Referral & Consent
Counselling begins following a referral from a school, or directly from a family, alongside written parental consent. All enquiries are welcome.
Kensington Square Therapy
Your child is their
Your child is their
own shape.
Not every child fits the spaces they are given. We offer bespoke therapeutic support to help children, young people, parents, and schools flourish within the demands of independent school life.
Clinical. Considered. Grounded in twenty years of specialist practice.
- 1:1 Clinical Sessions for children, young people, and university students.
- Embedded School Counselling within London's leading independent schools.
- Specialist 11+ Support Groups for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils throughout the year.
- Parent Consultations for families navigating school pressure, family dynamics, and parenting challenges.
Kensington Square Therapy
Clinical Excellence
Twenty years of specialist experience working with children and young people in the independent sector.
Relational Approach
Humanistic in foundation. Integrative in practice. Support that evolves with each individual child.
Trusted by Schools and Families
A practice built on long-term relationships with families and pastoral teams across West London's independent schools.
How we work
Meeting Your Counsellor
Your child is matched with a trained, qualified, and supervised KST counsellor. Early sessions focus on comfort and building trust. There is no pressure to talk before they are ready.
Ongoing Sessions
Weekly sessions, in school, at the KST Centre, or online, shaped around the child's age, pace, and emotional readiness. Parent consultations run alongside when helpful.
Review & Ending
Progress is reviewed regularly with families and, where appropriate, schools. Endings are planned carefully, helping children process change as part of the therapeutic work.
Support that fits your child
1:1 Therapy
Private therapeutic support
For children and university students navigating anxiety, academic pressure, and the demands of school entrance.
Private consultation 11+ SupportYear-round wellbeing groups
Therapeutic groups for Year 5 and 6, building emotional resilience and the inner resources needed for the school entrance journey.
In-school groups Parental SupportA grounded space for parents
A carefully held space for parents to reflect and find their footing through the pressures of the school entrance cycle.
Clinical guidance School ServicesEmbedded counselling for schools
Pastoral counselling embedded within independent schools, with flexible commissioning models for institutions and families alike.
Institutional care For parents
Parent consultations
You do not need your child to be in therapy to speak with us. Parent Consultations are independent, adult-focused sessions designed to give parents and carers a thoughtful, professionally governed space of their own.
Learn more- You are navigating anxiety, behavioural challenges, or emotional outbursts and are unsure how to respond.
- Your child is experiencing school stress, friendship difficulties, or academic pressure and you want to understand how best to help.
- You are unsure whether your child needs therapy and would like a professional perspective before making a decision.
- You want to reflect on family dynamics, expectations, or communication in a calm, impartial space.
- Your child is already in therapy with KST and you would like parallel support for yourself.
What we make beyond the consulting room
Our clinical practice is the centre of gravity. Two further projects orbit it — each one written and curated by the same therapists, in service of different audiences.
Therapeutically informed
The Parent Book
A half-termly working library, written with a school community for the parents inside it. Films, articles, books and podcasts, curated and re-curated by therapists who do the work.
How partnership works Small, free, always open
Wellbeing Tips
A sister brand of tiny wellbeing apps for breath, regulation, sleep and small daily reminders. One tap. No login. Free, always. Made by us, in service of everyone who could use a softer minute.
Visit wellbeing.tipsWords from those we have worked with
I would recommend KST without hesitation. In recent years, it has been one of our most impactful pastoral strategies, significantly enhancing the wellbeing of both staff and pupils across the school.
KST has not only provided invaluable therapeutic support for individual pupils, but has also strengthened staff welfare practice across the school — offering colleagues expert guidance, reassurance, and a reflective space to discuss challenges.
Meet the founder
Sam McManus
MBACP · Accredited Member NCPS · MA Humanistic Counselling Practice
Kensington Square Therapy was founded by Sam McManus, who brings over twenty years of experience working with children and young people, including more than a decade embedded within independent schools in West London.
Humanistic in foundation and integrative in approach, Sam's clinical framework draws from a deep understanding of the pressures particular to independent education: entrance assessments, accelerated expectations, and the gap that can open between outward achievement and internal experience.
In his work outside KST, Sam has held clinical posts within Latymer Upper School and Latymer Prep School for more than a decade. That experience, alongside KST's current institutional partnerships, shapes the practice's approach to every child it sees.
About the practiceCurrently embedded within
- Kensington Prep School
- Connaught House School
Get in touch
Begin the conversation
23 Kensington Square
London W8 5HN
All enquiries are handled personally.
We respond within one working day.
Our therapists are members of these ethical bodies
