About me
***Couple therapy available from October 2025. Please enquiry to be added on the contact list***
Welcome!
I'm Valentina (she/her), I'm a queer psychotherapist supporting LGBTQIA+, non monogamy,Polyamory, Kink and BDSM individuals, their families and allies.
My counselling services are confidential as this is key to building a trusting and therapeutic relationship.
I can help you with mental health difficulties unrelated to your sexuality (not everything is about your queer identity nor any difficulty is linked to it), as well as sexuality-specific concerns.
Some examples are:
General mental health concerns
- Anxiety & Stress
- Depression & Loneliness
- Workplace pressure & burn out
- Relationship concerns
- Childhood adversities
- Traumatic experiences
- Confidence, low Self Esteem, Self Worth
- General Identity concerns
LGBTQIA+, Polyam, Kink & BDSM specific concerns
- Gender identity (i.e. exploring and questioning, coming out, accessing gender affirming health care)
- Making sense of your experience of sexual and/or romantic attraction
- Coming out (or not coming out)
- Navigating queer dating and relationships
- Navigating Non monogamy & polyamory (figuring out what structure works for you, jealousy, NRE and compersion)
- Exploring, understanding Kink, BDSM and how to navigate it safely
- Challenges due to internalized homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, kinkophobia and mononormativity
- Impact of hate crime and discrimination experiences
What does LGBTQIA+, Kink, Polyam friendly counselling means?
This means I work with people of any gender, sexual and romantic orientation and relationship structure. Embracing and celebrating your identity whatever that is, I don’t favour any gender, sexual or relationship orientation over another. I recognise all are equally valid expressions of human’s sexuality and love. I also have an understanding and knowledge of the specific societal, relational, personal challenges queer folk might face due to existing in a heteronormative society. I'm considerate of intersecting identities including race, heritage, cultural background, religion, disability and neurodiversity (ADHD, Autism).
It also means:
- you won't have to educate me on the terminology/labels you might use
- your queer/non monogamous/kink identity won't be considered to be the cause of your mental challenges.
- I don't provide conversion therapy as this is harmful and unethical
- not every challenge you present in therapy will be linked or re-directed to your sexual identity
About me
I'm a queer, cis white woman of Italian origin, raised catholic but I'm not religious. Aside from being in love with my cat (or any cat really), I'm passionate about mental health, social justice and equality, yoga, nature and recently delving into philosophy. I find supporting my clients to achieve their full potential is extremely rewarding and it's such a gift to have the privilege to be part of someone's life journey.
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Getting in touch
Book your free of charge, no commitment initial appointment (tel/video).
This is a great opportunity for us to meet informally, get to know each other a little, discuss your therapy needs and help us figure out if we're the right fit for what you are looking for. Finding the right therapist and connection is key!
You can book your initial appointment via the following options:
Calendy - https://calendly.com/equatherapy
Phone 07522 138051 (text only, no calls)
Email equatherapy@gmail.com. (Reply within 24 hours, except weekends)
***Please check your spam/junk folder.***
***please note, if you provide your telephone number you will receive a text notification once we have replied to your email enquiry***
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Appointments availability
Mondays (In person): 9am-4pm
Tuesdays (Online) 9am - 4pm
Wednesdays (Online) 9am - 4pm
In person appointments are based in Manchester city Centre @The Hadley Clinic and easy to reach by both car, train, bus or tram
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Training, qualifications & experience
Experience
I have worked in the mental health field since 2016 in different roles and settings including charitable organisations, voluntary sector and the NHS.
Nowadays I dedicate my full attention to my private practice clients.
Qualifications
Master of Science (MSc) in Counselling and Psychotherapy at University of Salford.
I undertake regular Continued Professional Development and work towards enhancing my professional skills.
I'm currently undertaking a specialising diploma in Sex and Relationship therapy. Please enquiry for low cost Sex and Relationship therapy sessions.
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
£55.00 - £75.00
Concessions offered for
When I work
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Mondays (In person): 9am-4pm
Tuesdays (Online) 9am - 4pm
Thursdays (Online) 9am - 4pm
In person appointments are based in Manchester city Centre @The Hadley Clinic
