About me
Hello, I’m Alexandra Hagiu, a fully qualified and insured psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist, with extensive experience working in specialist NHS services and community counselling settings. I am a Full Member of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and I practise in line with their rigorous ethical and clinical standards.
Alongside my private practice, I work in a national specialist NHS service, supporting individuals with severe emotional distress, self-harm, trauma, and personality related difficulties. This experience, combined with my work in community mental health settings, informs a grounded, thoughtful, and clinically rigorous approach to psychotherapy.
Living in a city like London can leave little room to pause, reflect, or feel truly heard. Psychodynamic psychotherapy offers a space to slow things down and make sense of emotional experiences, patterns, and relationships that may feel confusing, overwhelming, or stuck.
I work with adults who want to understand the roots of their difficulties and develop a more grounded, meaningful way of living. My approach is thoughtful, collaborative, and informed by clinical evidence and psychoanalytic thinking.
Psychodynamic therapy offers a space to explore emotions, patterns, and relationships, including those that may sit outside conscious awareness. Over time, this can lead to greater clarity, emotional resilience, and meaningful change.
You might recognise yourself in some of the areas I commonly work with:
- Chronic anxiety, generalised panic, and overwhelm
- Depression and persistent low mood or flatness
- Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
- Relationship and attachment difficulties
- Emotional numbness or disconnection
- Identity, self-esteem, and shame
- Personality difficulties and complex trauma
- a sense that previous support hasn't quite reached the depth of what you're carrying
I have particular experience working with acute, chronic, and complex presentations, including individuals who may have felt let down or misunderstood by previous support.
How therapy can help
If you’ve arrived here, you may be feeling distressed, uncertain, or alone with something difficult. You might be functioning on the outside while struggling internally, or feeling that familiar ways of coping are no longer working. Whether you're struggling with overwhelming thoughts or emotions, feeling stuck or lost, or experiencing a general sense that life shouldn't feel this hard, psychotherapy can offer a safe space for meaningful change.
Therapy offers a confidential, non judgemental space to explore what’s happening beneath the surface. Together, we will work to understand your inner world, your relationships, and the patterns that shape your emotional life, supporting insight, resilience, and lasting change.
I work with adults from a wide range of backgrounds and identities and am attentive to how culture, history, and social context shape psychological experience.
How we might work together
My clinical work spans both open-ended psychotherapy and time-limited counselling, and I draw on this experience to tailor the work to your needs.
- Long term psychotherapy offers space for in-depth exploration of long-standing emotional and relational difficulties, supporting deeper self-understanding and lasting change.
- Short-term therapy (often 10–18 sessions) can be helpful if you are facing a specific difficulty, crisis, or decision and would like focused support.
Together, we can think carefully about what kind of therapy might be most helpful for you.
***My London Bridge consulting room is close to Bourough Market, in the heart of London Bridge.
***My Waterloo consulting room is close to the Old Vic and Lower Marsh, with excellent tube, rail, and bus links.
Psychological and emotional challenges are common and can affect anyone at any stage of life. It is essential that you find the right space geared to what is unique to you and your experiences.
I welcome enquiries and offer a free 15 minute introductory call to help you decide whether working together feels right.
***Sessions are 50 minutes long and take place at a dedicated time each week, reserved exclusively for you.
I practice psychotherapy with integrity and curiosity, creating the space for meaningful exploration and lasting change.
Training, qualifications & experience
- MSc (Dist) Psychodyamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, University of London
- Certificate (Dist) Psychodynamic Counselling and Skills in a Psychosocial Framework, Birkbeck University of London
I hold a psychotherapist position in a highly specialist national service at Maudsley Hospital, London
I am a registered member of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC).
I am a registered member of BACP.
I am also a member of the Birkbeck Counselling Association.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is a professional association, representing the profession of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
The organisation is itself made up of fourteen member organisations and BPC accredits the trainings of its member organisations. An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings is then eligible for entry into the BPC's register.
BPC registrants are governed by a code of ethics, a policy of continuing professional development, a statement on confidentiality and a complaints procedure. The BPC is a Member Society of the European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector (EFPP). Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£90.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
The Initial Consultation for psychotherapy takes place over two or three sessions and is free of any obligation to continue working with me afterwards. This provides an opportunity to explore your situation and your personal history, and how psychotherapy might be helpful for you.
The decision to commit to further sessions , whether open-ended or time-limited , will be made based on our discussion and your circumstances.
After the initial consultation, we will agree on a regular, dedicated time slot for your ongoing sessions. Please note that all sessions, whether attended or missed, are chargeable unless I am the one to cancel.
Regular weekly sessions fee start from £90, depending on the time of the day. The sessions are 50 minutes.
You will be invoiced after each session.
When I work
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Further information
Psychotherapy gives you a space to talk freely and honestly, as we work together to make sense of what’s troubling you. Sometimes, we might also explore any difficulties that show up between us, as these can offer valuable insight. This process can help you better understand yourself and how your challenges may be affecting your relationships with others.
