Intercultural Couples and Families

The London Intercultural Couples Centre provides a range of research-led, specialised therapeutic services for couples who hail from different cultural backgrounds.

What is the London Intercultural Couples Centre?

The London Intercultural Couples Centre was established to help couples and families who hail from different cultural backgrounds navigate the particular set of challenges they may face as they embark on cohabitation, parenthood, or separation.

What help is available?

Services you may be offered include couples therapy, family therapy, and mediation for intercultural couples and dual-heritage families, mediation for couples who are in the process of separating or divorcing, support groups for intercultural parents, and pre-marital/ prenuptial therapy for couples from different religious or faith backgrounds. 

How do I get in touch?

If you would like more information or would like to see somebody at The London Intercultural Couples Centre, please fill out the generalised ‘make an enquiry’ form on this page. You will then be contacted by telephone to arrange a consultation.

How much will it cost?

Costs differ between individuals. You will be given a clear idea of fees in your initial consultation.

Make an Enquiry

Complete our short enquiry form and one of our staff will get back to you as soon as possible

Enquire Here

Our Specialists

Suzanne Hutchison

FAMILY & COUPLE SYSTEMIC PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Dr Shadi Shahnavaz

COUPLE AND FAMILY SYSTEMIC THERAPIST

Professor Janet Reibstein

CONSULTANT CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST (FAMILY & COUPLES)

Adrian Clarke

Consultant Individual and Couple Psychotherapist

Dr Reenee Singh

Consultant Family and Couple Systemic Psychotherapist

Suzanne Hutchison

Position: FAMILY & COUPLE SYSTEMIC PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Categories: *Counselling and psychotherapy for adults, *Couple and relationship therapy, *Family Therapy, *London Intercultural Couples Centre, *Separation and Divorce, Family Therapists, Psychotherapists

Suzanne Hutchison is a UKCP registered Family & Couple Systemic Therapist. She has worked with families experiencing a variety of challenges that may impact them such as physical and/or mental illness, change, loss, abuse and trauma. She has a special interest in helping children, adolescents and their families facing eating disorders.

Her research has focused on understanding the experience of siblings of adolescents with eating disorders. She also has experience in supporting families through grief and bereavements, such as death, divorce/separation and other losses. Suzanne uses a systemic and collaborative approach in supporting families through difficulties. Suzanne is fluent in English and Spanish.

     

    Dr Shadi Shahnavaz

    Position: COUPLE AND FAMILY SYSTEMIC THERAPIST
    Categories: *Anxiety-Depression, *Counselling and psychotherapy for adults, *Couple and relationship therapy, *EMDR, *Family Mediation, *Family Therapy, *London Intercultural Couples Centre, *Separation and Divorce, *Trauma Therapy, Family Therapists, Psychotherapists

    Dr Shadi Shahnavaz is a UKCP registered couple and family Systemic Therapist with over 25 years experience of working with adolescents, individuals, couples and families.

    Dr Shahnavaz worked in the NHS for 10 years and currently works at the Anna Freud Center where she is in the Contact and Residence Dispute Team and is also part of the teaching staff there.

    Dr Shahnavaz specializes in trauma, loss and working with multicultural families. She also has a lot of experience with working with adolescents.

    Dr Shahnavaz is trained in EMDR and trauma work.

    She is also trained in working with attachment and parenting and is a ‘Circle of Security’ facilitator.

    Dr Shahnavaz speaks French, Farsi and Swedish fluently.

      Professor Janet Reibstein

      Position: CONSULTANT CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST (FAMILY & COUPLES)
      Categories: *CBT for Adults, *Counselling and psychotherapy for adults, *Couple and relationship therapy, *Family Therapy, *London Intercultural Couples Centre, *Separation and Divorce, Psychologists

      Janet Reibstein is a psychologist , individual psychotherapist , and family therapist. She works with individuals, couples, and families, as well as relationships at work. She is Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Exeter, where she runs postgraduate training in family therapy and systemic practice for The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She was formerly Affiliated Lecturer inSocial and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge where she was also Psychological Consultant to Kings College, Cambridge. She is the author of six books and numerous articles covering her research on various aspects of relationships; couples and families; divorce and separation; and the psychological and emotional effects of illness on families and couples. Professor Reibstein has also contributed documentary series for television and Radio 4.

        Reibstein, J. (in preparation): Inter Act: the evidence for relating skillfully. London and New York: Bloomsbury

        Reibstein, J. and Sherbersky, H. (in press) ‘Manualising the Exeter Model: couple therapy for depression – a behavioural-systemic approach’, in Mariotti, M., Saba, G. and Stratton, P (eds) Handbook of systemic approaches to psychotherapy manuals: integrating research, practice, and training. New York: Springer

        Reibstein, J. and Singh, R. (2020) ‘The Intercultural Exeter Couples Model: making connections for a divided world through systemic-behavioural therapy’. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell

        Adrian Clarke

        Position: Consultant Individual and Couple Psychotherapist
        Categories: *Anxiety-Depression, *Counselling and psychotherapy for adults, *Couple and relationship therapy, *Family Mediation, *London Intercultural Couples Centre, *Separation and Divorce, Family Mediators, Psychotherapists

        Adrian Clarke is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, an accredited family mediator and a solicitor. He is a member of the Law Society family mediation panel and has been accredited by the Family Mediation Council. He is a Resolution trained professional practice consultant, which allows him to supervise other family mediators. He is also legally qualified, having been admitted as a solicitor in 1991.

        He runs the family mediation service and he offers psychotherapy to individuals and relationship counselling for couples. He runs a separated parenting programme and he is trained to consult children about future arrangements when their parents are separating.

          Dr Reenee Singh

          Position: Consultant Family and Couple Systemic Psychotherapist
          Categories: *Counselling and psychotherapy for adults, *Couple and relationship therapy, *Family Therapy, *London Intercultural Couples Centre, *Separation and Divorce, Family Therapists, Psychotherapists

          Dr. Reenee Singh is a Consultant Family and Couple Systemic psychotherapist with over twenty years experience in working with children, families, couples and individuals. Reenee worked at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust for many years and is the Co-Director of the Tavistock Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre. She is the Editor of the Journal of Family Therapy. Reenee has published two books and numerous papers in the areas of ‘race’, culture and qualitative research. Reenee presents her work at national and international conferences and teaches all over the world.

          Reenee specialises in working with intercultural couples and mixed race families. She is currently the co-director of the London Intercultural Couples Centre at the Child and Family Practice.

          Singh, R. and Sim, T. (2021) Families in the time of the Pandemic: Breakdown or Breakthrough? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1445.

          Borcsa, M., Lebow J.L., Singh, R., Larner, G. and Messent, P. (2020) Publication in Family Therapy Journals: Family Process, Journal of Family Therapy, and Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy – A Discussion with Editors. In Ochs, M., Borcsa, M. & Schweitzer, J. (Eds.). Systemic Research in Individual, Couple and Family Therapy and Counseling (EFTA Book Series, Volume 4). pp.17-430, Cham, CH: Springer International.

          Rastogi, M. and Singh, R. (2020) Preface. Systemic Family Therapy and Global Health Issues. The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy. Volume 4. London: Wiley.

          Reibstein, J. and Singh, R. (2020) The Intercultural Exeter Couples Model. Making Connections for a Divided World through Systemic-Behavioural Therapy. Wiley: Oxford.

          Robinson, D. and Singh, R. (2020) ‘Forced Marriage as a Representation of a Belief System in the UK and its Psychological Impact on Well-being’. In Majors, R., Carberry, K. and Ransaw, T. (Eds). The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health, pp.489-505. Emerald Publishing: UK.

          Singh, R. (2020) ‘Home is where the heart is: Aporias of love and belonging in intercultural couples’, pp.145-157 in A. Abela, S. Vell and S. Piscopo, Couple Relationships in the 21st Century, New York: Springer.

          Singh, R., Killian, K., Bhugun, D. and Tseng, C. (2020). ‘Clinical Work with Intercultural Couples’ pp.155-183 in K. Wampler and A. Blow (ed.) Handbook of Family Therapy, Volume 3. Wiley: Oxford.

          Wampler, K.S, Rastogi, M. and Singh, R. (2020) The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy. Volume 4. Systemic Family Therapy and Global Health Issues. Wiley: Oxford.

          Singh, R. (2019) ‘Working systemically with family violence’. pp.113-124 in S. Sonpar and N. Kanwar (Eds) Surviving on the Edge. Psychosocial Perspectives on Violence and Prejudice in India. New Delhi: Sage.

          Reibstein, J. and Singh, R. (2018) The Intercultural Exeter Model. Psychotherapy Review. Special section on Couples and Families, pp. 56-71.

          Singh, R. (2017) ‘Do we need to change the way we measure change? Developments in SCORE -15’. Journal of Family Therapy 39 (1), pp. 1-3.

          Singh, R. (2017) ‘Intimate Strangers: working with interfaith couples’. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. Special issue on Spirituality. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. 38(1), pp.7-14.

          Singh, R. (2017) ‘Valedictory Editorial’. Journal of Family Therapy 39(4) pp.495-497.

          Singh, R. and Dada, M. (2017) ‘On the frontline: intercultural couples in a divided world’. Discover Society. May 02. https://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9783319596976

          Sim, T., Yi Yang, X., Chan, S., Loy, J.T.C, Sng, S., Lo, R., Chao, W. and Singh, R. (2017) ‘Co-constructing family therapy in the Asian Chinese family diasporas of mainland China, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan’. Journal of Family Therapy. Special issue. 39(2) pp.131-150

          Singh, R. (2016) ‘Couples and transgenerational relationships: cultural considerations and connundra’, Journal of Family Therapy, 38(3), pp.301-301.

          Singh, R. (2016) ‘The stories we tell: Systemic thinking in a divided world’. Editorial, Journal of Family Therapy, 38(4), pp. 405-466

          Singh, R. (2015) A journal in time. Past, present and future themes. Journal of Family Therapy, 37 (4): 407-408.

          Singh, R. (2015) Reflections on Practice. Enduring Love? Couple Relationships in the 21st Century. Clinical Implications. Feedback. Journal of the Family Therapy Association of Ireland, (pp. 70 -79).

          Singh, R. (2015) Systemic innovators, past and present. Editorial. Journal of Family Therapy 37 (3), pp. 265 -266.