Shrafeddin's Therapy

children   •   adolescents    •   families

Welcome to Shrafeddin’s Therapy Surbiton

Childhood and adolescent experiences can be complex. I use a dynamic approach which tailors therapy to be age-appropriate and sensitive to each developmental stage.  It takes place in a safe, non-judgemental space with a compassionate and client-centred approach. I aim to empower children and young people to overcome challenges and thrive in their lives.

Counselling helps young people address a range of issues, such as: anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, behavioural challenges; social or academic struggles. Early intervention can help young people navigate these complexities and improve their ability to cope and thrive.

Counselling offers a safe space to process events, helping to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. It promotes personal growth and self-awareness helping adolescents navigate their developing sense of self, autonomy and belonging.

Morag Shrafeddin

 

Through therapy, I support children, adolescents and families develop skills and confidence to work through challenges, including:

  • Worries and Anxieties
  • ADHD/ASD
  • Family Issues
  • Traumatic Experiences
  • Self-Esteem
  • Social Challenges
  • Behavioural and Emotional Struggles
  • Communication Difficulties

Morag provided my teenage daughter with a safe and non-judgemental space to talk during a difficult time at home and school. Her warm and friendly approach quickly put my daughter at ease and built trust. While the client relationship was with my daughter, I appreciate the time Morag took to understand our concerns as parents at the start and that we were able to maintain a dialogue throughout.

Children

Counselling for children differs significantly from adults because children often lack the vocabulary or cognitive development to articulate their emotions directly.

Creative play therapy helps children communicate their thoughts and feelings more freely. Toys, art materials and games allow children to externalise their thoughts and work through challenging emotions. Non-verbal cues, expressed through play, align more with a younger client’s natural mode of expression.

Adolescents

Adolescents may experience intense, troubling feelings and challenges. An empathic, non-judgemental approach helps them feel understood and accepted.

Counselling with adolescents focuses on helping them articulate their experiences, build coping strategies and improve self-awareness. Engaging adolescents in this way, builds trusting relationships, a key element of effective therapy.

Families

As a family counsellor who trained with Relate, I am passionate about helping families navigate life's challenges and build stronger, healthier relationships. I aim to support families through communication struggles, conflict resolution, parenting issues and emotional well-being. My approach is rooted in empathy, understanding and creating a safe, non-judgmental space for all family members to express themselves.

Benefits

  • Counselling can improve children and young people’s social skills and relationships. 
  • Young people can develop emotional resilience, healthier coping strategies and build their self-esteem, foster a more-positive self-image, as well as learning to manage stress, reduce behavioural outbursts and understand their emotions more. 
  • Family counselling can offer your family the tools and skills needed to communicate better, resolve conflicts and strengthen bonds.

Counselling Modalities

As an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist, working with children and adolescents, I am trained to use a range of therapeutic modalities to meet the unique needs of children and young people. 

Person-Centred Therapy

Person-centred therapy is grounded in empathy and respect and takes place in a safe, non-judgmental space. The young person feels heard and respected and is able to explore their thoughts and feelings. The emphasis is on empathy and acceptance, fostering personal growth and self-acceptance.

Children and adolescents struggling with self-esteem issues or emotional difficulties can find this approach promotes self-discovery and encourages them to express their feelings.

Person-centred therapy increases self-confidence, improves self-worth and emotional resilience, builds self-esteem and supports young people with issues like anxiety, bullying and stress.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on the idea that thoughts, feelings and behaviours are connected. It helps identify unhelpful thought patterns and how they impact behaviours, actions and emotions.

The aim of CBT is to challenge these unhelpful thoughts and help the young person re-think them and replace them with more positive, realistic ones.

By building more effective coping strategies, CBT can be particularly effective for issues like anxiety, depression, and behavioural problems.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy aims to explore deeper, often unconscious thoughts and emotions which influence behaviour. This can mean understanding how past experiences, like family dynamics or early childhood events, impact current behaviours and emotions.

This can be helpful in understanding emotional issues, self-esteem problems and relationship struggles, allowing young people to gain insight into their thoughts and feelings.

Play Therapy

Play therapy is based on the idea that play is a child’s natural way of communicating. Through play, children can express feelings and experiences they might struggle to talk about.

A range of toys and creative tools allow the child to choose what feels natural. Observing and interacting with the child’s play helps to understand their inner world and help them process emotions or work through difficult experiences.

Play therapy is especially effective for younger children dealing with trauma, grief, anxiety, or social challenges as it lets them communicate in a comfortable, non-verbal way. It helps them develop healthier ways to express their emotions, improve social skills and deal with challenges.

Theraplay

Theraplay is a unique approach that combines elements of play and attachment theory, focusing on building strong, positive connections between children and their caregivers.

It uses structured play activities to create a sense of safety, bonding and trust. Parents and children are guided through games and interactive tasks helping them strengthen their relationships and foster emotional growth.

Theraplay is particularly beneficial for children who have experienced trauma, attachment issues or emotional challenges.

It helps to increase emotional security, better parent-child relationships, improved self-regulation and social skills and provides a safe space for children and caregivers to connect emotionally.

Each of these approaches offer distinct benefits. While CBT provides tools for managing thought patterns, psychodynamic therapy delves into past experiences to understand behaviour. Person-centred therapy and play therapy offer gentle, child-led ways to express and explore feelings, while Theraplay strengthens family connections.

The right modality often depends on the child’s age, personality, and specific challenges.

Morag is a wonderfully kind and empathetic therapist; she was brilliant with my child and tailored our sessions to suit his needs. I learnt lots of new skills for bonding with my son and highly recommend her.

Sessions & Fees

 

Initial Session

Following an initial, introductory telephone conversation, the first face-to-face session would be with me and the parents/carers. The child or young person would not participate in this initial session as the aim is to gain an understanding, from you, of the child or adolescent's background and presenting issues. 

With an adolescent, a separate face-to-face session with them independently, would then take place to hear first hand their experiences and challenges.

With a younger child or an adolescent who is reluctant to participate in a one-to-one session, the second session would be with an appropriate adult.

As a family counsellor, it may vary who attends the first session/s, although it is likely to be the parent/s alone. 

It is important that as part of this information gathering process, there is a sense that the child or young person feels comfortable and is likely to be able to form a therapeutic relationship, as this is a vital part of our work together.

Both assessment sessions are at a reduced cost of £60 each.

Ongoing Sessions

Ongoing sessions are 50 minutes each week. They take place in my therapy room in Surbiton. 

Fees are £75 per session.

Liberty House, 81-83 Victoria Road, Surbiton, KT6 4NS