Knowing yourself

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Knowing yourself

Counselling, life coaching & healing
Find your true self, self-esteem & worth, inner peace & love It is the most important journey we make in our lives.

Knowing yourself is the path to discovering real self esteem; finding peace within yourself and around you; building deep and authentic relationships; enhancing your heath and wellbeing; and finding the purpose that will lead you to happiness and fulfilment.

14/04/2026

Hello 👋 hello 👋 people
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Gratitude 🙏

13/04/2026

Yesterday, my heart felt full of gratitude.

I had a therapy client come in — someone who had said yes to a Soul to Soul session with me, and who had never done anything like this before in her life. We had a very special time the last time I saw her.

Yesterday, she started by telling me how nourishing it had been for her.
How safe she felt.
How even the parts she wasn’t so comfortable with at first… became easier.

And then later, another client arrived. This one was coming now for her third Soul to Soul session.

Before she came, I felt something very clear —
that this was going to be a slightly different session… one where I would work hands-on with her.

So I prepared the room differently.
The table was ready. The space was ready.

When she walked in and saw it… she cried.

We talked, we drank cacao, and then she lay down, and I worked with her in a way I haven’t done in years.

Hands, energy, sound, presence…
No plan. Just following what felt right.

There was release.
Then calm.
Then something I can only describe as a deep settling.

At the end, she said something that stayed with me:

“It feels like stepping into another world when I come here.”

And the truth is… I feel it too.

This is not just therapy.
Not just healing.
Not just a session.

It’s a space where we meet, human to human… soul to soul, and allow whatever needs to happen, to happen.

No pressure. No expectations.
Just honesty, presence, and a bit of magic when it wants to show up.

If this calls you… You know where I am.

Maria Veiga | Knowing Yourself

09/04/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭…

If you’re looking for someone who will sit quietly, nod, and say very little - I’m probably not your therapist.

People come to me because they want something real.

I don’t work as a blank canvas.
I listen, yes - but I also speak, reflect, challenge, and offer tools when needed.

This is therapy where you are met, not analysed from a distance.

✨ I work a lot with younger adults and people in the LGBT+ community - those navigating identity, relationships, sexuality, and the pressure of “figuring it all out”.

There is nothing to fix.
But there is a lot to understand.

1:1 therapy — £50

-----//-----

And sometimes… therapy isn’t what’s needed.

Most couples (and even friends or family) don’t need months of therapy.

They need a space where they can finally
talk, be heard, and actually listen to each other again.

I offer facilitated sessions — not as a couples therapist, but as someone who helps you communicate without it turning into conflict.

1h30 — £60

----//----

And then there is something different…

A Soul to Soul session

Less therapy. More connection.
A space to slow down, breathe, feel, and meet yourself in a different way.

No fixed structure. No pressure.

Just what is needed in the moment.

🌿 2h — £60 (if we’ve worked together)
🌿 £80 (first session)

----//----

If something here speaks to you — trust that.

You don’t need the perfect words.
Just a willingness to show up.

Maria Veiga @ Knowing Yourself
Bellenden Therapies

24/02/2026

I’ve just published a new intimate circle for March 8th.

Soul to Soul: Cacao, Reflection & Conscious Laughter

A small, carefully held space in Peckham to soften, reconnect and release.

We’ll share ceremonial cacao, explore a gentle guided reflection, and allow conscious laughter to arise naturally — no performance, no pressure, just human connection.

Only 8 spaces available.
£22 (currently 20% off for International Women’s Day).

If you feel ready for something quieter and real, you’re welcome.

Link in comments.

https://Soul2Soul-Circle.eventbrite.co.uk

23/02/2026

I’m not interested in being a therapist who keeps you dependent.

I’m interested in helping you see yourself clearly.

Sometimes that means looking at uncomfortable things. �Sometimes that means realising you are stronger than you’ve been acting.� Sometimes that means admitting you’ve been repeating the same story for years.

I won’t shame you.� I won’t flatter you.� I won’t turn your parents into villains just to make you feel better.

But I will sit with you properly. �And I won’t be frightened of what you bring.

If you’re ready for that kind of work, I have space for two people.

£50 an hour. �In person or online.

That’s it.
Maria

22/02/2026

I didn’t come into this work just through study.

I come as someone who has lived.

I have known doubt. �I have known fear. �I have known the kind of questions that don’t let you sleep.

I have rebuilt parts of myself more than once.

So when you sit in front of me, you don’t scare me.� Your anger doesn’t scare me.� Your grief doesn’t scare me.� Your contradictions don’t scare me.

I don’t need you to be tidy.

I work with adults and young adults who are ready to stop circling the same pattern and actually understand what’s underneath it.

Not quick fixes.� Not blame.� Not avoidance.
Real work.

With respect.

I currently have space for two clients.�

£50 per session.� Online or in London.

Maria Veiga�

Psychotherapist | Knowing Yourself

05/02/2026

🅻🅰🆄🅶🅷🆃🅴🆁 & 🅲🅰🅲🅰🅾

Laughter Yoga isn’t about being funny, even if it can be.
And it isn’t about forcing happiness, even if it can bring it.

It’s a gentle, body-based practice that supports the nervous system through breath, movement, and intentional laughter.

What it offers isn’t always loud or immediate, and that’s important to understand.
Some people feel lighter straight away.
Others notice changes later: better sleep, less tension, a calmer mood, more ease in the body.

These practices work quietly, underneath the thinking mind.
They’re most beneficial when approached as a practice, not simply a one-off experience.

This is why I’ve returned to offering Laughter sessions after a longer pause, now with the addition of Cacao... yummy

Not because it’s easy — but because it feels genuinely needed.

The session begins with laughter and gentle regulation, helping the body arrive and soften. Ending with relaxation, and only afterwards do we share cacao in a grounded, simple way - not as a ceremony, but as a moment of connection and presence.

You don’t need confidence, experience, or a particular mood.
You don’t need to “get it right”.
You’re welcome exactly as you are.

🌀 Medicine for the Soul – Laughter & Cacao Healing Circle
📍 Dulwich/Peckham
🕰 Sunday session
👉 Book here: https://LaughterandCacao.eventbrite.co.uk

Maria Veiga
Laughter Yoga Facilitator & Psychotherapist
Knowing Yourself

04/02/2026

“𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 — 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧”

One of the biggest myths about therapy is that progress looks like motivation, openness, and relief.

In reality, progress often looks like:
Arriving late to sessions
Going quiet
Talking about feelings instead of feeling them
Suddenly questioning whether therapy “works”

This isn’t avoidance.
It’s protection.

Here’s an example:
A client starts therapy wanting help with anxiety.
A few weeks in, they begin arriving late and keeping things “light”.
What’s actually happening?

Their nervous system has detected something important:
“If I go further, something old will be touched.”

Resistance isn’t the enemy.
It’s the sign that therapy is approaching meaningful territory.

In good therapy, resistance isn’t pushed through.
It’s listened to.
Because at some point in your life, resistance kept you safe.

It learned:
When to stay small
When to stay pleasant
When not to need

Therapy works when that protective part is met with respect - not force.

Nothing in therapy is about breaking you open.
It’s about creating enough safety that you don’t have to stay armoured.

— Maria Veiga
Psychotherapist | Knowing Yourself

If this is something you interested, get in touch

03/02/2026

“𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭)”

People often say:
“I don’t get how talking can change anything.”

And that makes sense, because therapy isn’t about talking things through in the way most people imagine.

Here’s what’s actually happening.
When you speak freely, without needing to protect, perform, explain or be “reasonable”, your unconscious patterns surface. Not as memories alone, but as how you relate in the room.

For example:
A client talks calmly about being constantly overlooked at work.
No anger. No drama. Very articulate.

But in the room:
They minimise their own feelings
They apologise for taking time
They wait for permission to continue

That dynamic is the work.

Therapy works because the same patterns running your life show up live, between two people, where they can be felt, slowed down, named, and gently interrupted.

At first, this can feel frustrating.
You may leave sessions thinking:
“I talked a lot but nothing changed”
“I already knew all this”
“Why do I feel worse, not better?”

That’s ok.
That’s the system loosening.

Insight alone doesn’t change us.
Relational experience does.
And that takes time.

— Maria Veiga
Psychotherapist | Knowing Yourself

If this is something you would like to explore, get in touch.

02/02/2026

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 “𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠”, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭

Sometimes people reach out to me unsure what they’re actually looking for.
They don’t always say “therapy”.
They don’t always say “group work”.

Often they just say they feel tired, disconnected, overwhelmed, or out of rhythm with themselves.
That uncertainty makes sense.

Some people need a quiet, consistent one-to-one space to understand themselves more deeply, make sense of patterns, and feel met over time.

Others need something more bodily and relational — a way to soften tension, breathe more fully, and reconnect gently with themselves and others.

That’s why I offer both therapy and Laughter & Cacao sessions.

They serve different purposes, but they’re rooted in the same understanding: that change doesn’t happen through force but through safety, presence, and repetition.

If you’re drawn to talking, reflecting, and exploring your inner world over time, therapy may be the right place to begin.

If you’re drawn to something lighter, more embodied, and shared — a way of easing back into connection — a Laughter & Cacao session might suit you better.

You don’t need to know straight away.
You don’t need to label your needs perfectly.
You’re allowed to start where you are.

If you’re unsure, curious, or quietly considering what support might look like for you, you’re welcome to get in touch.

🌀 Laughter & Cacao – group sessions
👉 https://LaughterandCacao.eventbrite.co.uk

🌿 Therapy – one to one
📧 maria@knowingyourself.co.uk
🌐 www.knowingyourself.co.uk

Maria Veiga
Psychotherapist | Laughter Yoga Facilitator
Knowing Yourself

01/02/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

Therapy is often imagined as either talking endlessly about the past, or being given tools to “fix” the present.

In reality, most therapeutic work happens somewhere quieter than that.

Over time, therapy becomes a place where patterns are noticed as they arise, not just described afterwards. How you speak, pause, avoid, soften, defend, or reach out all become part of the conversation. Nothing needs to be forced; it’s about paying attention.

Change doesn’t usually come from insight alone. It comes from experiencing something different consistently: being met without needing to justify yourself, being able to slow down without pressure, being allowed to stay with uncertainty rather than rushing to answers.

This is why therapy takes time. Not because people are resistant, but because the nervous system integrates new ways of relating gradually. Safety isn’t installed - it’s learned through relationship.

I work relationally and with depth, supporting people who want to understand themselves more honestly, rather than trying to override their inner responses. The work is collaborative, grounded, and shaped by what emerges over time.

If you’ve been considering therapy — whether because something feels stuck, repetitive, or quietly heavy — you don’t need a perfect explanation to begin.

I’m currently welcoming new clients.
📍 Dulwich & online
📧 maria@knowingyourself.co.uk
🌐 www.knowingyourself.co.uk

Maria Veiga
Psychotherapist
Knowing Yourself

Address

London
SE15

Website

http://www.knowingyourself.co.uk/

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