Chandana Rathnayake

I started practising as a counsellor in 2013 in Malaysia and moved to the UK in 2019. As a registered counsellor (BACP 00954738/382049) I also work as a mental health adviser for young adults in higher education sector in the UK. 

Prior to all this, I lived as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka for twenty years and inherited a fair share of valuable life experiences from that chapter of my life. Growing up as monk, I received a very traditional education which I later used to access formal education that included psychology and counselling. I left the monkhood to pursue worldly happiness of raising a family which I am enjoying at the moment.

Based on my work with people in the UK for the past three years, I am seeing my past personal and professional life experiences are blending to form a unique style of counselling. In this style, I find ways to improvise as we do back home so that I am able to help the person awaken themselves to utilise all the ingredients they bring into the sessions. The darker the materials, the more broken the pieces are... the better! Losses, betrayals, setbacks, hesitations, overthinking... all these are in my practice recycled into solid building materials that we are going to use for the collaborative rebuilding task ahead. As Yalom has said it is very hard for the grandma to explain how she made that stew so delicious. All we know is that she threw in some ingredients from time to time. I think counselling is like that. 

But to leave you with some certainty... I would be a good fit for you if you are struggling to find purpose, motivation or direction in life. So this includes career, education or even spirituality. I can also be useful in talking to if you are grieving or going through a dramatic change in life. I have also seen myself working effectively with people who have declared war on themselves. I am talking about a lack of self-love, confidence or esteem. One more thing, as an ex-monk, I am no way a relationship expert. However, people who struggle in the relationship domain also have benefited from my work (as individuals, not as couples though!). 

Lastly, if you decide to come on board, that decision is going to improve my life as well. All the best wishes!