About me

I’m Gabi Machado, a person-centred psychotherapist. I was born and raised in London to Brazilian parents, and as well as English I speak Portuguese and Spanish.

I studied religion and spirituality, and came away believing that mind, body and soul are inextricably connected. That belief came into its fullest in my work as a birth doula, supporting women and their families as they prepared for the birth of a child, and witnessing the (re)birth of the mother. Today I support refugee and asylum-seeking mothers with a UK-based charity.

Why therapy

I first found psychotherapy in my early twenties, in a crisis. I deeply cherished the time with my therapist, who accompanied me through and out of it. In the calmer years since, I have returned to therapy to learn more about who I am and how to find freedom in that.

Along the way I discovered new ways of paying attention to my emotions, my thoughts, my relationships, my social conditioning and my body. I learnt, and re-learnt, how to meet myself with acceptance and compassion.

How I work

I aim to build a relationship grounded in safety, confidentiality, non-judgement, collaboration, care and curiosity. Within a person-centred framework, I seek to understand you wherever you are at. You are the expert of your own experience, and I believe we are all geared towards health and healing, trying to do the best we can with what we’ve got.

My practice rests on principles such as loving presence, empathy, mindfulness and non-violence, drawn from the person-centred approach and from Hakomi, a mindfulness-centred somatic psychotherapy. Hakomi, sometimes described as assisted self-discovery, honours the role our bodies play in organising and storing our core beliefs and memories.

With a background in music and education, I know how enriching the creative process can be, and all forms of creative expression are welcome in our work.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to hearing from you.

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