Michela Trainini
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
We all get stuck, from time to time. Sometimes it feels like we cannot move forward. It can be frustrating, constraining and painful. Yet, there is energy behind every blockage, and looking at it from above – as if from a bridge – can be the first step to unlocking our potential. This is what I aim to offer to my clients.
My practice is grounded in the understanding that trauma and adverse experiences can affect a person's neurological and psychological development, as well as their mental and physical wellbeing. Somatic work (which involves the body and its responses) is an important part of my approach and it has helped many of my clients reduce the impact of trauma, overcome anxiety and depression, panic, phobias and PTSD symptoms.
I work creatively, adapting to individual needs. During our sessions, I will encourage you to explore and become aware of your patterns and identify where they become unhelpful.
Follow the link to my website to find out how we can work together.
I practise in both English and Italian, and I have a proficient understanding of Russian. I also have the experience of living in a multicultural family (Italian and Arab), and I speak some Spanish, French and German, too. Whatever your background, I can offer the benefits of a culturally sensitive approach to your problems and challenges.
Face to face and online.
I have worked extensively with:
- Depression. I can help you understand your depression, make sense of the emotional shut down that you are experiencing, so that you can rebuild your contact and activity. This will improve your relationships and the quality of your life.
- Anxiety. We will work towards you gaining an understanding of your anxiety and its triggers. I will help you to find ways to manage it, breaking the cycles that perpetuate negative feelings and harmful behaviours, which are preventing you from enjoying life.
- Stress. We can work together on regulating your energies and reducing the tension associated with a protracted state of stress. You will experience the benefit of an approach that focuses on you and your available resources, and help you prioritise and feel in control.
- Bereavement and loss. Feeling bereft is the natural, unavoidable consequence of loss or major life changes, like leaving a home to build a new one. Both can leave you feeling as if you are going off track. I can help you understand your thoughts and emotions and manage the changes in your everyday life.
- Issues around identity. I can support you in managing whatever transition you are going through, exploring expectations, unspoken rules and the impact of change on your relationships. Flexibility is essential when you are creating a new identity whilst holding on to what you want to preserve. My personal circumstances made me particularly aware of this and my keen interest in multicultural counselling promoted a practice that remains open to your uniqueness.
- Relationships. Difficult relationships are frequently involved in the blockages we experience. Differences can make it hard to communicate, but they also come with a potential for growth. I can help you to explore those difficulties and build bridges to overcome them, to ultimately find that potential.
- Trauma and abuse. Daunting words, yet seeing what my clients could accomplish thanks to their willingness to work on traumatic experiences has led me to hold a hopeful vision of our capacity to heal. I can help you enhance that capacity and gently work with you to mobilise the energy that has remained trapped.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified gestalt counsellor and an Accredited Member of the BACP, with many years' experience working with individuals and groups. I hold a First-Class Honours Degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures (Milan University) and a Diploma of Higher Education in Gestalt Counselling with distinction (Bucks New University).
Over the years, I have undertaken further training in body psychotherapies, such as Somatic Experiencing, and in the applications of the Polyvagal Theory in counselling, which have consolidated the holistic core of my Gestalt approach.
I work for an agency that supports victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse and I am committed to my on-going professional development.
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
Fees
£55.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I charge £55 for a 50-minute one-to-one counselling session. We will contract the number of sessions you will attend when you come for our first meeting. This can be extended if you require.
I understand how hard it is to choose someone to open up to and I will be very happy to offer a free initial telephone consultation and an initial discounted session (£45) for you to meet and decide if you want to work together. I would love to hear your questions and what you would find helpful, as this is the first step towards a solid therapeutic alliance.
I also offer a reduced fee for students on a counselling course (£50 for a 50-minute session)
I accept cash on the day or a bank transfer (prior to sessions).
Fees are reviewed annually.
Cancellation Policy: I need 1 working day’s notice to cancel a session. I will charge the entire cost of the session if the cancellation comes with a shorter notice and we are not able to reschedule within the same week at a mutually convenient time.
When I work
Some evening appointments available.
Further information
I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and meet their criteria for practising. I abide by their Ethical Framework, which is available online.
The Framework sets out the expected principles, values and good practice standards for members. I am committed to those values and principles and recognise that my membership may be at risk if I fail to fulfil my commitments, which are first and foremost to my clients.
