Irina Counselling
LLM DipHIC MBACP
Hello and welcome to a sanctuary
where courage meets compassion,
and the search for well-being begins
I am Irina, a dedicated Humanistic Integrative therapist, and I commend you for the bravery it takes to seek support. I am passionate about helping people find balance and meaning in their lives.
Your path to healing and growth could start here.
I provide one-to-one Humanistic and Integrative counselling for adults in central Bristol (Queen Square and Redcliffe) as well as online sessions for clients based anywhere.
I offer a free 30 minute online intro session to discuss the prospect of working together.
Feel free to reach out — even if you’re not sure where to begin.
I get it - searching for a therapist can feel like wandering through fog. It takes courage to even start. But here’s the thing: the right connection isn’t just important, it’s everything. Together, we create the kind of relationship where real change unfolds, not by accident, but by design.
When life feels overwhelming, whether through anxiety, anger, sadness, disconnection, patterns that leave you stuck, or simply the restless sense that there must be more to life than this- it can be hard to face it all alone. Sometimes, what we most need is a compassionate presence to help carry what feels too heavy to hold by ourselves. Pain softens when it’s shared, when someone truly understands how much it hurts. If you feel that the support offered by a friend or family member is too much for them, or not enough for you, counselling provides a safe space where you can access an understanding than runs deeper than words.
I know firsthand the profound difference it makes to have a non-judgemental, empathic therapist by your side. It takes courage to show up vulnerably, yet there’s something deeply transformative about being fully seen and wholly accepted. That experience not only shaped my own growth but inspired me to offer the same safe, supportive space for others. As Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I believe that when we dare to share, healing begins.
To be truly seen and heard is fundamental to emotional and psychological wellbeing. It’s in those moments of genuine connection that healing begins, and meaningful change becomes possible. Therapy offers a powerful space for reflection, growth, and transformation. Through our work together, you may come to explore new perspectives, uncover deeper self-understanding, and consider the shifts—subtle or profound—that can enhance your quality of life. Whether you're seeking greater clarity, emotional resilience, or more authentic relationships, therapy can support you in finding a more connected and fulfilling way of being.
At the heart of my practice lies the belief that therapy is not just about talking; it's about discovering, understanding, integrating and transforming. This can be an opportunity to rewrite the story of your True Self. I place great value on the therapeutic relationship, working with you in mind, and I believe that "The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives" (Esther Perel). The journey of therapy is a collaborative one, where together, we build a relationship that becomes the cornerstone of meaningful change.
My role as your therapist is to support you throughout this journey, guiding your self-discovery and helping you gain deeper understanding as you work toward realising your full potential.
Whether you're struggling with relationships, low self-esteem, or past trauma, I am here to help.
My practice is a safe, affirming space for people of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.
“Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about un-becoming everything that isn't really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.” (Paulo Coelho)
There is hope
Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud observed that we often remain stuck in distress because we repeat the same patterns and solutions, unconsciously reenacting past traumas or behaviours. Yet modern research brings a message of hope: our minds and brains have an extraordinary ability to change and grow through a process called neuroplasticity.
Dr. Dan Siegel, a pioneer in interpersonal neurobiology, shows how nurturing relationships and therapeutic interventions can literally reshape neural pathways, fostering resilience, emotional balance, and deeper self-awareness. Similarly, Louis Cozolino, in "The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy", highlights that therapy can be a catalyst for such growth. Within the safe, supportive environment of a therapeutic relationship, the brain is able to reorganise, adapt, and evolve in ways that open new possibilities for healing.
I like to think of therapy as a process of evolving, not just changing. It is about gently uncovering new ways of being, while honouring the wisdom of what you’ve already survived. Counselling can help you gather the strengths and skills needed to face difficulties such as anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, destructive patterns, relationship challenges, or significant life changes. Sometimes the struggle is less defined- perhaps a sense of disconnection, emptiness, or feeling lost. Therapy provides a space to meet these experiences with compassion and curiosity.
Hope is not about denying pain or pretending everything will be easy. It is about believing that transformation is possible, even when things feel stuck or overwhelming. In therapy, hope grows slowly but steadily, through being heard, through understanding yourself more deeply, and through experiencing what it means to be supported without judgment.
Healing takes time, but you don’t have to walk that path alone. With the right support, the possibility of living with greater freedom, peace, and connection is always within reach.
About counselling
Counselling offers a supportive space to explore what’s troubling you, make sense of difficult feelings, and find new ways of moving forward. It’s a chance to pause and reflect, to feel truly heard, and to discover clarity where there may be confusion.
In therapy, we can explore how past experiences may still be shaping the present, and begin to loosen their hold. It’s also a space to strengthen self-understanding, nurture resilience, and reconnect with a deeper sense of who you are. At its heart, counselling is about creating the freedom to live with more ease, authenticity, and confidence.
Counselling is not about being given answers, it’s about working together to uncover your own. Sometimes this means untangling old patterns or beliefs that no longer serve you, and sometimes it’s about learning new ways to respond to challenges in your everyday life. Through the process, you can begin to see yourself and your relationships more clearly, and find greater compassion for the parts of you that have been carrying pain or fear.
Many people come to counselling during times of struggle- whether with anxiety, loss, trauma, shame, or questions of identity- but it can also be a space for growth, curiosity, and self-discovery.
Wherever you are in your journey, counselling offers a safe and supportive environment to explore your experiences with honesty and courage, and to move toward a life that feels more balanced and aligned with who you truly are.
About me
I have secured my counselling diploma from the Bath Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy- level 6 equivalent, which has a dual accreditation with BACP and UKCP. These are the leading professional organisations supporting counsellors in the UK.
As a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, I comply with their Ethical Framework.
I am a recognised healthcare provider for WPA, a leading healthcare insurer.
I also hold a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) certificate from Oxford Mindfulness Foundation and have studied law (LL.M).
As a counsellor, I've worked with a generous range of people including those experiencing negative self-perception, fragile sense of self, depression, relationship trauma, shame, guilt, anxiety, terminal illness, loss, addiction, social stigma or discrimination.
I care deeply about continuing to learn and grow, both for myself and for the people I work with. I’m always curious about approaches that offer new ways of understanding our experiences.
Some of the professional development that has shaped my practice includes engaging with Esther Perel’s work on intimacy and infidelity in couples, exploring the complexities of Chemsex, and most recently completing a training on anxiety that integrated Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Exposure & Response Prevention for working with GAD, panic disorder, OCD, social anxiety and phobias.
Although my approach is integrative and humanistic at its core, these learnings gently inform how I sit with and support people in their struggles with anxiety.
My path to becoming a therapist was inspired by my own experiences and the transformative impact of empathic, compassionate and non-judgmental support. With a background in law and further training at BCPC, I bring a unique blend of analytical skills and emotional intelligence to my practice.
Outside the therapy room, I enjoy travelling and connecting with nature. I am passionate about capturing life’s moments through photography and pursuing a mindful way of living. One thing that I’ve learned over the years is that we can travel many places but there is no place like the home of our own true self, the most amazing world to explore.
Getting started
I’d love to hear from you and explore how I can support you on your journey.
Feel free to reach out by completing the contact form below if you have any questions or would like to arrange an initial free appointment.
In our initial online session, we’ll discuss what brings you to therapy, what you hope to explore, and your goals for the therapeutic process.
If we both feel that we’re a good fit, we can then agree on a regular weekly time to meet.
"Counselling with Irina has been such a positive experience and has supported my growth in the last year. It allowed me to take back control and I believe it allowed me to also take a step back and think about what I wanted to achieve in my life."
"The whole experience has helped me improve many of the most important relationships in my life, boosted my self-esteem, and provided me with tools to manage how I react to changes in circumstances, something I’ve always struggled with.”
“Therapy with Irina has helped me be more mindful overall as well as teaching me strategies for coping better overall with everyday life. Just to say thank you very much for helping me in my time of much need.”
"Such an amazing experience doing therapy with you, thank you so much. I really understand myself better and think about it often, which helps me a lot.”
"Counselling with you allowed me to explore areas of myself I wouldn’t have been able to on my own as you asked questions and made connections I couldn’t see from where I was standing. It really was an invaluable experience and the things I learnt will stay with me forever."