Abby Stern

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Languages: English

Contact Abby Stern HERE for a free online 20-minute introduction appointment.

I know what it is like to believe you should be able to handle it alone. Something has shifted, perhaps a diagnosis or injury, the end of a relationship, an international move, new motherhood, perimenopause, or any change that makes you look in the mirror and not quite recognise who’s looking back, and you feel like you should be managing it better than you are. You’re not failing. You’re adjusting to something genuinely difficult, and it’s understandable that trying to manage alone is no longer working.

I work with people whose lives may look capable or composed from the outside, while internally they are navigating illness, injury, shame, uncertainty, or a profound change in how they see themselves. I offer a warm, nurturing and collaborative space for adults and adolescents, including young people navigating difficult emotions, anxiety, identity, change or uncertainty.

I believe that therapy can help when someone finally feels safe enough to be authentic, to explore what is actually true for them instead of what they think they’re supposed to feel, and to gain perspective on what they are experiencing. Many of us live with a great deal of noise; expectations, roles, obligations, and other people’s ideas of who we should be. Therapy can offer space to turn down that noise, hear your own experience more clearly, and identify what you need for your emotional wellbeing.

Because each person’s needs and circumstances are unique, I take an integrative approach, drawing on a range of therapeutic models and techniques grounded in cognitive-behavioural and person-centred principles. Our sessions are collaborative and responsive to you; there is structure where helpful, while prioritising space for genuine conversation, reflection and curiosity. Together, we can identify your inner strengths and resources to deepen your understanding of yourself, and develop practical ways of coping at a pace that feels right for you.

I bring a combination of professional training and lived experience to this work. Before training as a therapist, I spent 15 years in commercial law, including as a corporate litigator and in-house General Counsel in London. I then spent a further 4 years as a teaching assistant in an international school here in Hong Kong, supporting primary school aged children, including running a quiet “Studio Time” space for pupils who found the playground overwhelming. Those experiences taught me the importance of careful listening, thoughtful observation, and the relief a genuinely safe space can offer at any age.

My lived experience of spinal cord injury has also given me a personal understanding of how illness and injury can affect identity, capacity and shame. It happened over 25 years ago, and my response to it, and relationship with it, continues to develop and change even now. Alongside my professional background and training, it informs a thoughtful, non-judgmental, client-led way of working.

Therapy is most effective when there is a good match between therapist and client. I provide a free 20 minute online introductory consultation so that we can meet, discuss what you are looking for, and see whether working together feels like a good fit.

Abby practices in English, online and in person.

Areas of Focus:

• Anxiety and stress
• Depression or low mood
• Life transitions, including pre- and post-natal, perimenopause, retirement/empty-nest
• Parenting
• Expat life and third culture experience
• Chronic injury and illness
• Grief and loss

Qualifications:

• Masters of Counselling, with Distinction, Monash University, Australia
• Legal Practice Course and CommonProfessional Examination, with Distinction, University of Law, UK
• Bachelor of Science (Joint Honours), Psychology and Philosophy, Leeds University, UK

Professional Memberships

• Greater Bay Psychology & Counselling Association (GBPCA)
• Postpartum Support International (PSI)
• Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association (HKPCA) – pending
• Australian Counselling Association (ACA) – pending

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