Laura Gallagher Therapy and Life Coaching - Korte Amstelstraat 12

Laura Gallagher

I was born in London in 1978 and am of Irish, Dutch, Italian parentage. Growing up amidst adult conflicts and problems made it second nature for me to see both sides of the story, the pearl in the squalor and that life is rarely black and white but the innumerable nuances in between.

After moving around a bit I returned to Amsterdam in 2011 and decided to swap one vocational profession, teaching, for another, therapy, and enrolled at the Academy for Counselling & Coaching in the Hague. As a person-centred therapist and coach, I work from the core belief that, given a supportive environment, each individual is inherently capable of making their own choices and finding the right solution for them. I'm passionate about empowering others. 

My approach 

I favour the person-centred approach that grew from the humanistic model of pioneering psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. In line with their methods, my role as therapist is to listen and reflect on what you say in an empathic and insightful way without judging you or your actions and to challenge your defeatist thoughts or beliefs in order to foster positive change and growth. To reinforce what we cover in sessions, I recommend suitable CBT exercises/techniques to practise in between sessions.

By its very nature, life continuously demonstrates that no matter how positive or prepared you are, things don’t always go according to plan. I believe that happiness comes from understanding what drives us and finding meaning in our lives. Getting to know exactly what makes you thrive or falter, will enable you to understand how to deal with certain people and situations and make better life decisions.

What I am:

• CBT-based talk therapist
• Counsellor
• Life coach
• Supportive listener

What I am not:

• Psychologist
• Psychotherapist
• Doctor
• Psychoanalyst

There are sometimes long waiting lists to see the above professionals and I am able to bridge the gap for clients who are on a list but want to speak to somebody more quickly, before getting the necessary expert psychological treatment.