Phaedra Athinodorou
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
My name is Phaedra, I'm an accredited and registered member of the BACP and my practice is a few minutes walk from East Finchley station.
Like many people at some time in life, you may be experiencing difficulties with relationships, with your family, or at work.
These can be related to a general sense of sadness, demotivation or uncertainty that you would like to understand and overcome. Or there may be an event or issue in your life that you are having trouble coping with and would like to resolve.
With 10 years experience as a counsellor, I can help you make sense of the problems or fears or sadness that you feel in a safe and comfortable environment. Our work is confidential.
My approach is empathic and warm and we focus on building up trust in our relationship so that the counselling can work best for you. As an integrative counsellor I vary my approach to suit your needs:
- You may want to focus on a current problem - for example, a work-related crisis. We would then look at strategies to help bring about change.
- It could be that an experience from your past is hurting you and holding you back. By validating this pain through empathy we would work on helping you move forward.
- You may find that you automatically feel negative and get stuck with these thoughts. We would explore how we can rebalance these thoughts.
- You may wish to explore past relationships to help you understand your current feelings and relationships. If you find patterns repeating themselves we can work on changing these patterns and building up your self-esteem.
Issues I have experience in/people have come to me struggling with:
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional Abuse
- General anxiety disorder
- Bereavement
- Relationship issues including:
- Affairs and betrayal
- Separation and divorce - Family issues including struggles with children's behaviour
- Depression
- Anger - expression and management of
- Work-related problems
- Domestic violence
- Trauma
- Loss including miscarriage and termination
- Postnatal depression
- Self-harm
- Bullying
- Post natal depression
My private practice is open to clients (16+) male and female.
Long or Short term
I would recommend six weeks of counselling after the initial consultation. We review the therapy regularly. As the client you are able to decide how long you want to keep coming and how often (once or twice a week).
Theoretical Model
Integrative with an emphasis on psychodynamic therapy, humanistic and CBT strategies.
Initial Chat
Contacting a therapist for the first time can be daunting and you've taken the first steps. Why not phone, text or email me for an initial, informal chat? In this call you can ask me questions to decide whether I am the right therapist for you. We can discuss fees - I do offer concessions to my usual rate. We will also be able to discuss whether daytime or evening works best for you, depending on availability.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training
- CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling 2010 from a BACP approved course at the Mary Ward Centre
- Certificate in CBT skill 2015, from a BACP approved course at The Grove
- Certificate in Counselling Skills, 2008 Mary Ward Centre
- Bereavement Training, 2009
- Training in Counselling Skills, The City Lit.2007
- CPD in working with adolescents at The Centre for Child Mental Health 2014
Experience as a counsellor
- I work both privately and as a secondary school counsellor at the Archer Academy.
- I am a Registered and Accredited member of the BACP
- I adhere to the BACP's ethical framework and am fully insured
- Three years Woodhouse Sixth form College
- Four years experience with a service run by Camden Council for parents and carers 2008-12
- Two years Student Counsellor at London Metropoitan University 2009-11
- Two years counselling adults for Barnet Community Counselling 2011-13
Teaching of Counselling
I am a tutor in relationship and counselling skills employed by the charity - The Prison Concord Trust. I work with young offenders and also at a drugs and alcohol recovery centre devising and running courses to help people improve their relationships with friends, peers and colleagues. I have also taught at CRISIS. The course is accredited by Middlesex University.
I have specialist Parentcraft training as a former employee of the organisation Parentline Plus. This involved supporting parents with problems at home concerning children/ teenagers/partners.
Many years ago I graduated from Manchester University with a BA Honours in Politics and Modern History (1988) and worked as a radio broadcaster before changing career and working as a mentor offering emotional support to young teenagers in a north London secondary school.
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
- free initial phone chat
- £50 per hour with concessions available
- Sessions last 60 minutes.
- I am BUPA registered
When I work
Flexible appointments - some evening slots also available.
Further information
My consulting room in East Finchley is close to the underground and bus services.
Below are a few testimonials from my clients:
Hi Phaedra. I just wanted to say how much counselling has helped me. I'm much stronger now as a person. Looking back through the years I can't believe I let some people treat me like crap. I do hope no one thinks it is the end of the world when they go through something bad and are feeling really low."
-S aged 19 had suffered domestic violence.
"Dear Phaedra, Of all the counselling, psychotherapy I've had in the past I have never felt so confident in my life. Because of you I am actually happy. Very happy and I have never felt like this before in my entire life. I thank God for you. Thank you so much."
-R aged 22 had suffered depression
"Dear Phaedra, Thank you for seeing me for the last 20 weeks. You have made me believe in myself and express my feelings to you and I offer you this card for you to keep and remember me."
-From P aged 14, supported in a school environment, had suffered low self-esteem.
