Professional conduct

for each of the regulatory bodies can be accessed online including the complaints procedure. I have

Professional Liability insurance

Fees

-Psychoanalytic individual session: £125 per session

-Parental therapeutic session: £140 per session

-Initial extended assessment: £170 per session (up to 70 minutes) with both parents to initiate the assessment

includes reading previous assessments/documents.

Qualifications

BA(Hons), MA, PgDip, Mpsych

Modalities

• Psychoanalysis

Registered with

• ACP

Services

• Children & Young People's Psychotherapy