Dr Iakovina Koutoufa, Clinical Psychologist
I aim to provide high quality, highly tailored psychological treatments for a variety of difficulties, by listening carefully to your needs and goals, and devising with you the best approach to achieve these.
About me
I am a chartered clinical psychologist based in London and Athens with over 12 years of clinical experience in the NHS, in the private, and in the charitable sectors to date.
My guiding principle in any therapeutic approach is the development of an authentic, trustworthy, and compassionate relationship with my clients. I strongly believe in people’s resilience and ability to overcome their difficulties through the exploration of their unique strengths and abilities in a safe and containing therapeutic space.
I have worked with adults and children with a variety of difficulties in various settings including eating disorders, weight management and bariatrics, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, low self-esteem, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, health anxiety, psychosis, and chronic pain amongst others. Alongside my private practice, I am a clinical supervisor in a specialist weight management service in the NHS, and a visiting lecturer and supervisor at University College London.
My approach is informed by a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches. I am an accredited Cognitive-Behavioural Therapist (CBT) and I have trained in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Systemic Therapy amongst others.
In addition to my clinical work, I am passionate about psychological research. I have made a number of publications and I am currently in the process of preparing more publications on treating adults with bulimia nervosa, and weight management.
My approach is informed by the latest evidence base and I work in adherence with the NICE guidelines. I adhere to the practice guidelines and code of conduct of the British Psychological Society, the Health and Care Professions Council (Registration Number: PYL 38994), and the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies. I am committed to delivering psychological care at the highest standard at all times.
Qualifications
Doctorate of Clinical Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL) specializing in disordered eating
Master of Science (MSc) in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology, University College London (UCL) & The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Bachelor of Science (BSc Hons) in Psychology, University College London (UCL)
Publications
Innovative Moments and the process of change in the treatment of Bulimia Nervosa.
Koutoufa, I., Conceição, E., Evangeli, M., Sousa, I., Crosby, R., Wonderlich, S. & Mendes, I.
Journal of Constructivist Psychology
2023
The complexity of treatment-resistant depression: A data-driven approach
Rost, F., Booker, T., Gonsard, A., de Felice, G., Asseburg, L., Malda-Castillo, J., Koutoufa, I., Ridsdale, H., Johnson, R., Taylor, D. & Fonagy, P.
Journal of Affective Disorders
2024
Koutoufa, I. & Lee, K.
Annual Hellenic Conference on Obesity, Hellenic Medical Association for Obesity
2023
Innovative Moments and the process of change in the treatment of Bulimia Nervosa.
Koutoufa, I., Conceição, E., Gonçalves, M., Crosby, R., Wonderlich, S., & Mendes, I.
Eating Disorders Research Society Conference & International Conference for Eating Disorders European Chapter, Academy of Eating Disorders
2020
Koutoufa, I., Mendes, I., Conceição, E., Crosby, R., & Wonderlich, S.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, Faculty of Eating Disorders Annual Conference, Academy of Eating Disorders
2019
The economic cost of treatment-resistant depression in patients referred to a specialist service.
McCrone, P., Rost, F., Koeser, L., Koutoufa, I., Stephanou, S., Knapp, M., Goldberg, D., Taylor, D., & Fonagy, P.
Journal of Mental Health 27 (6)
2017
McCrory, E. J., Puetz, V. B., Maguire, E. A., Mechelli, A., Palmer, A., Gerin, M. I., Kelly, P. A., Koutoufa, I., & Viding, E.
The British Journal of Psychiatry 211 (4)
2017
Altered neural response to rejection‐related words in children exposed to maltreatment.
Puetz, V. B., Viding, E., Palmer, A., Kelly, P. A., Lickley, R., Koutoufa, I., Sebastian, C. L., & McCrory, E. J.
Journal of child psychology and psychiatry 57 (10)
2016
Mental Health Literacy and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.
Koutoufa, I. & Furnham, A.
Psychiatry Research 215 (1)
2014
Psychiatric literacy: Lay beliefs of obsessive–compulsive personality disorder.
Koutoufa, I. & Furnham, A.
Counselling Psychology Quarterly 27 (3)
2014
FAQ
How do I access therapy with Dr Iakovina Koutoufa?
To begin, please contact me using the ‘Get in contact’ button below to enquire about the services that I can provide.
What happens next?
Following your initial enquiry, we will organize a brief 20-minute telephone consultation, where we will gather some basic information about you, your needs, and your goals, in order to recommend a package of care. If you are happy to proceed, I will send you some further documents to complete, and then we will arrange together a first formal assessment appointment via Zoom.
Following the initial assessment, you will be allocated a regular appointment slot. The frequency of your appointments can be agreed upon at your initial assessment depending on your level of need and your availability. It may be possible to reduce the frequency of the sessions as you begin to make progress. This will be agreed upon during the course of your treatment.
At the moment, all appointments take place online.
If you require any additional support or modifications to access the service, please get in contact so I can organise this for you in advance. For example, arranging professional interpreters, or making amendments to written materials.
How can I leave feedback?
At the end of treatment, I will kindly ask you to complete a short client satisfaction questionnaire about your experience. You will have the option to complete this anonymously. I will use this information to keep improving my services.
Fees & Payment
Initial telephone consultations are non-chargeable. Fees for routine psychological therapy appointments thereafter cost £110. If you require an extended assessment there may be an additional fee. Concessions are available for people on low income or students.
How long do appointments last?
The initial telephone consultation will last 20 minutes. Routine assessment appointments and therapy sessions following this will last between 45-50 minutes.
There may be times when extended sessions are required in order to complete the tasks of therapy. We will arrange this in advance.
What is the cancellation policy?
In order to be able to offer you a professional and consistent service, the following cancellation policy applied to all sessions as a condition of our agreement:
If you need to cancel an appointment, you need to give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice (from the scheduled start time of your session). A cancellation charge equivalent to the cost of 1 session (£110) will be payable for a cancellation made without 24 hours’ notice. This includes (but not limited to) cancellations due to work commitments, holidays, sickness, travel arrangements etc.
A session for which you have not provided notice of cancellation and for which you have not paid at least 24 hours’ notice in advance, will be deemed to be cancelled by you, whether or not you subsequently provide a notice of cancellation.
We will try our best to replace cancelled sessions however this is not guaranteed.
In the event of a scheduled or unscheduled cancellation as a result of the psychologist’s absence, these will not be charged.
Reach out, get in contact.
For further information about our services or to arrange an initial consultation, please get in touch by using the form below.