UK Enterprise Awards 2021

151 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 Leading Private Psychotherapy Practice of the Year 2021 - London Empowering London was created in a time of hope. Smita intended to build a private practice that could stand with the best that the capital had to offer, while also being able to deliver the mental health services that the city needed as best as possible. The launch was in 2020, and the aim was to break even within a year. The setup costs were formidable, the arrangement of office space tricky, but everything was in place. Then the pandemic hit. Suddenly, Smita had to adapt incredibly quickly to an unprecedented crisis. The dream, however, of providing vital services at affordable prices remained the same. She knuckled down and set up shop in her apartment, adapting a spare bedroom into her home-office. Since April 2020, all of her services have been provided online via video and audio sessions. Her drive and tenacity paid dividends, because the firm broke even in less than three quarters. For many years, there has been a brewing mental health crisis across the UK, and London is a region that is particularly troubled. Empowering London’s aim has always been to optimise the client experience by customising the service that is offered to clients. Everyone is different, but those who come to Empowering London are united by a desire to improve their mental health. As such, Smita tries to schedule sessions that suit a client’s needs, working late evenings and weekends if necessary. The pandemic has only amplified peoples’ emotional states, and with so much uncertainty over the last eighteen months, Smita has been in high demand. She has been proud to offer pro-bono services to those who lost their jobs due to COVID, and huge discounts for those who couldn’t afford high-quality private therapy. Good mental health is not something that should be limited to those who can afford it. This is why Smita also launched a comprehensive advertising campaign online, which offered providing free consultations during the holiday season for those who were lonely and isolated. Her work has done an enormous amount of good for the people of London, and beyond. Perhaps one of the key factors that sets Empowering London apart is Smita’s ability to talk to people. This doesn’t just mean speaking on their level, although this is true, but being able to provide psychotherapy in a number of languages additional to English, including Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil and French. This allows her to talk to many people who often find themselves without someone of her wide experience to speak to in safety and comfort. Looking forward, the future is certainly bright for Smita, and her dream of bringing London together on a platform of better mental health. She is always looking for new solutions that can unite people from across different cultures for the common good. Perhaps the most telling aspect of her success is the positive impact that she has had on so many lives. It’s why she has achieved so much in such troubling times, inspiring others to search for their own success along the way. Company: Empowering London Ltd Name: Smita Melling, Practitioner Psychologist, HCPC, BACP, MBPsS, BPS Level A&B, MSc, MBA Email: [email protected] Web Address: https://empoweringlondon.co.uk/ Telephone: 020 3095 7135 Apr21494 London is the heart of the UK’s enterprise, bringing together ideas and commerce in a way that makes it truly unique. Empowering London Ltd, a new entry into this melting pot of pioneers, has quickly become a vital provider of an essential counselling service under the leadership of Smita Melling. She has had to adapt quickly to rapidly changing circumstances, but it has brought incredible success for the firm that has always been her dream.