philippadowns.com

What It Is

Philippa Downs Counselling for Children is the website of an independent counselling practice based in Wimbledon, southwest London, serving areas such as Raynes Park, Putney, and Wandsworth. Its core focus is counselling for children and adolescents, combining play therapy, creative materials, talking therapy, and family/parent support. The site clearly states that the practitioner is a registered BACP member and has received postgraduate-level training in child counselling, systemic practice, parent-child relationship therapy, trauma, bereavement, and related areas.

Core Features

The service focuses on issues such as childhood anxiety, behavioural and emotional difficulties, bullying, friendship problems, exam stress, family conflict, parental separation or divorce, trauma, bereavement, family communication, and the impact of parental drug or alcohol problems. Formats include one-to-one counselling for children, parent consultations, parent-child/family work, and psychological support in collaboration with schools. The website gives a relatively thorough explanation of how play therapy for children works, confidentiality boundaries, the counselling relationship, and the assessment process, helping parents understand how child counselling differs from adult talking therapy.

Pricing

The collected information indicates that an initial phone consultation of around 20 minutes is offered free of charge. Individual child sessions last 50 minutes, parent consultations are usually 1 hour, and parent-child or family sessions are typically 1 hour. However, the website does not disclose the exact fee per session, nor does it explain payment methods, cancellation policies, or insurance reimbursement options. Another important limitation is that the homepage clearly states there are currently no openings for new clients.

Pros and Cons

The main strengths are transparency around professional background: BACP registration, DBS checks, insurance, training history, and therapeutic approach are all described. The service is not focused solely on the individual child; it also emphasizes parental understanding, parent-child relationships, and the school environment. The practitioner also has dedicated experience with complex issues such as bereavement, trauma, and the impact of addiction within families. The drawbacks are limited availability, as new clients are not currently being accepted; lack of price transparency; a fairly traditional website setup that mainly relies on phone and email contact; and a strongly local service model that is not suitable for remote or overseas users.

Who It’s For

This service is suitable for families living in southwest London who are looking for English-language counselling, play therapy, or parent support for children aged 4 and above or for adolescents. It may also be useful as a reference for schools seeking local child mental health support resources. It is not suitable for crisis intervention, users who need immediate help, Chinese-language counselling, or China-based medical services requiring local regulatory compliance.

Access from China

This is a standard UK independent practice website and is usually accessible directly from China. However, the service itself is an offline counselling practice in the UK, and its contact methods, regulatory framework, and resource links are all aimed at UK users, so it has limited practical value for users in China.