Qualifications
Mercedes is an Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist. She is a registered Member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
She obtained her MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute, one of the UK’s leading providers of specialist higher education in the disciplines of counselling, psychotherapy and counselling psychology, validated by Middlesex University.
After successfully completing an Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Standard Accredited training in the UK, Mercedes became an EMDR therapist. EMDR is a unique and powerful therapy that aids individuals in recovering from problems triggered by traumatic events in their lives. Best known for alleviating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EMDR therapy can also assist with a variety of mental health conditions in individuals of all ages, including depression, anxiety, phobias, and more.
Mercedes is also a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. She completed the Imago Relationship Therapy Clinical Training and the Imago Parenting Program in London and has extensive experience as a couple’s therapist.
Experience
Alongside her private practice, Mercedes is a student counsellor at Forward College, a leading institution that offers Bachelor’s degrees designed by top UK institutions such as LSE and King’s College London. Students at Forward College have access to short-term counselling as they adjust to the academic, personal, and emotional challenges of entering and progressing through university. Mercedes assists students with exam stress, anxiety, procrastination, and other mental health and emotional concerns.
Mercedes has previously worked with Faversham Counselling Services, a BACP accredited organisation and contractor of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), supporting individuals through a range of personal challenges and promoting mental health, resilience and well-being.
She has significant experience supporting victims of domestic violence and psychological, verbal and physical abuse, and currently provides counselling services at the Portuguese Association for Victim Support’s (APAV) Lisbon Unit for Migrant and Discrimination Victims, which she has been offering since 2019.
Between 2018 and 2020, Mercedes worked with the Romão de Sousa Foundation, a therapeutic community that offers a wide range of psychological therapies and medical and psychosocial interventions to help adults with severe mental health problems improve their quality of life.
She is also experienced at supporting people through bereavement and loss, having spent a year working at the Palliative Day Care Unit of Saint John’s Hospice in London in 2017, where she assisted patients with terminal illnesses such as HIV, cancer, renal failure and multiple sclerosis to deal with depression, anxiety, isolation and other psychological concerns associated with their deteriorating condition.
Affiliations
Member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Member of the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP)