Rate Apostolos Fournaris

I am a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist with 15 years of professional work experience. I am here to provide a non-judgemental, safe space.

My therapeutic approach is psychodynamic and I offer long and short term once weekly psychotherapy to adults, children and adolescents. In addition, I offer consultation, facilitations of reflective groups and tailored to needs psycho-educational support to organisations (schools, charities, businesses), as well as short term brief interventions to families.

I am licenced and trained to work with adults, children and adolescents.

Please contact me if you feel you, or someone close to you, need help with anxiety, depression, loss, bereavement, relationship issues, trauma, gender identity, substance misuse, addiction, or anger, amongst others, if you feel there is a family matter you wish to explore and/or resolve, or if you just feel you would like to explore who you are and how you relate to others in general. I follow and adhere to the BACP and the BPS ethical frameworks.

A Few Words about my Approach

Psychotherapy is a word which is formed as a combination of the Greek words for "soul" and "treatment". It can take various forms and be understood and practiced differently by professionals and/or clients. Sometimes Psychotherapy can be about changing ourselves and our lives, but it can also be about accepting what cannot be changed.

Psychodynamic describes a therapeutic approach based on a few fundamental premises:

i. our perceptions, interactions and motives can be both of conscious and of unconscious nature. This means that we are not always aware of the true motives or meaning of our actions, nor do we always control our actions to the extent we believe that we do.

ii. When we come to this world we relate to everything and everyone around us in some way. We attach our feelings to people, places, activities, objects. The nature of our early relationships with family our carers and family members as well as with significant others along the course of our lives will have an impact on how we relate to the world and to people later in life.

iii. We do not always experience functional ways of relating to others in our early developmental stages and as a result we may find ourselves repeating dysfunctional behavioural patterns and experiences, without understanding why or how to this happens.

iv. We experience inner conflict that is not always of the conscious nature. A lot of our "troubles" are often due to us trying to find a middle ground between the "requests" of different parts of ourselves that are competing for emotional resources.

v. No two cases are ever the same. Each individual's journey is their own and totally unique and follows a different path which can never be predicted or pre-determined

Brief CV

1. PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies (2021-2024)(ongoing) University of Essex

2. MA in Psychodynamic Counselling (2018-2021) University of Essex (BACP Accredited)

3. Pg. Foundations of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (2016-2017) Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

4. MA in Psychoanalytic Studies (2014-2015) University of Essex

5. BSc (Honours) in Psychology (2008-2011) Open University

6. Certificate in Social Sciences (2008-2009) Open University

7. BA in Art History (1999-2003) University of Siena (Italy)

Areas of Interest

Abuse, ADD / ADHD, Addictions, Anxiety, Autism spectrum, Bereavement, Business coaching, Child related issues, Cultural issues, Depression, Disability, Eating disorders, Executive coaching, Health related issues, Identity issues, Loss, Men's issues, Obsessions, OCD, Phobias, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy related issues, Relationships, Self esteem, Self-harm, Sex-related issues, Sexual identity, Sexuality, Substance Dependency, Trauma, Women's issues