Counselling & Psychotherapy

  • Personalised Care: Targeted Therapy Designed to Meet Your Unique Health Goals
  • Expert Guidance: Professional Team Of Psychotherapists. Counsellors & Psychologists
  • Governance & Supervision: Trained & Supervised Team To Ensure Quality Of Care
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COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY

Transform Your Relationship With Weight, Food & Your Body

At WeightMatters, we are dedicated to supporting individuals in their journey towards health and wellness through tailored counselling and psychotherapy services. 

Our clinic specialises in addressing weight-related challenges, disordered eating, negative body image, and eating disorders. Understanding the complex interplay between physical health and mental wellbeing, we also provide comprehensive support for clients dealing with anxiety, depression, and various other mental health concerns.

Counselling & Disordered Eating
Personalised counselling aimed at understanding and addressing disordered eating patterns, helping you develop healthier relationships with food.

Body Image & Self-Esteem
Specialised therapeutic interventions to help improve body image and build self-esteem, so you can feel more confident in your body.

Integrated Mental Health Services
Comprehensive mental health support addressing weight-related issues and other psychological conditions intertwined with eating and body image.

Balancing Weight & Emotions
Personalised strategies to find peace between your weight, emotions, and mental wellbeing, promoting a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Whether you are facing specific concerns about eating and weight or broader mental health challenges, we are here to support you every step of the way. Discover a balanced path forward with our dedicated support.

Begin your journey towards a healthier, more balanced life with the guidance and support of our team. Contact us today to understand how you can get started.

Change Your Life, Feel Confident In Your Body

Let us support you in improving your physical and mental health.

Schedule a call with our friendly and experienced assessment team by using the booking calendar below.

We value being clear and open about our prices, so please check Our Fees before booking a call.

MEET JAMES, CEO & FOUNDER OF WEIGHTMATTERS

James describes how the therapy team at WeightMatters is trained to deal with complex weight presentations.

Psychological Strategies

Psychological help for managing obesity and eating disorders involves a combination of therapeutic approaches, behavioral strategies, and emotional support to address both the physical and mental aspects of weight management, and someone’s relationship with food and their body. 

Here are some of the different approaches we utilise at WeightMatters to support our clients with psychological therapy.

1. Understanding the Psychological Factors

  • Emotional Eating: Recognizing how emotions (stress, sadness, boredom) influence eating behaviours.
  • Body Image Issues: Addressing self-esteem and body dissatisfaction.
  • Behavioral Patterns: Identifying triggers for overeating and developing healthier habits.

2. Effective Psychological Strategies

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns related to food and body image.
  • Helps set realistic goals and develop coping mechanisms for challenges.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Helps individuals explore and resolve ambivalence about lifestyle changes.
  • Encourages self-motivation and builds confidence.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches

  • Includes mindfulness meditation and mindful eating techniques.
  • Enhances awareness of hunger and fullness cues.
  • Reduces impulsive and emotional eating.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Useful for managing emotional dysregulation that contributes to overeating.
  • Teaches skills like distress tolerance and emotional regulation.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Encourages acceptance of challenging emotions and commitment to positive behavioral changes.
  • Promotes a values-driven life rather than focusing solely on weight.

3. Behavioral Interventions

  • Habit Tracking: Monitoring food intake, physical activity, and emotions to identify patterns.
  • Behavioral Contracts: Setting clear, achievable goals with rewards for milestones.
  • Stimulus Control: Reducing environmental triggers that lead to overeating.
  • Relapse Prevention: Building tools to recover when eating goes off-plan
  • Structured Meal Plans: Developing routines to prevent impulsive eating.

GETTING STARTED

We aim to create a safe and supportive environment, where your therapist will listen with compassion to understand your experience, and explain how treatment can support you.

Getting Started

We value creating a personal therapy that is tailored to your specific needs and requirements.

When behaviours around food, eating and exercise feel out of control, and your head is spinning with anxiety about your weight and body image, knowing where or how to start therapy can feel confusing and hopeless.

It can take a lot of courage to make contact, and we want to support you through the first step of getting in touch.

Making an Enquiry

You can complete one of our website forms, call us or send us an email. One of the team will contact you to arrange a 10-15 minute call.

We will listen to your story to understand what you want to get from therapy. We will ask if you have a preference for a particular therapist, the times you are available and the budget you are working with.

Together we will explore options to find a therapist that is the best fit for you, and arrange the next step of the process.

30 Minute Discovery Session

Experience tells us that good rapport between client and therapist is essential for successful therapy, and that’s why we ask you to come and meet a therapist for a 30 minute Discovery Session.

You get a chance to meet and describe the changes you are looking for, and your therapist will explain how individual therapy can best work for you.

Together you can then decide if working together feels right.

There are some Good Things to Know

Once booked in you will receive some documents to complete before your initial session, which gives your therapist some context about your eating history and behaviour.

Sessions last for 50 minutes, but some therapists can offer longer sessions on request. Initially we like to work with you on a weekly basis, but for some people twice weekly might be a better option.

The length of therapy depends on your individual needs and requirements, and your therapist will work with you to find the right time to end.

In your Early Sessions

Your therapist will take time to understand you and the problems you are bringing to therapy, exploring how you perceive different elements of your life.

Understanding the issues you are struggling with around weight, food, eating and body image allows your therapist to plan how best to support you.

Together you will agree areas to focus on that will move you towards the change you are looking for from therapy.

Reducing Symptoms

We ask you to keep a food diary for a few weeks, so we can highlight patterns of behaviour that cause you distress, and explore the symptoms you are experiencing.

We look at the big picture of how your nutrition is affecting your physical and mental health and suggest small changes to eating and lifestyle so you can feel better.

Reducing symptoms of anxiety, stress and cravings allows us to explore the underlying psychological factors behind your experiences.

The Root Causes of Your Eating Distress

This is where we explore the reasons why you struggle with your eating behaviour. Understanding your ‘food script’ helps us identify why, when and how your distorted patterns of eating took hold, and gives us a clear focus for psychological interventions that will support you in moving forwards.

This begins the Process of Real Change

We can be hungry for other things in life, that food can replace, and our eating can often provide us with momentary comfort.

We work with you to bring unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour that are connected with food into awareness.

Your therapist will support you in teasing apart these unhelpful connections, providing you with skills to create change in your life.

We invite You to Bring All of You to Therapy

Our clients come to us with some form of distress around food, eating, weight and size. As they progress through therapy many realise that their eating behaviour and size often represent layers of distress, coping and unresolved issues from other aspects of their lives.

The permission is that you can bring all of yourself to therapy. Our therapists are trained to deal with areas such as trauma, abuse, addiction and bereavement.

We invite you to share with us any topic or theme in your life that is making you unhappy.

Finally let’s talk about Length of Therapy & Ending

The length of therapy is dependent on many factors that are personal to you. We offer short-term therapy, which can target symptom reduction and may be suitable if you have budget constraints.

We also offer longer term therapy if you want to work at a deeper level and need more ongoing support in your process of growth and change. Ending therapy is something you can discuss with your therapist at any time.

They will explore your motives and feelings about this, and together you can agree a suitable end date that will facilitate a positive and nurturing end to your relationship.

“WeightMatters was more than just weight loss; it gave me motivation, education, and accountability. The team is professional, easygoing, and completely confidential. I highly recommend their 5-star service to anyone wanting to achieve their ideal weight.”

Gary Barlow, Singer & Songwriter, ‘Take That’

“My life has improved significantly since working with WeightMatters. I’ve gained confidence and learned to understand my triggers, which has helped me change my relationship with food. Thank you!”

Sarah

“James has been instrumental in helping me transform my relationship with food. I’ve gone from using it as a way to control fear to understanding how my eating habits are connected to emotions and past experiences. He’s more than just a food therapist-he truly cares about helping individuals adopt a positive approach to life.”

Thomas

“After years of failed diets, I realised I needed a different approach. WeightMatters helped me understand the root causes of my eating behaviours and guided me through practical steps to regain control. The therapy sessions and workshops have been invaluable, and I now feel positive changes in myself. The team is professional, compassionate, and truly supportive in navigating this journey with me.”

Amy

“I spent years dieting and believing that my lack of willpower was the issue. After trying everything, I realised the need to focus on the deeper causes of my weight problems and body image issues. Working with James in therapy has been both challenging and transformative. Sessions have given me new insights and tools to understand myself better, and my eating habits are now more controlled. With continued support from James and Sue, I’m confident I’ll reach my goals.”

Christina

“I came to WeightMatters feeling down, depressed, and the heaviest I’d ever been. Over the course of 12 sessions with Helena and six with Sue, I not only lost over 20kg but also learned to understand and manage my relationship with food. Helena helped me address my stress triggers, while Sue made my new eating habits simple and enjoyable. I now feel healthier, calmer, and happier, with friends saying I look 10 years younger!”

Oli

“After years of struggling with overeating and failed diets, I thought gastric surgery was my only option. But after working with James at WeightMatters, everything changed. Over 10 months, my unhealthy relationship with food was transformed as we uncovered the root causes. The compulsion to binge disappeared, and dieting has become easy, with weight falling off. I’m truly grateful to James and his team for helping me find peace with food.”

Barnaby

“WeightMatters has completely transformed my life after 25 years of battling an eating disorder and obesity. Through the Reframe programme, I learned that my relationship with food was more than overindulgence, and I finally faced difficult emotions. Now, I enjoy meals with my family and feel re-educated about health and nutrition. My weight loss journey has just begun, but I’m confident I have the tools to succeed. I’m so grateful for the team that gave me back my life.”

Lucretia

“I’ve struggled with compulsive overeating since my teens, and after trying many approaches, I finally found the breakthrough I needed with WeightMatters. During two intensive sessions with James, I gained key insights into both the psychological and physical aspects of my eating behaviours. The practical tools he provided have already helped me make lasting changes. I feel confident and healthier since the sessions. Booking the Breakthrough Half Days was the best decision I’ve made.”

Abigail

“I reached out to WeightMatters last year, and for the first time, I felt hope in overcoming my destructive relationship with food. With the option for online sessions, I was able to access support from afar. Through our work together, I gained confidence around food and started confronting deeper issues that were affecting my eating disorder. The environment was incredibly supportive, and I would highly recommend WeightMatters to anyone struggling with food or body image.”

Rachel

“I’m a 52-year-old woman who has struggled with weight all my life. Despite trying every diet, slimming club, and even gastric balloon surgery, I always regained the weight. As a last resort, I turned to therapy, though I was sceptical. Working with James at Weightmatters changed everything. Together, we untangled years of misguided beliefs and diet culture. Therapy has given me the tools and freedom to live a happy, healthy life. I can’t recommend James enough – he helped me break free from binge eating and finally maintain my weight loss.”

Angela

“I feel like I have struggled with my weight for my entire life and I got to the point where I didn’t know if I could ever change it. It took working with the WeightMatters team for me to realise that my problems with weight had nothing to do with food. With their support, I am finally losing weight, finding perspective and feeling better about myself. The best part is that this time I know the weight loss is permanent.”

Susan

“I have been consumed for years by my weight, the scales, and being trapped in an endless cycle of either eating nothing or eating everything. For the first time, I felt properly listened to and properly understood. Karen is an excellent listener and she gives you the time and space to really work through feelings. For me, a lot of painful memories that had been packed away were handled in a very caring way. I could not recommend Karen enough and she really did help on setting me on a path to peace.”

Elaine

“The therapy I’ve received through HealthMatters has been life-changing. My therapist has helped me recognize thought patterns I wasn’t aware of, leading to real, positive changes. After 38 years of struggling with diet culture, disordered eating, and poor body image, I finally feel optimistic about healing my relationship with food and my body, and achieving a healthy weight-without ever dieting again.”

Laura

“I’ve been seeing my counsellor, Alison for two years, and she has truly changed my life. While weight loss was my initial focus, Alison helped me realise it’s about self-love and confidence. When I started, I had no job, no friends, and low confidence. Now, I have a job I love, friends, and I’m even changing careers. I feel confident, happy, and free to be myself. Alison is amazing, and the whole team has been incredibly kind.”

Sarah

“The last five years have been a nightmare for my mental health, and I knew I needed professional help. I found HealthMatters online, and I’m so glad I did. My therapist Sophie helped me see how much I was blaming myself and hiding my feelings. She has been a true godsend. I can’t recommend HealthMatters enough – they’ve been amazing. If you need mental health support, this is the place to go.”

Jayne

“I feel with Christine’s guidance I have kicked the can a bit further down the road. Somehow or other at some point during the sessions I had some listening ears on and I feel I have come away with some tools which will help me with my emotional eating. I am by no means ‘fixed’ but definitely feel a lot more empowered and able to deal with my eating issues, which I appreciate very much. I’m feeling hopeful and less in the thrall of food, which is what I wanted at the outset of these sessions. Many thanks Christine.”

Carol

“I was pretty apprehensive about starting therapy sessions and was unsure what I really wanted to achieve by undertaking them. After a couple of sessions Billy helped me to start unpacking the causes of a few issues that I’d been experiencing, and it was a real eye-opener for me to get an external perspective on my life and what I was going through. I’d highly recommend giving it a try.”

Matt

“I have worked with James for a period of 12 months. He was an excellent therapist in my therapeutic journey and during our meetings we focused both on practical steps for me to improve my life but also had some deeper psychotherapeutic sessions. I can say that my binge eating has reduced dramatically, and more importantly I feel more in control over my eating and self-talk. I am also in control over cynicism which was a big part of my eating habits and regressing to old behaviours. I sincerely recommend working with James and WeightMatters, and I thank him wholeheartedly for our journey together.”

Nick

OUR FEES

Prices for counselling and psychotherapy range between £70 and £160 per session, depending on the practitioner you see.

We accept cover from some health insurance providers as well.

LEARN MORE

MEET TASCH, CLINICAL DIRECTOR OF TALKING THERAPIES

Dr Natascha Van Zyl describes our approach to psychological therapies at WeightMatters.

TREATMENT AREAS

Here Are The Treatment Areas We Recommend For Our Counselling & Psychotherapy Services

Explore how we can support you in changing your relationship with weight, food, eating and your body.