Welcome and thank you for visiting my website.
I am a qualified and accredited Psychotherapist, with a Diploma and Masters in Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy (MA Dip HIP). I trained at the prestigious Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (BCPC).
I offer mainly in-person and also online sessions, depending on your circumstances.
LOCATION: I am based in Fishponds, Bristol, in a quiet area near Oldbury Court Park, with free on-street parking.
COST: the standard fee is £60 per session (fifty minutes). Limited concessionary spaces are available. Equally, if you are on a high income, I may suggest a higher fee (up to a maximum of £70).
GET IN TOUCH – if you are thinking of starting therapy, you can contact me in any of the following ways:
- E-mail: e.volonaki@yahoo.gr
- Text: 07875762077
- Contact form on my website.
The first step will be to arrange a brief chat to help us decide if I am the right person for you, before we book your initial session. All texts and e-mails are treated as strictly confidential.
**I mainly work during school hours and do not offer evening sessions currently. Please get in touch to find out about my current availability. **
About you
You may be interested in working through a current or long-standing issue that is troubling you. You may be looking to negotiate life’s transitions and manage uncertainty. You may be feeling stuck, numb or overwhelmed with big emotions. You may have a chronic health condition which carries specific challenges in your life that you need help to face. You want to understand yourself better and improve your relationships. You may be looking for short-term therapy or lean towards open-ended work.
All you need to bring is willingness to participate in whatever process wants to unfold within you. Often we need some additional support to open ourselves to the truth of our lives, past and present, to see things as they are, before we are able to make different choices and find our way towards wholeness. In a supportive and compassionate environment, we will set out together to explore what might be holding you back, to acknowledge loss or trauma, to work out your meanings, as well as identify and help initiate significant changes where needed, paving the way to a more fulfilling life.
More about me
I trained initially as a medical doctor in Greece, where I qualified and obtained a doctorate degree in medicine, before pursuing further career opportunities in the UK. I worked for over twenty years in the healthcare sector, including the NHS, learning to navigate through the challenges and complexities of physical and emotional suffering that comes with being human.
While I remain in awe of medicine’s miraculous achievements and have been fortunate to meet and work with many healthcare professionals practicing it with the best of intentions, I felt increasingly constrained by the separation of mind and body and the reduction of complex events to biology. That realisation, coupled with navigating through personal significant transitions and wake-up calls, helped me realign my life with what truly matters to me.
Drawn to the healing and life-affirming potential of Psychotherapy, I enrolled in the professional training in Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy in Bath. I chose this mode of therapy, because it recognises the full potential of all people and brings to the forefront the importance of the relationship between client and therapist, who are both actively engaged in the process.
I now work exclusively as a psychotherapist and have been in private practice since 2018.
In my work, I draw on a range of different therapeutic models, methods and philosophies to facilitate each client’s unique process towards healing, learning and growth. For example, where relevant, I may turn to psychoanalytic or Jungian concepts, link in attachment theory or call on other contemporary models, such as acceptance and commitment therapy, motivational interviewing or working with “parts” of the self; all employed as maps on the infinite territory of the human psyche or lenses through which we attempt to gain insights and deepen our understanding.
Professional membership
I am registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), the leading professional body for psychotherapy, with members who must meet rigorous training and practice standards. I abide by the Codes of Ethics of both UKCP and BCPC, including their confidentiality policy and data protection, as well as meeting their requirements for regular supervision.
