CYNTHIA MASTERS-WAAGE
Welcome to Old Windsor Psychotherapy offering integrative and creative psychotherapy for children, adolescents and adults.
Therapy provides a non-judgemental and confidential space in which to explore, heal, grow and take the direction best suited to you at any given time.
I am an experienced integrative psychotherapist in private practice, working with a range of clients in an open and creative way. I see children as young as 3 and adults up to old age.
The therapy room is a confidential space where you can address specific problems and issues, try out ideas, and explore the unknown. It is a also a safe space where you and your therapist work together within a relationship to help you find meaning in life. As a therapist I focus on providing compassion, patience and non-judgment to all my clients.
My colleague Jennifer Chivers (jenniferchivers.com) also works here at Friary Cottages.
We offer flexible sessions including face to face therapy and therapy via Zoom or telephone.
About Me
I have had a private psychotherapy practice in Old Windsor for over 10 years. The room here is a dedicated space with a large sink and creative materials including paints, clay, pens, puppets, sand, toys and musical instruments. All of these materials are for the use of everyone because sometimes our problems need expressing without words. It is your choice if you use the materials. There is also space to use the room more conventionally, with comfortable chairs for sitting and talking.
I am a parent with several grown up children and I try to bring the wisdom and experience I gain from mothering to the therapy space.
Before I came to Old Windsor I worked in Windsor as a therapist and doula. That is how I gained experience in family support, parenting issues and birth-related problems.
I have experience and training to work with clients on various issues including:
Age-related Issues
Anxiety
Autistic spectrum
Bereavement
Birth issues including infertility, surrogacy, tokophobia, birth trauma and PND as they relate to men, women and couples
Borderline personality
Bullying
Depression
Eating Disorders
OCD
Pain
Parenting
Physical and Sexual Abuse
Post-Traumatic Stress
Relationships
Sibling issues
Specific learning difficulties including ADHD, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia
Stress
Terminal Illness
Trauma including PTSD
HOW I WORK WITH DIFFERENT CLIENTS
ADULTS
I see adults and occasionally couples and the work focuses on the issues that you bring. I often work longterm to really get to the depth of issues. But, I also am happy to see clients for only a few sessions. The length of time is determined in the sessions.
We can focus on specific issues like trauma, anxiety and change of circumstances or we can take a broader view of ones way of being in the world.
Sometimes we use paints and sand and at others we just talk or learn coping techniques. Skills such as Mindfulness, relaxation, breathing and emotional regulation can be developed and strengthened in our collaborative work together.
CHILDREN
I enjoy playing with children and helping them to find their voice to express their distress or confusion about the world. Play is the work of young children and the way in which they make sense of growing up and its challenges.
I also enjoy working with parents to help them connect with their children because of course children spend much of their time with parents.
In this space, kids love that they can paint and shout and play with all sorts of mediums. They can make a mess if they like and they don't have to tidy up. This is because their mess often is an expression of their chaos or distress and I give them permission to express that without having to tidy it away too soon. Then we work to make sense of it.
Spilling a large basket of marbles on the floor can be very therapeutic!
ADOLESCENTS
Adolescents are in the midst or on the verge of so much change. Generally the focus is on getting to know them and learning about their dreams as well as listening to the details of the challenges they face. We often work with art materials - although I would never make them do this. I also offer psycho-education - in other words we talk about the physiology of issues that they struggle with such as anxiety as well as learning specific coping skills including Mindfulness and breathing techniques.
Often they talk and I listen. I'm lucky because I have uninterrupted time to listen all about what is going on for them without judgement. Sometimes they just sort out marker pens or fiddle about with magnets and that is ok.
I am very respectful of their need to have confidentiality balanced with the responsibility of those around them to keep them safe and let them grow up. I do not share concerns with parents without discussion with the young person so they are aware of why It is necessary to do so.
Clinic times:
I generally have appointments between 8:30 and 18:00 on a Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday. A session lasts for an hour and are scheduled once a week. .
I have a number of reduced rate slots so please discuss if you are struggling to pay. Please contact me within 48 hours of your session if you are unable to attend or the fee is payable.
CONTACT ME
If you are curious about therapy or want to find out more about working with me, I am happy to talk with you.
Contact me if you have questions or want to book a session to discuss therapy and to see if it feels right for us to work together.
MY QUALIFICATIONS
Training and Work Experience
In many ways I have been working to become a psychotherapist for over 40 years. Life experiences and formal training have given me the skills and interest to work without judgement flexibly with people both long and short term.
I have a first degree in philosophy and ethics and later trained as a counsellor. Whilst my children were young I worked on projects that included play therapy and family support. I later worked with parents as a doula and childbirth educator. I ran training courses and worked with parents of small babies around issues of parenting and mental health.
My interest in relieving anxiety and distress that comes with trauma led me to train in relaxation and physical skills and later in Mindfulness. I am able to teach Mindfulness to children as well as adults. I am influenced by Paul Gilbert's Compassion Focused Therapy and the Mindfulness teachings of Thich Nhat Hahn and Plum Village.
My interest in broadening my therapeutic skills led me to train first as an adult integrative psychotherapist at Regents College in London where I received a PgDip and AdvDip. I followed this with pursuing an MA in child and adolescent integrative psychotherapy from Terapia also in London. At the same time I studied play therapy with PTUK to develop specific skills for working creatively with young people. After working in social care settings and at Place2Be I set up in private practice.
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”