About me
I am passionate about helping trauma survivors and those with low self-esteem to connect with and enjoy three things: their bodies, their relationships and their everyday lives. I specialise in supporting clients to process their pasts, put shaming memories to rest and create change in the here-and-now.
I have experience in working with clients of all genders to:
- Make sense of relationships they are struggling to leave or move on from
- Understand why they repeat patterns which hurt them
- Process complex trauma, including childhood sexual abuse, survival sex work, addiction and homelessness
- Process birthing trauma
- Enjoy sex and intimacy again
- Connect authentically with partners, friends and family
- Unpick who they truly are, from who they have been told they are
- Value, take pride in and advocate for themselves
A qualified therapist is more than just a sympathetic ear - they can be a hand to hold in the dark, helping you find your way. If you choose me as that support, I can offer compassion and a genuine desire to understand alongside a creative and collaborative approach which is tailored to you, as an individual.
I work in an integrative way, drawing on training in person-centred, systemic and psychodynamic therapies. This means I show up as my genuine, authentic self and together we create an environment where you feel safe to do the same. While I accept you fully for who you are, I use different methods to help you create change: if you present with a specific problem, our work will be to understand where it comes from and why it persists, assess its impact on your life, and find long-term ways you can manage it independently. I’m confident exploring wherever you want to want to go, and I do so with curiosity, asking questions so that we can go down deep and bring what is troubling you into the light to figure it our together.
Training, qualifications & experience
Already qualified to counsel individuals, I am studying for a Masters in Contemporary Relationship Studies at Doncaster University, which will soon enable me to support couples and groups. I hold certificates in: Understanding Autism (Newcastle University), Treating Trauma with Internal Family Systems Therapy (PESI) Working Therapeutically with Trans (Including Non-Binary) People: what does 'good' look like? (Open University), Understanding Childhood Grief and Supporting Children Through Loss (Alison), Gestalt Therapy for Palliative care (Alison).
Before and during my training as a therapist, I worked for services which support people involved in sex work and people affected by homelessness. This means I have a good understanding of the systems and legalities surrounding these areas (though I am not in a position to offer advice, I may be able to signpost to helpful services).
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
Sex work, homelessness
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 - £65.00
Additional information
In our first session, it's important you feel as comfortable as possible. There will be no expectation placed on you in terms of what, or how much you share - I am happy to take you as you come. I offer a free 20 minute video consultation or a full 50-minute session at a reduced cost of £30, so you can decide whether I feel like a good fit before proceeding.
When I work
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Further information
My approach will vary depending on the personality and needs of the person I’m working with, but here are a couple of comments about my work:
"It felt really easy talking to Oriana. Straight away, I felt like I was in a space where I could speak without being judged. She was knowledgeable and insightful, and also friendly and warm and encouraging. She made counselling feel easier than I thought it might be and her observations of things I was feeling and things I was thinking really helped me to make connections I didn’t know were there.
Counselling with Oriana helped me understand myself better and work through some difficult feelings and experiences, and I left with a better understanding of what I’m doing and where I’m going."
- A former client
"Oriana is an experienced and highly skilled counsellor who has worked with a wide range of presenting issues, many of them complex. She works in a genuinely person-centred way, creating a safe and collaborative space in which clients can identify and shape the focus of their therapeutic work, enabling meaningful engagement in the process. Her naturally warm, attentive, and empathic style supports the development of strong therapeutic relationships and helps clients feel at ease quickly, often enabling progress to be made within a short timeframe."
- Sam Chu, Director of Paradigm Psychology
