Sonia Louis
Schema therapist. I work with adults in Berkshire and online on the patterns that were set long before they had any say in them.
How I got here
I began working in therapy in 2017 and completed my Master’s in Counselling at Monash University in 2019. Fairly quickly, one question started organising everything else: why does something that happened twenty years ago still decide how someone answers an email today.
That took me towards the people most often written off. I trained specifically to work with adults diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder, where the patterns are loudest and the judgement is heaviest. Then I spent two years in advanced schema therapy training, predominantly under the supervision of Dr Agnes Sullivan, who founded the Schema Therapy Institute in London.
None of that is the reason I trust this model. I trust it because I have watched it work on people who had already decided they were the problem.
Credentials, briefly
- 2017Began working in therapy
- 2019Master’s in Counselling, Monash University
- SpecialismThe long-term impact of childhood experience on adult functioning, including work with BPD and NPD diagnoses
- Schema therapyTwo years of advanced training, predominantly under the supervision of Dr Agnes Sullivan, founder of the Schema Therapy Institute, London
- SessionsAdults, one to one, in person in Berkshire or online
- RegistrationSonia to confirm: BACP / UKCP / HCPC and membership number
Sonia and TJ, who run the parenting discussions together.
Stopping the pattern one generation earlier
I did not come to this from nowhere. My father is an advanced schema therapist, trained directly by Dr Jeffrey Young, the founder of schema therapy. My mother is a solution-focused therapist. Both spent their careers on healthy parenting and on prevention: how you raise a child so that fewer of these schemas ever need forming.
My husband TJ and I are trained in the Good Enough Parenting programme, and have been on the receiving end of it ourselves. Together we run local discussions for young parents, partly to build self-awareness and partly because community support does work that no consulting room can.
What clients say
“I started seeing Sonia when I was going through a really difficult time with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. She guided me through schema therapy and helped me make sense of what I was feeling and why I was thinking the way I did. Sonia was always so patient, kind, and understanding — I never felt judged, only supported. Her compassion and insight made such a difference in my healing, and I’m truly grateful for everything she’s done for me.”
“Sonia has helped me so so much in and out of sessions. I was able to feel a sense of safety very quickly because she shows genuine care with a real sense of knowing and wanting to know. Her companionship is easily felt and she is able to sensitively and powerfully help re-write harmful schema narratives and take on bullying, critical and punitive voices. I really value her support and recommended her to my sister as well when she was in need, saying confidently that Sonia is a therapist to trust.”
“When my anxiety as a new mum was overwhelming, Sonia helped me calm down and be in the right frame of mind to explore my anxiety. She met me at my own pace when I needed it most and could barely function! I felt overwhelmed with my emotions; I currently feel more balanced, stable and able to engage the voice of my ‘healthy adult’ with greater ease!”
“Sonia helped me in a time of my life where I felt stuck with my career and a past relationship. I appreciate the practical ways schema therapy gave the understanding of my past and why I behave a certain way, but the emotional connection helped me be brave to face the issues and steps I needed to take to feel healed. Highly recommend her!”
Have a conversation before you decide.
Fifteen minutes, free, on the phone or online. Ask whatever you need to ask about how I work and whether it fits.