About me
Hello, I am Onat Ozden, Existential Psychotherapist working with Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a core framework, drawing from Systemic and Psycho-Trauma approaches in my understanding.
Therapy is a collaborative exploration into the complex subjectivity that is ‘you’. Through an existentially-informed IFS lens, we begin to understand the mechanisms operating outside of your control, as a learned adaptation to the specific environments of childhood that once helped to protect you in some way. Rather than seeing these responses as problems to eliminate, we approach them as meaningful attempts to cope with feelings that was once too big to regulate, and situations that were once too complicated to comprehend. Thus trauma is not simply the events themselves, but what happens within us when we are struggling internally with those overwhelming experiences often carried out into our present-day relationships. IFS offers a way of naming patterns and relating to these inner dynamics from a compassionate and curious place, offering also embodied practices and somatic awareness.
Additionally Existential approach further deepens this work by inviting reflections on questions of identity, meaning, freedom, and limitations. Existentialism resists reducing our experiences into fixed categories or to unhealthy symptoms. Instead, it holds multiple tensions that allows us to be contradictory, one important tension being our uniqueness within our universally shared humanity. Thus, an existentially-informed IFS lense views dysfunctional behaviours as expressions of disconnection from oneself, others, or the world and does so for good reason.
My framework is also informed by critical feminist and queer theories in my approach to social identities and structures of power that governs us through oppression/cruelty or privilege. Deconstructing previously held beliefs and values, and reflecting on how factors such as sexuality, ethnicity, class, culture, patriarchy, heterosexism and power shape our inner worlds can be powerful. I believe therapy can be a space where these dimensions are not overlooked, but thoughtfully explored, allowing for a fuller understanding of your experience.
Training, qualifications & experience
My formal training is Existential in orientation. Currently I am working on my doctoral dissertation as part of a 4 year intensive program in Counselling Psychology.
I have completed IFS (Internal Family Systems) Level 1 in November 2025, and Dr. Janina Fisher's TIST approach Level 1 & 2 which is another parts modality approach complementary to IFS
DcPsych in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy, Middlesex University/NSPC, UK
BA Psychology, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey.
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
- Meaning and Purpose
- Intimacy Issues
- Psychotrauma
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 - £90.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My regular fees are from £70 to £90 depending on the income of the person.
I offer free 15 min meeting to both discuss the therapy process and to get a sense of whether we would be a good fit. Limited number of concessions and lower rates are available, especially to trainee counsellors.
When I work
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