Summary
Sophia Koumi is a qualified Cognitive behavioural therapist (CBT) and Dialectic Behavioural Therapist (DBT). Sophia offers face to face appointments at the clinic on Wednesday afternoons/evenings in addition to some availability for remote appointments on weekday evenings.
Experience
Sophia’s fascination with mental health started when she watched Silence of the Lambs and wanted to be like Clarice. Her passion was fuelled by her A-level psychology teacher who inspired Sophia to go to university and study psychology. After taking some time out of education to explore the world, Sophia went on to train as a Mental Health Nurse (RMN) at King’s College London where she also became involved in healthcare activism which took her all the way to parliament.
Sophia moved to Oxford in 2016 and started working as a recovery nurse with adults suffering from substance misuse and associated issues. In 2018 Sophia got her training post as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) working in the NHS child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHs). Sophia has worked in the service ever since and been lucky enough to work across the service in a number of different teams and roles, allowing her to complete her training to also become a Dialectic Behavioural Therapist (DBT) and CBT supervisor.
While a CBT therapist at heart, Sophia has also had training in lots of other therapies including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and narrative exposure therapy (NET), Sophia also has a keen interest in compassion focused therapy (CFT) and will often spend her spare time reading books and listening to podcasts to develop her understanding of different therapies. Sophia enjoys drawing on different therapies to suit individual need and enhance therapy.
Sophia is passionate about going on a collaborative therapy journey that facilitates individuals to become their own therapists. Sophia supports individuals to improve their wellbeing by developing a shared understanding of their difficulties and identifying areas to work on. Sophia also believes therapy can be fun and enjoys being creative especially when working with children and young people.
Interesting Facts
Sophia is a lover of nature and if she is not walking her two gorgeous rescue pups in the woods somewhere, she is either outside tending to her vegetable garden or inside tending to her 200 house plants (and counting). Sophia believes in the power of exercise for mental health and has a regular yoga and meditation practice to enable her to relax and unwind. She has also run eight tough mudders, one half marathon and the stairs of the London Gherkin. Sophia is a lover of colour and pattern because it boosts hers (and others) moods, you will often see Sophia in bright colourful clothing, and she also has a home filled with colour (and plants).
