Hello. My name is Scarlett de Courcier, but most people call me Scar. My pronouns are she/her, and I am an existential counsellor based in West London.
I decided to train as an existential therapist because that is the kind of therapy that helped me the most. When I first went to therapy, I felt like I really needed someone to just listen to my story and believe me, not second-guessing what I was saying or making too many interpretations. Over the years of being in my own therapy, I have found it helpful to delve into my past experiences and make links with my current patterns of relating to people.
On this site you will find a description of the kind of therapy I offer, and the kinds of clients I work with. Please take a look around, and if there’s anything more you want to know, just get in touch.
Quick Links
About Therapy
Sessions usually happen once a week, at the same time each week, for fifty minutes. Some clients prefer to come twice a week. I work in person on a long-term basis.
If you come to see me, you can expect us to talk about things that are challenging and difficult; therapy is not an easy endeavour but a way to deeply understand yourself and your way of being in the world.
Much of my work so far has been with adults who have experienced trauma in childhood, especially around physical or sexual abuse. Before I became a counsellor I worked as a computer crime investigator, specialising in child protection, so I am used to encountering stories of abuse and I understand what a profound and long-lasting impact childhood trauma can have on a person.
However, I work with clients from all sorts of backgrounds, not only those who have experienced abuse. Regardless of our upbringing there will always be elements of our lives that would benefit from being explored in therapy. Sometimes people feel like their problems are “too small” for therapy; this is not true. We all deserve a space to explore ourselves and our lives, and to come to terms with difficulties we face, whatever they might be.
I call myself an existential counsellor, which means I am interested in questions of existence: what does it mean to be you? What is that like? Which parts of your life are serving you well, and which things do we need to work through?
The Space
I work from my home, which looks like this. The space is wheelchair accessible (I am a wheelchair user and I sit in my wheelchair during sessions). I am happy to discuss any other accessibility requirements if you send me an email. Sadly, I cannot accommodate guide dogs as I have a severe dog allergy.
The house is on a residential street and is usually very quiet, although sometimes you might hear my upstairs neighbours going about their day.
I have a cat who usually joins us for sessions, so if you have a cat allergy then it may not be the right environment for you!
Most clients prefer to come for an initial consultation session, so that we can meet and find out a bit about each other before deciding whether to work together. The initial consultation is free and lasts 50 minutes.
In the initial session, I will ask you about your reasons for coming to therapy, and you can ask me any questions you might have. If you decide you would like to come back, I recommend coming for at least six sessions to begin with, after which we can evaluate how things are going.
If you come for a consultation but then decide I am not the right fit for you, I am happy to try to help you find a therapist who better suits your needs.
I am passionate about working with diverse identities in terms of sexuality, gender, race, belief and culture. I am kink-positive and happy to take the full range of human sexual experience into consideration, from asexuality to polyamory and everything in between.
I have spent my life in very diverse cultural contexts; I come from a Travelling family and grew up speaking French, Romani and English. I continually try to notice any assumptions and prejudices in myself and work through these. I do this by regularly seeking out further reading and training that challenges my unconscious biases and opens me up to perspectives that are different from my own.
I am inclusive of all bodies, regardless of age, ability and weight. I am fat-positive and I practise from a HAES (Health At Every Size) perspective.
I speak English, French, Romani, Spanish and German. Sessions are conducted in English.
Who I work with and what I do
I work with all sorts of client presentations, but areas in which I have particular interest or extra experience include:
- abuse
- anxiety
- cult leavers
- cultural issues
- depersonalisation and derealisation
- depression
- dissociation
- FGM
- long-term complex trauma, particularly childhood trauma
- PTSD / CPTSD
- religious trauma
- sexual abuse
Who I don’t work with and what I don’t do
I do not currently work with the following client groups:
- people under the age of 16
- companies
- couples
- families
- groups
I do not offer short-term therapy or goal-directed therapies such as CBT. In general, I offer therapy lasting six months or more. This is because the style of therapy I practise involves speaking about long-embedded patterns, and this takes time, both in terms of building a therapeutic relationship and working through the issues we encounter.