How are you?

Counselling is a collaboration. We will be making a committment to meet every week to work together on your therapy. With that in mind, I thought you would probably like to know a little more about the person you are going to meet.

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My name's Eleni (and that rhymes with 'penny') and I live and work in Bristol. My pronouns are she/her.

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I came to counselling gradually over a period of many years. I've had all kinds of jobs and worked in all kinds of industries, but there was always a desire to do something more meaningful, something that helped people. I love counselling as a profession, for the opportunity it gives us to really take a look at ourselves, our past, and our current lives. To assess and evaluate, to decide what we want to keep and what we'd like to let go of.

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My aim is to listen with empathy and respect, and without judgement. My aim is not to "tell you what's wrong with you" or to teach you techniques, but for us to talk and listen and question and imagine, together.

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In addition to my private practice in Bristol, I teach on a Listening Skills course and a Foundation certificate at the Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (BCPC).

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​Training

My training is in humanistic (or person-centred) and integrative counselling. Person-centred therapy, as the name suggests, focuses on you as an individual, and what's happening for you here and now. Mine is not a one-size-fits-all method. An integrative approach means I draw influences from different therapeutic styles and theories. I am hugely influenced by psychodynamic theory, which looks at how our past experiences and relationships influence our present, and am very interested in systems theory, which keeps in mind the interconnectedness of all aspects of a person's life: family, work, culture, society, etc. I also work in an existential way: asking the big questions about life, death, and the meaning of it all.

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Qualifications

Post-Qualifying Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People, I'm OK, You're OK, 2018

Diploma in Humanistic and Integrative Counselling, Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (BCPC), 2017

​Foundation Certificate, Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (BCPC), 2013

Psychology BSc (Hons) degree, Goldsmiths College, University of London, 2004

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Professional Membership

I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), which means I am committed to the highest professional, moral, and ethical standards in my work (please click here if you'd like to read BACP's full Ethical Framework). The safety and wellbeing of my clients is my highest priority, and I receive ongoing professional supervision to ensure that my work upholds BACP's standards.

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I hold an advanced DBS certificate (Disclosure and Barring Service) and am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), so you know your data is safe with me.

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