Dr Hester Bancroft

British Psychological Society No: 287845

Hester is a Chartered Psychologist and Psychotherapist who is passionate about supporting both individuals and families. She has been in private practice now for over 17 years.

After achieving her first class degree in Psychology, Hester worked for Mind supporting children in schools with low self esteem. She also worked with parents in the borough to support them in supporting their children. Through this work, Hester saw the huge difference that supporting parents made, both to their children and to the parents themselves. Alongside her work with the Local Authority and Mind, Hester then set up in private practice and, alongside that, undertook her Doctoral studies to become a Chartered Psychologist, completing her thesis in 2021. In order to be able to support more families, Hester set up the Marlow practice in the Spring of 2024. She, herself, works with adults who are seeking support with life's inevitable challenges as well as children and adolescents.

In her spare time Hester loves to be with her family and friends as well as her 3 dogs, 12 chickens and Bob the tortoise. She also enjoys being out on the river and travelling.

Laura Hembury

British Psychological Society No: 727634

Laura is an Assistant Psychologist with a wide range of experience working with children and in the healthcare sector. Laura completed her Psychology BSc (Hons) at the University of Winchester and her MSc in Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology at Bournemouth University. Laura is also a CBT practitioner (trained by SDS approved by BPS).  She has experience working with children in both in a school setting and as a swimming teacher. Alongside her degrees she worked in an NHS Intensive Psychological Therapies Service supporting adults with complex trauma and long standing interpersonal difficulties.

Following the completion of her formal education she entered a role for the Department of Work and Pensions as a Mental Health and Disability Needs Assessor. Laura has a special interest in neurodiversity and wellbeing in children. She also has extensive experience working with clients with OCD and is trained in ERP (Exposure Response Prevention) which, in combination with her training in CBT, provides a powerful intervention for OCD.

In her spare time Laura walks her two dogs or enjoys spending time with friends.

Hillary Coster

British Psychological Society No: 701008

Hillary is an Assistant Psychologist and a doctoral candidate in the DPsych programme at the Metanoia Institute (starting 2025) with extensive experience supporting children in both school and private settings. She began her academic journey with a BA (Hons) in Anthropology at Durham University and an MSt in Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford, later moving into a successful career in educational publishing. 

Driven by her passion for child development, she completed her MSc Psychology Conversion at the Open University in 2024, alongside working with primary school children on behalf of the Marlow Education Trust. This pastoral role involved using trauma-informed practices as a framework to carry out interventions and support those children who needed it most, combining her academic background with hands-on experience. As part of her training, Hillary has also completed a Therapeutic Skills Certificate with the Metanoia Institute (2024).



Outside of work, Hillary enjoys spending time with her two young children and - when not at a playground or soft play! - likes to go to the gym, read, or see friends.

Kelly Matthews

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) No: 00993264

Kelly is an Integrative Therapeutic Counsellor within the practice, and works with adolescents and adults. She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and has extensive experience of working those suffering from anxiety, depression and trauma as well as with survivors of rape and sexual abuse.

Kelly has worked with individuals from many different backgrounds and is passionate about supporting those who are strugggling. As a therapeutic counsellor, Kelly approaches her therapeutic work by predominately integrating Person Centred and Psychodynamic theories. The latter sometimes includes an exploration of past events, the processing of which can help bring the unconscious to the conscious and boost self-awareness. This can lead to a reduction in unhelpful behavioural patterns and provide new ways of seeing, and reacting to, the world.

In her spare time Kelly enjoys running, gardening, reading and spending time with Tom, her rather large and very ginger cat.