James Scurry

MA BA UKCP ACPP

Core Process Psychotherapist

Hi, I’m James Scurry, I’m a Mindfulness-based Core Process Psychotherapist accredited with the UK Council for Psychotherapists [UKCP] and the Association of Core Process Psychotherapists [ACPP].

Core Process Psychotherapy is an awareness-based, contemplative approach to psychotherapy which harnesses both ancient eastern, and contemporary western thought on the mind and body.

As the world moves beyond traditional medical approaches to working with mental and emotional distress, Core Process Psychotherapy offers a different way of working with the difficult experiences and feelings that we encounter throughout life.

During a therapy session we work slowly and safely with where the body leads us in the present moment. As a somatic (body-based) approach, Core Process Psychotherapy holds the potential to bring about deep and lasting personal transformation. Working with the body helps us to move beyond our personal stories (the things our conscious minds are already aware of) and into the deeper wisdom residing in our unconscious, which is held in the body.

Core Process Psychotherapy is not a psychotherapeutic approach connected to any one religious tradition, although its teachings are greatly informed by Buddhism. I draw on a broad cross section of wisdom spanning many spiritual traditions to help people to reconnect with, and to feel held by, something bigger than just themselves.

A psycho-spiritual perspective to therapy (that’s spiritual with a little ‘s’) means that I help to reorientate my clients back to that which is already whole within them. There are many different ways of languaging this inherent health which lies at the core of our Being, and during the therapeutic process, each individual comes to feel and understand it in their own unique way.

Growth and transformation

Beginning a journey of spiritual growth through weekly psychotherapy can feel like quite a daunting prospect at first, but with the right support and guidance it can provide a unique opportunity for a person to begin to look at the parts of their life that need attention, that have been buried or sometimes left unresolved.

In order for us to bring some of these more painful parts of our personal histories into the light of awareness, it’s crucial that we sense compassion present in another person. This in turn allows us to see the truth of why we’re feeling the way we are, how and why we’ve become constricted, and how we can go about moving forwards and to emerge into a greater fullness of Being (that’s to say feeling open, joyful and as though we’re living our life with greater ease.)

What is Core Process Psychotherapy?

Core Process Psychotherapy is a gentle, compassionate, somatic approach to psychotherapy that combines Buddhist teachings on the mind and body with western psychotherapeutic theories.

Core Process Psychotherapy begins with the premise that each of us possesses an immutable state of inherent health inside us, and that we all hold the potential to reorient towards that inherent health by embarking on our own personal inner journeys (or processes) of growth and transformation.

The word Core refers to who we really are at the centre of our Being, while the word Process refers to the ongoing unfolding inner journey that leads us to be able to live as our authentic self. If we think about our Core as a brightly polished mirror that reflects back to us an accurate image of who we really are, then the Process part of the journey refers to the work we do to polish the mirror and to remove the tarnish which prevents us from seeing a clear and accurate reflection.

Our ways of responding to the world we live in are greatly informed by our past conditioning and by the things we’ve experienced and needed to respond to as we’ve gone through life. These unconscious processes, reactions, and strategies may have been very important in order for us to cope with the things we had to face, however at a certain point we all outgrow them. Psychotherapy helps us to bring these patterns, strategies and behaviours into conscious awareness, to examine and understand them, and then ultimately to let them go so that we can cultivate new and more helpful ways of simply 'being', better suited to our current lives.

Karuna Institute

Core Process Psychotherapy was first taught in England in the early 1980s, and was pioneered by Maura and Franklyn Sills at the internationally-renowned Karuna Institute, which is based in Dartmoor National Park in Devon.

Maura Sills first qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1971, and worked at Stanford University Medical Centre and studied at The Esalen Institute. Maura was a founding member of the Association for Accredited Psychospiritual Psychotherapists, and a coordinator of the Spiritual Emergency Network UK. She was ordained as a nun with Taungpulu Sayadew of Burma.

Franklyn Skills is co-founder of the Karuna Institute and a worldwide pioneer in the development of Core Process Psychotherapy and Craniosacral Biodynamics. He lectures in Biodynamics, Mindfulness-based Psychotherapy and the neurobiology of stress and trauma and basic mindfulness-based trauma skills.

For more information on the various trainings, courses and retreats offered by The Karuna Institute, please visit: https://karuna-institute.co.uk

Where will the sessions take place?

I see clients in private therapy rooms in Chiswick in West London. The address is:

Oxford House, 24 Upper Ground

Oxford Road North

Chiswick

London

W4 4DH

The closest tube station is Gunnersbury on the District Line. Chiswick Park and Kew Bridge railway stations are also in close proximity.

On street paid parking is available on Oxford Road North and Wellesley Road.

How much does a Core Process Psychotherapy session cost?

The cost of a session is £70 for 50 minutes.

A discount for individuals on a low income may be available upon request

Get in touch

To arrange an initial phone call please submit this form or email me: james@jcstherapy.org

How do I get started?

Beginning work with a psychotherapist is a big step and it may be useful to book an initial session with more than one therapist to ensure you find the right person.

I normally begin with a quick 10 minute introductory phone call to help me better understand a little bit about you and the reasons why you’d like to begin psychotherapy.

After that we’ll book in an initial 50 minute session together (initial session fee is £35). This session provides an opportunity for individuals to get a feeling for what it's like to be in the room together and to ensure they feel comfortable and ready to proceed with therapy.

Whilst Core Process Psychotherapy is best suited to work of a longer duration, I offer a routine check in at the six-week point to look at how the therapy is going, and to make sure it still feels right to proceed with long-term work.

There is no minimum or maximum length of time a person should stay in therapy.

My qualifications and training

Master of Mindfulness-based Core Process Psychotherapy, The Karuna Institute & Middlesex University, Devon & London, UK

Association of Core Process Psychotherapists [ACPP] accredited member

UK Council for Psychotherapy [UKCP] accredited member

Co-Founder of SafelyHeldSpaces.org

Bachelor of Arts: International Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

-- Cynthia Occelli

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”