My approach
Integrative psychotherapy, explained.
I don't fit you to a method. I draw on several well-established ways of working and shape them around you, which is what integrative means in practice.
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Harjeet Hayre
Integrative Psychotherapist· BACP Registered Member · NHS-experienced Reviewed September 2026 · About Harjeet
The four strands
What I draw on and why.
BACP describes integrative counselling as drawing on techniques from different types of therapy to tailor an approach specifically for you, on the understanding that no single approach helps every person in every situation. These are the strands I weave together.
Psychodynamic
Helps you understand how your current feelings and behaviour are shaped by past experience and by patterns you may not be aware of. This is where we look at why the same thing keeps happening. Research shows psychodynamic therapy produces lasting gains that often continue to grow after therapy ends.
Person-centred
Founded by Carl Rogers on the belief that, given the right conditions, people can reach their own potential. The therapist offers unconditional positive regard, genuineness and empathy and the work is led by you. In a large NHS trial it matched CBT for depression at six months.
CBT-informed
Cognitive behavioural therapy looks at thoughts, feelings and behaviours and helps change some of them to manage present problems. I use its practical tools where they help, including trauma-informed CBT, without reducing you to a worksheet. NICE recommends CBT for anxiety, depression and PTSD.
Somatic awareness
Paying attention to how experience is held in the body, not only the mind: breath, tension, the moment your shoulders rise. It helps you notice what is happening before it overwhelms you. Evidence for body-focused approaches is still emerging, so I describe it as awareness, not a cure.
In the room
Awareness, then acceptance, then change.
That sequence, which BACP uses to describe integrative work, is a fair picture of how sessions unfold. We begin with what is actually happening for you, in your life and in your body. We make room for it without rushing to fix it. And change, when it comes, tends to arrive because something has been understood rather than because it was forced.
Some weeks that means looking at where a pattern first began. Other weeks it means a very practical conversation about the argument you had on Tuesday or learning what settles your nervous system when it spikes. The modality follows your need, never the other way round.
The single most reliable finding in psychotherapy research is that the quality of the relationship between client and therapist predicts how well therapy works.8 Everything above serves that relationship.
Settings
The same approach, four ways.
The approach travels. I offer it face to face, online, messaging or by phone anywhere in the UK and outdoors as walk and talk therapy in Kew. BACP notes that outdoor therapy suits people who find it easier to talk when moving and that the therapist's job is to protect confidentiality and agree the practicalities in advance.9 We can mix and match as life changes.
Wondering whether what you need is counselling or psychotherapy? The short answer is that I do both and we move between them. The longer answer is in my guide to counselling vs psychotherapy. And if you would like to see how this approach applies to a specific difficulty, start with anxiety, depression or trauma.
Sources
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BACP. Integrative counselling.
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BACP. Psychodynamic therapy.
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Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98 109.
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Barkham, M. et al. (2021). Person-centred experiential therapy versus cognitive behavioural therapy for moderate or severe depression (PRaCTICED). The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(6), 487 - 499.
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Kuhfu, M. et al. (2021). Somatic experiencing: effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929023.
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BACP. Outdoor therapy.
Ready when you are.
A free introductory call, no forms and no obligation. Just a quiet conversation to see whether working together feels right.