In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it, hear it, and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be.

~ Mary Oliver

Little Window: A place we created to move deeper into the field of Psychology, and has become and continues to be a personal piece inside of both of ourselves, the founders (Christina and Thania) to explore, to see, feel, and react to. A place we created to find out who we are, what we could be, and what we could do. It is more than a business and an entity developed for our livelihood. It is an extension of ourselves, a growth, a revealing and a becoming for the both of us.

Our story did not begin when we launched Little Window in 2014 and doesn’t end at this time eight years later. Perhaps our story began with each of us: daughters to immigrant families, versed in staying in our lane, both in our own experiences silenced and taught to bear the suffering and shame of others. Perhaps it started with what we saw in one another, a familiarity because of our histories, but a recognition of the difference in what one or the other needed and did not possess.

We sometimes say that alone we are able to create, but together we can make things happen. We met more than 15 years ago at a national counselling service. Both seemingly extroverted and at the peak of turning points in our lives. Before we were married; before we had done much of our internal work; before we had children; before we really knew ourselves. We drew upon the kindred threads we saw in one another, and envisioned what we could create that felt different and more freeing to what we knew in our then current work experiences.

Since then we have been on an incredible process of learning and growth, both in our personal lives as well as practitioners. We became business partners as we began to share a vision of how we wanted to run our own Psychology practice. This process has not only enriched us as therapists and business owners, it has deepened our friendship. It has been a process of self discovery; an unraveling and re-synthesisation; a revealing and rewarding venture we feel so fortunate to be a part of.

Both of us have been in therapy. We know what it is like to sit on the 'other' couch, and to feel vulnerable and raw, while at the same time doing the meaningful work we need to, to feel well and practice what we preach. As a result, we intimately understand the immense power of therapy. Through our training and our own personal experiences, we are conscious of what elements in the counselling process help to make a person feel safe, supported and able to engage wholly in therapy.

We have learned that without a doubt, it is not what you know, but who you are, that makes someone a helpful and effective therapist. Counselling is about connection and relationship. People can heal from immense traumas and deep pain through a positive and trusting relationship in which they feel someone genuinely cares for their well being, and when they feel truly seen, heard, and understood.

Research tells us that the most significant predictor of a positive outcome for therapy is the relationship someone has with their therapist. This factor has been shown to be even more important than what interventions, strategies or techniques are used in counselling. It is so important for us that the people we work with see us, their psychologist, as another human, rather than ‘experts’ or people who have it all together. We too have insecurities and flaws, and experience fear and sadness and struggle with our own vulnerabilities. It is this collective experience as humans that helps us to connect with each other in meaningful ways and to help each other learn, grow and thrive.

What sets Little Window apart from other practices is the way in which we deeply care for and work with each of our counselling clients. ​It is important to us to practice mindfully and in alignment with our values. We strongly believe that when we move away from a pathologising, patriarchal, clinical approach to therapy, the process can feel more person-centred, inclusive, accessible and empowering for the people we work with.

As therapists, we have a duty of care to understand that many individuals, even if they can seek support, do not have access to the same resources, time, education, job-opportunities and earning potential as others who are born into privilege, and this influences how we share information, set goals or share expectations around what we hope to ‘achieve’ together in the counselling process with our clients.

At Little Window, great importance is placed on the intake process, where we take the time to match our clients with a therapist on our team, based on unique needs and preferences.

We aim to place focus on quality rather than quantity of care, and for this reason, we do not book sessions in back-to-back wherever possible, so that the individuals we work with are provided adequate time, care, and space with their therapist.

Giving the therapy session the respect and space it requires, allows for the session to feel paced and unhurried, without either the therapist or client experiencing the need to rush out to accommodate the next person waiting for their appointment. Practicing in this way is also vital for the self-care of the therapist, who can take the time to process information and refresh or ground themselves before going into their next session.

From the beginning, we had the intention of designing a unique environment that felt non-clinical, warm and soothing. Our cosy therapy rooms have been intuitively and thoughtfully created to enhance a sense of comfort for our clients.

We know from neuroscience and lived experience, that an enriched and calming environment can decrease feelings of anxiety, increase feelings of safety, and enhance cortical blood flow in the brain, which means that clients are more likely to engage effectively in the counselling. The therapy room is also a holding space for us as the practitioner, to feel supported and cared for by our environment as we work with people.

A lot of the feedback we consistently receive from people who engage in therapy with us, is about the way they feel nourished in our therapy space, both by the elements in the counselling environment as well as by our client support and therapy teams. We often hear from people that they had been searching for a practice that didn't look and feel so clinical, with practitioners who seemed more human and personable - and they had found this in Little Window.

Little Window is a creative extension and embodiment of the both of us as the Directors of the practice. How we developed and then continue to nurture our personal friendship, how we look after our business partnership, to how we practice together, has set the tone for how we invest in our business, train our team, and support our clients.

Our Psychologists, Therapists and our Client Support Team have been carefully selected by the two of us. We are drawn to working alongside professionals not just for their qualifications and skill sets, but for who they are as humans. The individuals on our team are wonderful people, and align with the Little Window Philosophy that all individuals deserve compassion, respect, and unconditional positive regard at all times.

We look forward to welcoming you to the sanctuary we have created at Little Window.

~ Thania and Christina
Founders