In addition to general counselling, I also offer creative and media coaching
Simon Chu (MBACP, BA.Hons, Pg.dip)
Counselling and Psychotherapy
BACP Registered Therapeutic Counsellor
About Me.
Background, clinical experience and approach
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and the power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness” (Viktor Frankl)
As a BACP registered counsellor, I believe that effective psychotherapy can turn your world around. By helping you recognise difficult feelings and unwelcome behaviour and then identify and dismantle the self defeating patterns of thought that create them, I can offer the raised awareness and emotional support you need to bring about a deep and lasting life transformation.
My clinical experience includes working with a diverse range of clients aged from 21 to 60 on issues surrounding anxiety, depression, trauma, shame, low self worth, bereavement, identity, loneliness, anger management, OCD, ADHD, addiction, career, sexuality, family conflict and relationships.
As someone of Chinese extraction born in Britain, I also have first hand knowledge of growing up as an ethnic minority in England and a therapeutic understanding of the complexities around discrimination and self esteem that this experience brings with It. Although English is my first language, I can also speak some Cantonese.
Additionally, I specialise in issues connected with relationships, existential problems like meaning and purpose and work related challenges especially in the creative industries. I see a number of clients in the arts and entertainment field. Previously, I worked as a counsellor to young musicians and actors at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
My background is as a documentary film director where I worked both as a freelancer and as a staff employee for a mass corporation like the BBC. Over the course of twenty years, I gained valuable insight into both the challenge of building a career and the struggle of looking for work. Originally, I trained as a solicitor so I also have a wide practical understanding of how conflict, negotiation and reconciliation can impact everyday relationships.
Through this combination of life experience, specialist training and a natural, non judgemental affinity with a diverse mix of people, I believe I can offer you a safe and empathetic environment to explore whatever issues block your full potential and hold you back from living the rich emotional life that you deserve.
Working on Relationships
How I Work with Individuals and Couples
One area in particular I work in is helping individuals and couples navigate the complexities of relationships, fostering authentic connections that are both meaningful and enduring. At the heart of my approach is the belief that relationships thrive when we can truly see and be seen by one another, free from the limiting patterns and beliefs we may have carried from our past.
In our work together, we explore the roots of relational challenges—whether they stem from childhood experiences, ingrained habits, or unspoken fears. By understanding how these patterns shape your thoughts, emotions, and actions, we create space for change. You’ll learn to notice automatic responses, pause, and reflect, opening up opportunities to choose new ways of relating that align with your deeper hopes and values.
If you come as a couple, this work is undertaken by both parties equally so each can better understand the other. This process involves a balance of self-awareness and practical action. Together, we uncover the emotional truths beneath conflict, helping you express how situations affect you without blame. You’ll also learn to empathise with others’ perspectives, building bridges of understanding even in the face of disagreement. Through this mutual exploration, we work toward relational authenticity—where both partners feel safe to show up fully and to support each other’s growth.
Whether you are part of a couple or you come to therapy alone, a key part of this journey is identifying the beliefs and behaviours that no longer serve you, such as avoiding intimacy out of fear of rejection or overcompensating to win approval. By gently challenging these patterns, together we pave the way for healthier, more fulfilling relationships or if these default processes limit your ability to connect with others, we will work to dismantle these roadblocks to authentic relational contact.
Regardless of whether you’re working to repair a relationship, deepen intimacy, or navigate life transitions, I create a supportive space where the real you can flourish. Together, we will build a foundation for relationships that is resilient, joyful, and rooted in genuine, sustainable connection.
My Experience
Alongside general practice I also specialise in the creative industries and work related issues
Drawing on both my clinical work and my twenty years experience in the entertainment industry, I am well placed to help people deal with the mental and emotional fallout of working in high pressure, competitive and creatively demanding jobs and professions.
In the past couple of years more and more attention has been drawn to the precarious mental health in the workplace around working routines, procrastination, optimising our work/life balance and new technical challenges like AI.
Typical issues range from burn out, bullying, dealing with rejection, self sabotage and "Imposter Syndrome" to the emotional roller coaster of success, failure and invasion of privacy. With first hand experience of many of these issues myself, I can provide an empathetic, non judgemental environment in which to share and explore your particular situation.
How I Work
I use a range of techniques informed by the latest developments in clinical research
My principle training is in Gestalt Therapy as practiced at the internationally renowned Metanoia Institute in London. The fundamental goal is to raise your self awareness and to treat the whole person and not just the mind. So alongside traditional talking therapy, I use a range of experiential techniques including body process, enactment, creative expression, internal dialogue and visualisation, tailor made to suit your unique circumstances.
I believe that therapy succeeds or fails on one key factor. My relationship with you. I see our work together as a collaborative venture where we figure out between us what methodology best suits your particular needs. My priority is to build a bond of trust and understanding based on empathy, mutual respect and non-judgement.
For me, this means bringing the whole of my life experience, training and humanity into our relationship and attending to your needs with sensitivity and compassion so that you feel fully seen, heard and appreciated.
About Gestalt Therapy
Incorporating Somatic Investigation and Body Therapy
In my practice, I sometimes integrate somatic investigation and body therapy in sessions to help clients access deeper layers of self-awareness and healing. Drawing from my experience in conscious dance practices such as 5Rhythms and Movement Meditation, I encourage clients to explore how emotions and relational dynamics are stored and expressed in the body. This embodied approach allows us to move beyond purely cognitive insights and into a richer, more holistic understanding of ourselves and our relationships.
My work is informed by Gestalt Therapy, Movement Medicine and Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy which emphasises kinaesthetic resonance—the felt sense of how we are moved by others in relationship. By tuning into both your and my own somatic responses during sessions, I support clients in uncovering and shifting unconscious patterns held in the body. This work is especially effective in addressing attachment wounds, habitual relational dynamics, and blocks to intimacy.
On a personal level, my commitment to somatic practices has transformed my own journey toward greater grounding and self-compassion. Inspired by the teachings of Taoism, Buddhism, and spiritual teachers like Ram Dass and Jon Kabat-Zinn, I bring mindfulness and an appreciation for energetic flow to my therapeutic approach. I’ve found that when we work with the body, we also move the psyche, creating openings for growth, connection, and healing that words alone cannot achieve.
Through this integrative lens, I help clients reconnect with their bodies as a source of wisdom and resilience, fostering a deeper sense of presence, self-awareness, and authentic connection in their relationships.
Issues Around Public Performance
One of my research interests is in treating anxiety brought about by public and social pressure
Working closely with people in the public eye has given me a unique insight into the concerns and defences of people who have difficulty negotiating their relationship with the world. It has also helped me appreciate how similar processes affect millions of people who struggle with social anxiety.
The pressure to perform in the glare of the spotlight brings its own special set of issues like stage fright and creative block leading to common problems like anxiety, depression and low self esteem. Fame and public scrutiny can act as a pressure valve in these circumstances to accelerate the process of deteriorating mental health.
My unique experience makes me ideally placed to understand how social exposure and pressure can trigger anxiety around having to perform and I offer a safe, non judgemental environment in which to explore such issues in depth.
Performance anxiety, stage fright, creative block, invasion of privacy, imposter syndrome.
Practicalities
Training and Qualification
Registered Member - British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling - Metanoia Institute London
Externship Certificate for Couples - British Emotionally Focussed Therapy Centre
Training - MSc in Gestalt Therapy : Metanoia Institute London
Training - Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy: Helena Kellner
Training - Body Psychotherapy : Minster Centre, London
Solicitor of The Supreme Court, England and Wales
BA Hons Philosophy - University of North Wales
Clinical Experience as Counsellor:
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Student Services, Barbican
Metanoia Psychotherapy and Counselling Service, Ealing
Claremont Project Counselling Service, Islington
I am fully covered by professional indemnity insurance and adhere to the ethical guidelines of BACP
Therapy and Counselling Services
I offer a free initial telephone or video consultation. If we decide to work together I can offer to see you weekly over a short term period or for a longer fixed term period or on a rolling weekly basis. I offer both online and in person sessions from my clinic in Queens Park W10.
Fees and Location
For individuals, my fees are £50 - £70 per 50 mins session depending on means.
For couples my fees are £100 per 1 hour session.
Payment is by bank transfer or otherwise agreed.
My clinic is situated at:
The Re-Mind and Body Therapy Center
260a Kilburn Lane
London, W10 4BA
United Kingdom