Therapy Isn't About Being Broken. It's About Being Curious.
A conversation with Dr Sheri Jacobson, founder of Harley Therapy
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and with Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK running from 11 to 17 May, there has never been a better moment to open up the conversation. To mark the occasion, we sat down with Dr Sheri Jacobson, the founder of Harley Therapy, one of the UK's most respected psychotherapy groups.
Dr Jacobson's story is not a straightforward one. An Oxford graduate in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, she turned her back on a career in investment banking and management consultancy to spend a decade retraining as a psychotherapist, volunteering as a counsellor along the way. She holds a PhD in Counselling and Psychotherapy, has worked within the NHS and at charities including Mind and Mencap, and in 2006 founded Harley Therapy with a clear mission: to bring together exceptional practitioners under one roof and make high quality therapy genuinely accessible. Today Harley Therapy operates from three central London clinics, including its home at 10 Harley Street, and through its online platform harleytherapy.com, where sessions start from £35.
We talked about what drove her to build something different, why the conversation around mental health has shifted so dramatically, and what she would say to anyone who has been putting that first call off for far too long.
You founded Harley Therapy on Harley Street itself, which is already world-renowned for healthcare. What made you feel something was still missing?
The vision was always about quality and community. Harley Street carries genuine weight globally, but what I noticed was that while there were many talented individual therapists practising there, there were very few group practices. It was an isolated model. I wanted to bring together a like-minded group of exceptional practitioners under one roof, to create something that offered the rigour and prestige of Harley Street alongside the warmth of a genuine therapeutic community. That combination simply did not exist in the way I felt it should.
Dr Jacobson's story is not a straightforward one. An Oxford graduate in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, she turned her back on a career in investment banking and management consultancy to spend a decade retraining as a psychotherapist, volunteering as a counsellor along the way. She holds a PhD in Counselling and Psychotherapy, has worked within the NHS and at charities including Mind and Mencap, and in 2006 founded Harley Therapy with a clear mission: to bring together exceptional practitioners under one roof and make high quality therapy genuinely accessible. Today Harley Therapy operates from three central London clinics, including its home at 10 Harley Street, and through its online platform harleytherapy.com, where sessions start from £35.
We talked about what drove her to build something different, why the conversation around mental health has shifted so dramatically, and what she would say to anyone who has been putting that first call off for far too long.
You founded Harley Therapy on Harley Street itself, which is already world-renowned for healthcare. What made you feel something was still missing?
The vision was always about quality and community. Harley Street carries genuine weight globally, but what I noticed was that while there were many talented individual therapists practising there, there were very few group practices. It was an isolated model. I wanted to bring together a like-minded group of exceptional practitioners under one roof, to create something that offered the rigour and prestige of Harley Street alongside the warmth of a genuine therapeutic community. That combination simply did not exist in the way I felt it should.
The conversation around mental health has changed enormously over the last decade. Have you felt that shift firsthand?
It has been a real privilege to be part of it, and I say that without false modesty because we worked hard at it. We pushed the conversation forward actively through our blog, through workshops, through social media at a time when talking openly about therapy still raised eyebrows. We worked to help normalise it.
What has changed is the openness people bring with them now. A decade ago, many clients were guarded about the fact that they were even in therapy. Today people discuss it in the same breath as going to the gym. What has not changed, and never will, is our emphasis on what actually works: the depth and quality of the therapeutic relationship itself. That remains at the heart of everything we do.
What do you wish more people understood before they decide therapy is not for them?
That it is, at its core, the ultimate form of self-care. We invest extraordinary energy in understanding the world around us. We study, we read, we throw ourselves into external projects with genuine enthusiasm. And yet the one subject we are most qualified to work on, the one we have the most capacity to actually change, is our own inner life. Therapy is the space where that work happens. It is not about being broken. It is about being curious. Once people realise that, the whole framing shifts.
Who is actually walking through your door, and what are they dealing with?
We always hoped to reach people in a more preventative capacity, to be the equivalent of a health check-up rather than an emergency visit. And we do see that. But honestly, most people who contact us are in the middle of something difficult. Relationships, whether romantic, familial or professional, are by far the most common thread. Anxiety and low mood feature heavily too.
What is wonderful, though, is what happens on the other side. Many people who complete therapy choose to continue. Not because they still need it in the same urgent way, but because they have discovered its value as preparation for the inevitable losses, transitions and difficulties that life brings. That says everything, really.
It has been a real privilege to be part of it, and I say that without false modesty because we worked hard at it. We pushed the conversation forward actively through our blog, through workshops, through social media at a time when talking openly about therapy still raised eyebrows. We worked to help normalise it.
What has changed is the openness people bring with them now. A decade ago, many clients were guarded about the fact that they were even in therapy. Today people discuss it in the same breath as going to the gym. What has not changed, and never will, is our emphasis on what actually works: the depth and quality of the therapeutic relationship itself. That remains at the heart of everything we do.
What do you wish more people understood before they decide therapy is not for them?
That it is, at its core, the ultimate form of self-care. We invest extraordinary energy in understanding the world around us. We study, we read, we throw ourselves into external projects with genuine enthusiasm. And yet the one subject we are most qualified to work on, the one we have the most capacity to actually change, is our own inner life. Therapy is the space where that work happens. It is not about being broken. It is about being curious. Once people realise that, the whole framing shifts.
Who is actually walking through your door, and what are they dealing with?
We always hoped to reach people in a more preventative capacity, to be the equivalent of a health check-up rather than an emergency visit. And we do see that. But honestly, most people who contact us are in the middle of something difficult. Relationships, whether romantic, familial or professional, are by far the most common thread. Anxiety and low mood feature heavily too.
What is wonderful, though, is what happens on the other side. Many people who complete therapy choose to continue. Not because they still need it in the same urgent way, but because they have discovered its value as preparation for the inevitable losses, transitions and difficulties that life brings. That says everything, really.
Harley Street is not exactly accessible to everyone. How have you addressed that?
It became apparent quite early on that Harley Street, for all its prestige, was neither geographically reachable nor financially accessible to most people. That felt like a problem worth addressing, especially given my own roots as a volunteer counsellor. So in 2017 we launched harleytherapy.com, an online platform where therapists across the UK practise from their own locations and see clients both in person and online. Sessions start from £35, which opens the door to a much wider audience. The platform is fully transparent so clients can read genuine reviews, explore detailed therapist profiles, and make informed choices before they book.
For someone who has never done it before, what does the first step actually look like?
It is very simple, which was always the intention. You go to the homepage and from there you can either see who is available immediately or use the filters to find a therapist who fits your specific needs, whether that is area of concern, location, time of day or budget. You browse, you choose, you book. We wanted to remove every possible friction point, because we know that moment of decision is a delicate one. If the process is complicated, people can talk themselves out of it. We wanted to make it as smooth as possible.
Mental health support is increasingly appearing as an employee benefit. Why do you think that shift is happening?
Mental health is one of the largest drivers of both absenteeism and presenteeism, people either not showing up, or showing up but not really being there. When employees are well, organisations function
It became apparent quite early on that Harley Street, for all its prestige, was neither geographically reachable nor financially accessible to most people. That felt like a problem worth addressing, especially given my own roots as a volunteer counsellor. So in 2017 we launched harleytherapy.com, an online platform where therapists across the UK practise from their own locations and see clients both in person and online. Sessions start from £35, which opens the door to a much wider audience. The platform is fully transparent so clients can read genuine reviews, explore detailed therapist profiles, and make informed choices before they book.
For someone who has never done it before, what does the first step actually look like?
It is very simple, which was always the intention. You go to the homepage and from there you can either see who is available immediately or use the filters to find a therapist who fits your specific needs, whether that is area of concern, location, time of day or budget. You browse, you choose, you book. We wanted to remove every possible friction point, because we know that moment of decision is a delicate one. If the process is complicated, people can talk themselves out of it. We wanted to make it as smooth as possible.
Mental health support is increasingly appearing as an employee benefit. Why do you think that shift is happening?
Mental health is one of the largest drivers of both absenteeism and presenteeism, people either not showing up, or showing up but not really being there. When employees are well, organisations function
better. Having instant access to therapy as part of a benefits package removes a meaningful barrier, and employers are waking up to the fact that this is not a nice to have. It is good business.
Some employees worry about privacy when therapy is provided through their employer. What would you say to them?
That the fear, while completely understandable, is in most cases unfounded. Standard practice is for HR teams to receive only anonymised, aggregate data. Individual sessions are private. Your employer does not know what you discuss, or even necessarily that you are attending. These are professional, regulated services with confidentiality at their core. The worry about being judged or flagged is one I hear often, and it is almost never borne out in reality.
And finally, what would you say to someone who has been thinking about therapy but just has not made that call yet?
The thing I hear most often from people who have been through therapy, especially those who were the most reluctant to start, is some version of "I wish I had done it sooner." It comes up again and again, and there is something very telling in that. So whatever is stopping you, whether it is uncertainty, or cost, or the feeling that your problems are not quite serious enough to warrant it, I would gently suggest that those are exactly the kinds of thoughts therapy is designed to help you with.
Harley Therapy offers in-person and online sessions with qualified therapists across the UK. Sessions start from 35. Find out more and book at harleytherapy.com
As a member, visit your benefits portal to get a 20% discount. Harley Therapy features in your Wellbeing section of member offers.
Some employees worry about privacy when therapy is provided through their employer. What would you say to them?
That the fear, while completely understandable, is in most cases unfounded. Standard practice is for HR teams to receive only anonymised, aggregate data. Individual sessions are private. Your employer does not know what you discuss, or even necessarily that you are attending. These are professional, regulated services with confidentiality at their core. The worry about being judged or flagged is one I hear often, and it is almost never borne out in reality.
And finally, what would you say to someone who has been thinking about therapy but just has not made that call yet?
The thing I hear most often from people who have been through therapy, especially those who were the most reluctant to start, is some version of "I wish I had done it sooner." It comes up again and again, and there is something very telling in that. So whatever is stopping you, whether it is uncertainty, or cost, or the feeling that your problems are not quite serious enough to warrant it, I would gently suggest that those are exactly the kinds of thoughts therapy is designed to help you with.
Harley Therapy offers in-person and online sessions with qualified therapists across the UK. Sessions start from 35. Find out more and book at harleytherapy.com
As a member, visit your benefits portal to get a 20% discount. Harley Therapy features in your Wellbeing section of member offers.
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