Rate Tamara Zanella

I am an HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist as well as an EMDRIA certified EMDR Therapist with over 10 years of private practice experience. I maintain a practice in London, UK where I specialise in the treatment of acute and chronic trauma-related presentations, anxiety disorders, depression, and dissociative disorders. I am further registered with the Health Professions Council South Africa (HPCSA) having practiced in South Africa for 12 years, as well as being a Chartered Member and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

My undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Sussex in Brighton, whilst my MSc was completed at Roehampton University in London. My training included Psychodynamic and Rogerian approaches to therapy as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Having been trained in these modalities I am able to combine these into an integrative approach. This has the advantage of covering a range of methods from which it is possible to select the therapy that best fits the client’s particular needs. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a specific psychotherapy that was developed to resolve symptoms resulting from disturbing and unresolved life experiences and is particularly effective for trauma-related difficulties and bereavement. EMDR Therapy is one of only two therapies recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the treatment of PTSD, the other being trauma-focused CBT which I am also trained in. Therapists that are Certified in EMDR have not only completed the basic EMDR training, but have furthered their skill by completing at least 20 additional hours of consultation and a minimum of 50 clinical sessions using EMDR as well as completing ongoing Continual Professional Development (CPD) to maintain their accreditation.

Whilst in the UK I have worked in the voluntary sector as well as within Primary Care in the National Health Service (NHS) in London as well as within the Renal Unit of The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, consulting with both inpatients and outpatients presenting with various difficulties. Whilst in South Africa I worked within employee wellness in the corporate sector for a number of years before moving into fulltime private practice. In my private practice I work mainly with older adolescents and adults as well as couples, presenting with a range of difficulties. I work within the paradigm that is best suited to the particular client and their specific difficulty. This means that some problems can be resolved in relatively short-term therapy whilst others may need to be worked on within a longer-term approach.

I have served on the Gauteng Committee for Postnatal Depression Support Association - Gauteng (PNDSA) and I was a member of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). I also worked on a voluntary basis for the trauma unit of the South African Police Service whilst living in South Africa. In addition, I was an Executive Committee member of the South African Psychoanalytic Confederation (SAPC) in 2012. I remain a member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and the EMDR International Association.

My passion for educating people about mental health problems and being part of actively challenging the stigma that surrounds mental health and wellbeing is borne out in my on-going contributions to the media in all its formats as well as offering training to various voluntary organizations and corporate companies.