ABOUT ME

I am Davide Casu, clinical hypnotherapist and graduate psychologist. I run a private practice based in London UK, offering clinical integrative hypnotherapy with psychotherapy. I offer bilingual therapy sessions in English and Italian.

My academic journey began in the humanities and classical studies. However, my professional path took shape through education and community-based counselling, where critical pedagogy became an important influence on how I think about learning and change. A guiding thread has run through my learning ever since, rooted in the etymology of education: educo, educere—to draw out and to nourish, to extract and to care.

For me, this captures what therapy is really about: drawing out the wisdom within, and nurturing the conditions for insight and transformation.

My training spans psychology, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, Western Esotericism, Jungian and transpersonal psychology, sociology, and social work. I have worked across different countries and cultural contexts, supporting people through a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges, including trauma, addiction, and complex life circumstances, in varied settings and roles over the past two decades.

My master’s studies in sociology, and my work as a social worker, helped me develop a critical awareness of how mental health is shaped by social, cultural, and institutional contexts. This has deepened my understanding of how ideas of normality, wellbeing, and distress can be influenced by social expectations, power relations, corporate pressures, and the systems in which people live.

Years of Jungian analysis and transpersonal work have deepened my curiosity about the multidimensional aspects of the Self and the role of states of consciousness in psychological life. More recently, retreat practice and contemplative work exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness have further shaped this interest and supported my ongoing inner development. Learning from traditional healing contexts, and completing Reiki training to Master level, has also informed my work as a therapist.

Currently, I am building on this background through further training in Hypno-Psychotherapy and Integrative Psychotherapy, supported by regular supervision, personal therapy, and ongoing reflection.

MY APPROACH

PSYCHOTHERAPY....

My work starts with your lived experience, what you’re feeling, what you’re facing, and what matters to you. I hold you as a whole person, and where it’s helpful, I integrate a transpersonal perspective.

I believe many of us are moving, often quietly, towards a life that feels more integrated, true, and meaningful. At the heart of my work is something I call the Self: a living centre within you.

You might experience it as a deeper wisdom, or as the part of you that can see clearly and care deeply. This inner centre begins to grow when different and opposing parts of you are brought into relationship. From this, a deeper connection to the Self can emerge.

For some people, spiritual or transpersonal language helps give meaning to that process; for others, it makes more sense to stay within a purely psychological frame. Both are completely welcome.

Symptoms as communication

I don’t see symptoms as “just problems to get rid of”. Often, they are signals, ways your system is trying to cope, protect you, or express something that hasn’t had space or words yet. At times, the distress carried in a symptom may also have a prospective value: not only signalling what is painful or unresolved, but pointing toward what in the psyche is trying to develop, reorganise, or come into fuller expression.

In this sense, symptoms are not merely meaningless disturbances, but may hold an evolutionary direction or potential within psychological life.

Alongside support for relief and stability, we explore what your symptoms might be holding: what they may be asking for, and what you may have learned to do in order to survive grief, anger, fear, or overwhelm.

We make sense of things together, step by step forming a shared understanding of what might be contributing, what keeps the pattern going, and what could help it shift.

Building the foundation

Every process of inner work needs a safe foundation. Especially at the beginning, we focus on grounding and stabilisation through a trauma-informed, mind–body lens, supporting steadiness, self-awareness, and your capacity for self-observation.

We build practical resources that help you stay present, and have more choice in how you respond, particularly when life gets difficult.

We also work with inner conflict in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you, so that any goals we set are guided by what feels true and aligned for you: not by fear, pressure, or old survival strategies.

Methods and integration

I draw on different approaches, chosen collaboratively depending on what you need and what feels right. This may include working with inner parts, inner-child themes, shadow work, dreams, conscious and unconscious patterns, guided imagery and psychodynamic hypnotherapy.

If we use any regressive or “looking back” elements, they are done gently and with care focused on healing and meaning in the present, not on trying to prove what happened in the past.

Issues I work with

I often support people with low mood; anxiety and depressive symptoms; self-acceptance struggles; difficult life situations; loss of meaning; stress-related symptoms; identity and relationship difficulties; coping patterns that no longer serve; and personal growth, including shadow integration and self-awareness.

Over time, progress often looks like a stronger relationship between your everyday “I” and your deeper sense of Self: so you can meet life with more choice, more steadiness, and a way of being that feels more like you.

...AND HYPNOTHERAPY

When there is enough steadiness and support, our work include hypnotherapy. I approach this as a gradual, carefully paced process using focused attention and guided imagery. It can help soften fear-based patterns and limiting self-stories, so that something more grounded and true can begin to take shape.

I understand hypnosis as a natural state of absorbed attention, often accompanied by deep relaxation. In this state, it can be easier to notice automatic reactions with gentleness and clarity, rather than getting pulled along by them.

Sometimes the mind tries to solve things through effort, control, or determination. That can be understandable, but it can also create more inner resistance, especially when a pattern is protective or rooted in fear and earlier experience.

A light trance offers another way. It invites the symbolic mind, imagery, metaphor, sensation, and meaning, to help reorganise experience from the inside out, in a way that feels more aligned with your deeper Self.

Hypnotherapy is not sleep, and it is not mind control. You remain aware and in charge throughout. We work collaboratively, always with your consent. If anything feels too intense, we slow down, return to grounding, and prioritise safety.

Depending on what you need, our work may include:

• Stabilisation and grounding: strengthening inner resources to support regulation, resilience, and a steadier sense of safety.

• Guided imagery and parts work: meeting inner parts and inner figures in ways that support coherence and integration.

• Inner-child work: gentle imagery to reconnect with feelings and needs in the present, without aiming to recover hidden memories or establish “facts” about the past.

• Dreamwork, shadow, and Self-connection: working with dreams, disowned aspects of the psyche, and the deeper forces within it, while strengthening your inner observer so that patterns can be recognised without overwhelm and met with greater choice.

A metaphor I find helpful is this: therapy does not force growth. It helps create the conditions for it. The instructions are already in the seed. In the same way, the potential for change is already within you, held in your deeper Self.

Professional Qualifications

Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy & Psychotherapy

Diploma in NLP, Coaching & Stress Management

Foundation Course, Jungian Analytical Psychology

Graduate Diploma in Psychology.

MA Social Research

MSc Social Policy and Health & Social Services

BSc (Hons) & MSc Educational Science and Community-Based Counselling.

Registrations & Professional Memberships

Member, NRPC (National Register of Psychotherapists and Counsellors)

Member, APHP (Association of Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy)

Clinical Hypnotherapist Registered with the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH)

Registered Practitioner Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) (CNHC09789)

Graduate Member, British Psychological Society (BPS)

Member, European Association of Applied Psychology (EAAP)

Guidance

What is this therapy like?

My work is clinically grounded, with a transpersonal perspective where that feels helpful. We start with your lived experience: what you’re feeling, what is happening in your life, and what matters to you. We also pay attention to patterns, relationships, and protective ways of coping, and to the meaning your symptoms may be carrying.

The aim is to support more clarity and choice, and a steadier connection with your inner centre.

What are my professional qualifications?

I’m a clinical hypnotherapist and graduate psychologist, registered with the CNHC and the NCH, member of the National Register of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (NRPC) and the Association of Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP), as well as a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Who is this for?

I work with adults (18+).

To keep the work safe, I do not offer sessions if you are under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed/illegal drugs.

This work may not be suitable during periods of severe instability, active psychosis or mania without psychiatric support, or significant dissociation without stabilisation. For substance dependence, I generally ask for two years of abstinence before beginning.

If it seems that medical or specialist support would be more appropriate, I will recommend this and may encourage you to involve your GP or mental health team. Hypnotherapy is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric care.

Hypnotherapy: will I lose control?

No. Hypnotherapy here is consent-based and collaborative. You remain aware, you can speak at any time, and you can pause or stop whenever you wish.

Much of the work involves a light trance, an ordinary, focused state of attention—so we can invite the cooperation of your unconscious mind in a gentle, respectful way.

Languages

Sessions are offered in English and Italian. I can also work in Spanish if that feels more comfortable for you.

How do I get started?

Email me with a brief outline of what you are seeking support with. We can then arrange a free introductory call to discuss what you want from therapy, availability, fees, and whether this feels like a good fit.

First session

We clarify what brings you here, your aims, relevant history and current supports, and any key risks. We then agree whether and how we will work together. There is no commitment at this stage. This first session is to help you feel comfortable that you have chosen the right therapist.

Practicalities

Sessions are offered face-to-face, online (Doxy.me/Zoom), or by telephone. Sessions last 50 minutes. I offer appointments seven days a week, typically between 11am and 8pm, subject to availability.

Between sessions, contact is for administrative matters only (for example, scheduling). Please give at least 48 hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling (see Policies).

Fees

My standard fee is £50 per session. If cost feels like a barrier, especially if you’re on a low income, please still get in touch. Where appropriate, we can agree a reduced fee. Fees are discussed and agreed in advance.

***I currently offer a community-minded service with a number of sliding-scale, reduced-fee spaces from £10.***

Confidentiality

What you share in sessions is private, and personal data is handled in line with UK data protection requirements. Confidentiality may be broken only where there is a serious risk of harm to you or others, where safeguarding duties arise, or where disclosure is required by law or court order. Wherever possible, I will discuss this with you first.

Culture and identity

I welcome and respect your identity and lived experience, including your culture, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and language. I aim to offer a space where you can feel seen and understood, and I stay in ongoing self-reflection so I can practise with care, respect, and humility.

Urgent support (UK)

This is not an emergency or crisis service.

If you are worried you might harm yourself, call 999 or go to A&E. You can also contact your GP (or out-of-hours GP service) or call NHS 111 for urgent medical advice.

For confidential listening support (24/7), contact Samaritans: 116 123.

For domestic abuse support, contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (24/7).

For sexual violence support, contact Rape Crisis (UK-wide): 0808 802 9999.