About me
Marc Whittaker
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website.
Choosing a Counsellor or Psychotherapist to work with, I recognise, is a huge decision. Everybody is unique and individual, as are their experiences.
I hope this brief introduction enables you to gain a greater sense of the person, the journey, and the driving forces, which brought me to become a therapist and why a mindfulness Based integrative Approach is well placed, to help you with the difficulties you might be experiencing in a modern, complex, world.
During a demanding career in Finance, spanning more than 30 years, I watched as people around me struggled with the complexity of day-to-day life. I witnessed the effects that Common and complex mental health problems were having on those around me. I saw its impact led to anxiety and depression, but also addiction, suicidal ideation, and suicide, whilst also seeing and feeling the impact this was having on their friends and families. With this, also came an awareness of my own limitations to be able to help them. I realised, that to be in the best place to help, meant fully understanding the wide range of problems people face in life, mindful of Difference and diversity and social context.
I needed to also be fully engaged in understanding my own journey, major life events and processes that I had adopted. To not fully understand who I was, at a deeper level, I realised would limit my ability to be completely with another person, in times of difficulty.
Nobody is completely unaffected by the complexity of life and as I strove for greater understanding and authenticity myself, I also became, at times, unable to move forward. I was introduced to "mindfulness" as a practice and way of being, about 15 years ago, to help me work through a particularly challenging stage in my life. What I was not expecting was the powerful, positive impact a mindful stance would have on day-to-day life. It gave me the ability to reflect on my own journey with greater clarity, using not only the narrative of events, but also the ability to work with visceral feelings experienced in the moment, which helped deepen my awareness of experiences, helping me to develop a greater sense of context. Working with a mindfulness approach, steadily cultivated a greater ability to exist in the moment, be able to place attention where I wanted it to go, create better distance to thoughts and feelings and with this, a greater capacity to work with difficult situations, by incorporating greater acceptance and non-judgement.
Through this new way of being and capacity, I felt a pull to retrain to be a psychotherapist and so began a new phase of my journey, one that I felt was more authentic to my values and life goals.
I wanted to be in a better position to help others alleviate their pain and suffering, help them to move forward with their own values and goals, find their authentic self or simply help them achieve more inner peace, where they were able to start to breathe again. Achieving a greater internal cohesion and balance, I felt would enable them, like me, to overcome the difficulties that modern life throws at us.
As a Psychotherapist, being able to work alongside and help people face and work with their own difficult situations, has been both humbling and rewarding and reinforced that it is the connection to people, creating a sense of safety and support and helping them to overcome their difficulties and achieve, no matter what their life events, their own individual life targets and goals, that is my driving force.
Whilst my initial training was in Psychodynamics and Person centred, I wanted to continue to work with the concept of mindfulness, that I had found so effective when working with my own difficult life events, to create a mindfulness-based approach, which would work more effectively with all Client presentations. Extending my training and Qualifying as a Psychotherapist with MBET ( Mindfulness based Experiential Therapy) at Diploma Level 6, finally enabled me to connect my personal Mindfulness journey, with a professional Mindfulness based approach. The expert in the room is you, and my role is to be there with you, helping create a safe and secure space, so we can work together, in the moment of the session, enabling us together, to notice emotions and feelings held in the body, in thoughts and the processes that are unique to you, so you can begin to work towards your therapy targets and goals.
To date I have worked with both Young People 16+ and Adults and in a variety of settings from Further education Colleges to Residential Homes, as well as in private practice. I have worked with presentations ranging from Anxiety and depression to Gender Dysphoria, Trauma and PTSD.
I have to date completed courses and training that include:
QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING
MBET (Mindfulness-Based Experiential Therapy) Diploma level 6
MBET (Mindfulness-Based Experiential Therapy) Fast track Foundation Course in Studies and Skills
Counselling Qualifications: NCFE cache level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills CPCAB level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies
Additional Courses:
MBET 5 Week Mindfulness Training Course
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Early Childhood Trauma (ACEs)(online)
Understanding Trauma and Trauma informed practice.
I am a Registered Member of the BACP, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you have.
Marc Whittaker
MBACP
More about Mindfulness Based Therapy
First Steps to Therapy:
The modern world offers many opportunities and advantages; yet it can also create conditions that contribute to a persistent undercurrent of anxiety and low mood. The pace of life, social pressures, and wider cultural influences can, at times, outweigh the resources available to support our psychological wellbeing.
Each of us is shaped by a unique combination of factors—our background, race, gender, sexuality, culture, beliefs, values, relationships, education, and social context. This diversity enriches who we are, while also influencing how we experience and respond to life’s challenges. At times, this may show up as feeling stuck or unable to move forward, or as becoming overwhelmed by emotions or physical sensations that can feel difficult to manage.
Reaching out for support can feel daunting. Yet by taking the time to read this, you may already be beginning that important first step toward understanding and change.
The Journey
During my training in Psychodynamic, CBT, and Person-Centred therapies, I developed a solid understanding of their respective therapeutic roles. However, I also sensed that something was missing when it came to the lived experience of being with clients in the room. This led me to explore additional approaches that might deepen my capacity to work more effectively and authentically in session.
Following reflection on my own personal journey, I chose to extend my training through MBET (Mindfulness-Based Experiential Therapy). Integrating a mindfulness foundation into my practice enabled me to bring together an evolving self-awareness—shaped by my own life experiences and their re-contextualisation—with further professional development. This approach encouraged me to draw from a range of evidence-based modalities, rather than relying on a single framework.
In contrast to my earlier training, this integrative and mindfulness-informed perspective has allowed me to be more present and responsive in the moment, with a heightened sensitivity to the individuality of each client. I believe this positions me to work more effectively with a wide range of presenting difficulties, including anxiety, hyper-vigilance, depression, dissociation (or disconnection), addiction, trauma, and often the complex interplay between these experiences.
The Approach
This approach is grounded in insights from neurobiology and held within a mindful therapeutic stance. It reflects a careful integration of long-established wisdom traditions, such as mindfulness, with contemporary developments in neuroscience.
Drawing on principles of interpersonal neurobiology, the work supports a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationship between mind and body. By bringing together mindful awareness with experiential ways of exploring, it creates space to gently engage with difficult experiences, process emotions, and consider new perspectives. This can support a gradual reorganisation in how experiences are understood, allowing for a more nuanced appreciation of the complexity of being human.
The approach is integrative and client-centred, drawing from a range of evidence-informed perspectives. These include MBET (Mindfulness-Based Experiential Therapy), an IFS-informed understanding of internal systems, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and somatic and sensorimotor approaches. Rather than relying on a single framework, this way of working remains responsive and collaborative, with a mindfulness foundation supporting greater psychological flexibility and allowing sessions to be thoughtfully attuned to your individual needs.
Mindfulness
My therapeutic approach is grounded in a mindful, compassionate stance. Within our sessions, I aim to foster a space characterised by curiosity, acceptance, and a non-judgemental attitude—supporting the development of psychological flexibility and a strong, collaborative therapeutic relationship.
Mindfulness, at its core, involves intentionally bringing awareness to the present moment with openness and without judgement. This means gently noticing what you are thinking, feeling, and experiencing as it happens. While this may sound simple, it can be challenging—especially when emotions feel intense or overwhelming.
Through cultivating mindful attitudes such as self-compassion, non-judgement, and letting go of unhelpful attachments, you can begin to relate differently to difficult thoughts and feelings. Research shows that mindfulness-based approaches can reduce emotional reactivity, enhance mental flexibility, and strengthen your ability to cope with stress—helping you navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and resilience.
MBET (Mindfulness based Experiential Therapy)
Mindfulness-Based Experiential Therapy (MBET) is at the heart of my approach. It focuses on being fully present and engaged with you in each moment, creating a space where we can explore your experiences together with clarity and care.
Rather than focusing solely on diagnosis, MBET helps us understand your unique, lived experience—how you think, feel, and respond, both emotionally and physically. By gently paying attention to what is happening in the moment, including sensations in the body as well as thoughts and feelings, we can develop a deeper awareness of your patterns.
This process supports you in building a clearer understanding of yourself and finding new, more flexible ways of responding to life’s challenges..