Kendra Blake

Biography

I qualified as an Occupational Therapist at the University of Cape Town, and spent a number of years working therapeutically with eating disorders, addiction and general psychiatry in South Africa. I then moved to the United Kingdom in 2019 to work in a therapeutic day service for people with eating disorders before joining The London Centre in 2021. I am passionate about working holistically with clients’ mental and physical well-being. I have undertaken further courses to enrich my clinical work, including training in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Interpersonal Neurobiology, a Foundation Course in Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Positive Psychology and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). I also have a keen interest in Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), compulsive exercise and Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and have extensive experience supporting clients in these areas of their recovery.

This background allows me to work in a diverse, integrative way. I utilise my skills as an Occupational Therapist to help people to optimise their potential within their daily tasks, roles and chosen activities. Equally, my experience of working in therapeutic eating disorder units combined with my additional training allows me to offer supportive and containing processing spaces for clients, grounded in CFT, DBT, CBT-E, IPNB and MBSR. I utilise numerous techniques to work alongside clients, including helping clients establish a robust skills toolkit for emotion regulation, address issues around exercise and body image, and establish meaningful daily practices and balanced routines. My goal is to assist individuals to navigate their internal struggles, allowing them to tap into their unique strengths and optimise their recovery journeys.
In my therapeutic work, I strive to create a safe, caring and containing space to support people to explore their distress and find ways to alleviate this; aiming to work closely with clients in regaining their sense of independence and autonomy within their recovery journey.