Dr Marta Koch PhD, MPH

Starting therapy can feel like a big step — especially when you're already carrying a lot. Whether you're navigating grief, anxiety, the aftermath of trauma, or a relationship that's become hard to bear, you don't have to work it out alone.

I'm Dr Marta Koch, a qualified therapist and counsellor working with adults in Finchley and online. Clients come to me with bereavement, trauma and abuse, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression — but therapy isn't only for crisis. Many people use our work together simply to understand themselves better and grow. I see both individuals and couples.

My background is unusual for a therapist: alongside my clinical training, I hold a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences and a Masters in Public Health, and I have experience of working where physical illness and mental health meet. Our minds and bodies are deeply connected — emotional pain often shows up physically, and living with illness takes its own toll on our mental health. If you're carrying stress in your body, living with a chronic condition, or caring for someone who is, I understand that terrain from both sides.

What working together looks like: we start with a free 20-minute phone or Zoom call so you have the chance to talk about what's bringing you here. If you'd like to work together, we will meet for 50-minute sessions, for as long as is useful to you. Some people come for a few weeks; others stay for years. There's no right or wrong. And if a fixed weekly slot doesn't suit your life — shift work, childcare, an unpredictable schedule — I'm happy to work flexibly and find times that do.

I've trained in person-centred therapy, attachment-based psychotherapy, group analysis, transactional analysis, and pursue regular further training in trauma-informed therapy, somatic therapy, and art therapy. I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and a member of the United Kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis (UKATA), and I abide by their codes of ethics.

Having moved countries more than once myself, I know how both disorienting, but often transformative, big life transitions can be. I'm now settled in London with my family and our three dogs.

Sessions are £60 for individual work and £80 for couples, with a small discount for online sessions. Please ask about concessions.