Ana Erra

Ana is a BPS Chartered Clinical Psychologist and HCPC Arts Therapist, specializing in drama and movement therapy, with ten years of clinical experience both in London and Portugal. She has worked in various organizational settings including the NHS, schools, and private and charity sectors as well as with the Portuguese Police force.

Ana has experience working with children, adults, and older adults from diverse cultural backgrounds and in delivering both individual and group sessions, combining talking and creative arts therapies as needed. She offers a safe and non-judgemental space where clients can also explore creative ways of expression and communication.

In addition to her private work, Ana currently works in a multi-ethnic counseling service supporting adults and older adults with mental health issues as well as refugees and asylum seekers. She also works with one of the UK’s leading child bereavement charities delivering therapy to children and was part of the team that offered support to the Grenfell community.

Ana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. She trained with ISPA, University Institute considered one of the top universities of the field in Portugal and which is strongly rooted in the Psychoanalytic approach. She also studied Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Sociedade Portuguesa de Psicologia Clínica (Portugal) and completed a MA in Drama and Movement Therapy (Sesame) with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. The Sesame approach is informed by Analytical Psychology combined with contemporary theories in intersubjectivity and developmental psychology and draws together the Laban movement, Play theory, Storytelling, and Image-based practice. Ana also trained in Authentic Movement, a contemplative movement practice influenced by Jungian Psychology and Mindfulness Meditation, and continues her studies and practice in this discipline.

In her sessions, Ana offers the option to explore issues through talking and/or using a more imaginative, symbolic approach using creative media. She considers the client’s way of relating to others as central to understanding themselves. Ana works together with her clients to bring into awareness unconscious patterns, fostering insight, with a view to changing them and for the client to move toward psychological balance and harmony. Ana believes that the relationship between the therapist and client is the core of the therapeutic work and in which they co-create a sense of meaning and where transformation can take place.

The arts have always been strongly present throughout Ana’s life and her experience fostered in her the realization of the arts as a source of exploration, expression, healing, and transformation. Ana further recognizes that the mind and body are intertwined and her practice and studies in Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness for over 15 years across Europe and India also support her work.