Apostolos Fournaris
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
What I offer
I am here to offer a non-judgemental safe space where you will be free to explore and understand yourself in whatever way you need to do it in order to eventually live a more fulfilled, productive and creative life. At the moment I am only taking on new clients who are interested in remote work online.
My therapeutic approach is psychodynamic/psychoanalytic and I offer weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy to adults, children and adolescents. In addition, I offer consultation, facilitations of reflective groups and tailored to needs psycho-educational support to organisations (schools, charities, businesses), as well as short term brief counselling interventions to families. I have 13 years of experience in mental health (please visit my website for a more detailed CV). I can offer my services in English, Greek, or Italian. I offer my services in person, or online (remotely).
Please get in touch if you feel you, or someone close to you, need help with anxiety, depression, loss, bereavement, relationship issues, trauma, gender identity, substance misuse, addiction, or anger amongst others. If you feel there is a family matter you wish to explore and/or resolve, or if you just feel you would like to explore who you are and how you relate to others in general. I follow and adhere to the BACP and the BPS ethical frameworks.
What is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a word which is formed as a combination of the Greek words for "soul" and "treatment". It therefore stands for treatment of the soul. However, in our time, it can take various forms and be understood and practiced differently by professionals and/or clients.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is not about changing ourselves and who we are. It is about facing our emotional reality, accepting what cannot be changed and developing tolerance of internal and external discomfort. As a result, people may relate to their environment and to others in a better way, and may lead more functional, creative, and productive lives.
Generally speaking, usually, psychotherapy may differ from counselling in that it offers a more long term and in depth approach to whatever brings individuals to therapy.
Psychodynamic describes a therapeutic approach based on a few fundamental premises:
- Our perceptions, interactions and motives can be both of conscious and of unconscious nature. This means that we are not always aware of the true motives or meaning of our actions, nor do we always control our actions to the extent we believe that we do.
- When we come to this world we relate to everything and everyone around us in some way. We attach our feelings to people, places, activities, objects. The nature of our early relationships with family our carers and family members as well as with significant others along the course of our lives will have an impact on how we relate to the world and to people later in life.
- We do not always experience functional ways of relating to others in our early developmental stages and as a result, we may find ourselves repeating dysfunctional behavioural patterns and experiences, without understanding why or how to this happens.
- We experience inner conflict that is not always of the conscious nature. A lot of our "troubles" are often due to us trying to find a middle ground between the "requests" of different parts of ourselves that are competing for emotional resources.
Training, qualifications & experience
A brief CV
- PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies (2021-2024)(ongoing) University of Essex
- MA in Psychodynamic Counselling(Children, Adolescents &Adults)(2018-2021) University of Essex (BACP Accredited)
- Pg. Foundations of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy(Adults) (2016-2017) Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- MA in Psychoanalytic Studies (2014-2015) University of Essex
- BSc (Honours) in Psychology (2008-2011) Open University(BPS Accredited)
- Certificate in Social Sciences (2008-2009) Open University
- BA in Art History (1999-2003) University of Siena (Italy)
I have a BSc in Psychology, which I gained in 2011. After that, I have spent my time gaining experience in the public and private mental health sector and committing to continuous education and professional development. More specifically, my professional experience since then includes working in supported living organisations, psychiatric hospitals, forensic clinics, primary and secondary schools, academies, universities and charities. So far, I have worked as a support worker, an assistant Psychologist, a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, a Psychodynamic Counsellor and as a Specialist Mental Health Mentor for 13 years. This has given me valuable experience in working with diverse client and age groups, in multiple settings and alongside a variety of professionals. However, it was at a very early stage of my life that I had realised my inclination towards psychoanalytic thinking and decided to pursue further training in the psychodynamic field.
That eventually led me in 2014 to make the decision to start my first MA, an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies, which I successfully completed in 2015 at Essex University. Between 2016 and 2017 I spent a year at the Tavistock Clinic in London studying in their pre-clinical course in Adult Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. In 2018 I started my second MA and BACP qualifying course, MA in Psychodynamic Counselling, which I finished successfully in 2021.
I am currently studying for a PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies at Essex University. My PhD research investigates the impact of mentoring on anxiety and academic performance in adolescents and young adults in higher education. In addition, I am a Lecturer of Psychology at the Department of Psychology at University of Roehampton and an Associate Lecturer of Psychology at the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at University of Essex. I am a member of the British Psychological Society (MBPsS) and a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP).
In your initial consultation, which will last longer than a weekly session normally would, we will try to understand your individual needs a little bit better and see if working together is the right choice for you depending on your current circumstances. Our sessions will last 50 minutes and will always be held on the same pre agreed day and time for the duration of our work together. You are encouraged to speak freely about anything that comes to mind, no matter how insignificant or relevant you might think it is. We shall be exploring your emotional world and attempting to understand better what makes you who you are. In our sessions, you have the freedom to focus on anything that you wish from your past or present and there is no need to follow any agenda. Psychodynamic Therapy is of a very unstructured nature and you are encouraged to utilise this freedom in any way necessary in order to reach your personal and unique individual goals.
Member organisations
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Adolescents, Youngs Adults, Academic Performance and Anxiety
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£70.00 - £80.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free 20 minute initial telephone consultation to discuss your needs and circumstances.
Following that, we can book your initial consultation in person or remotely(up to 90 minutes) which costs £85 for individuals and £100 for organisations. I offer concessionary rates after a per case assessment, subject to availability.
Further information
My Services
Whatever the issue with which you are dealing is, I am here to offer a non-judgemental safe space where you will be free to explore and understand yourself in whatever way you need to do it in order to eventually live a more fulfilled life. Please feel free to contact me if you need help with anxiety, depression, bereavement, relationship issues, Aspergers, trauma, gender identity, substance misuse, addiction, or anger, amongst others, or if you feel you would like to explore who you are and how you relate to others in general.
In addition to adults, I offer individual one to one Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for children and adolescents of all ages for a variety of presenting issues. Some examples of such issues might include but are not limited to; Anxiety, Aspergers, problems at school, bereavement, difficulties with social life, drug use, anti-social behaviour, depression, gender identity.
Finally, I offer consultation to schools, businesses and organisations in the form of individual and group staff support, supervision and psychoeducation, specifically designed to the school's and/or organisation's needs and circumstances after careful assessment.
If your staff need support with understanding and handling of student mental health issues, If you are concerned with staff productivity, turnover, absence, burn-out and any other issue, or if you believe that the members of your organisation might benefit from some mental health related supervision, please do get in touch. Additionally, if you feel your staff could benefit from support in dealing with challenges at work or elsewhere, please request a consultation and together we can structure a support plan appropriate to your needs.
