Heike Fanelsa

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately, I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see and understand our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being.

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ-affirmative therapist.

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life.

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory/assessment session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50 minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

• While I am not specifically trained in working therapeutically with disordered eating behaviours, nor a dietitian, my specialist area in the NHS was weight management and the different care pathways up to and including bariatric surgery. This has left me with a huge passion for and understanding of what people who struggle with their weight go through, including judgement and prejudice and the psychological root causes such as trauma. If this is you, please know you will be met with only warmth. 

The initial 50 minute introductory session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give us an idea of whether I am the right therapist for you.

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately, I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see and understand our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being.

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection, and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ-affirmative therapist.

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life.

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50-minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

• Lived experience of ADHD

• While I am not specifically trained in working therapeutically with disordered eating behaviours, nor a dietitian, my specialist area in the NHS was weight management and the different care pathways up to and including bariatric surgery. This has left me with a huge passion for and understanding of what people who struggle with their weight go through, including judgement and prejudice and the psychological root causes such as trauma. If this is you, please know you will be met with warmth and understanding.

The initial 50 minute introductory session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give us an idea of whether I am the right therapist for you.

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately, I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see and understand our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being.

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ-affirmative therapist.

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life.

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50-minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

• While I am not specifically trained in working therapeutically with disordered eating behaviours, nor a dietitian, my specialist area in the NHS was weight management and the different care pathways up to and including bariatric surgery. This has left me with a huge passion for and understanding of what people who struggle with their weight go through, including judgement and prejudice and the psychological root causes such as trauma. If this is you, please know you will be met with only warmth. 

The initial 50 minute introductory session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give us an idea of whether I am the right therapist for you.

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being.

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, intimacy, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ-affirmative therapist.

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life.

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory/assessment session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50 minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

• While I am not specifically trained in working therapeutically with disordered eating behaviours, nor a dietitian, my specialist area in the NHS was weight management and the different care pathways up to and including bariatric surgery. This has left me with a huge passion for and understanding of what people go through, including judgement and prejudice and the psychological root causes such as trauma. If this is you, please know you will be met with only warmth and I would 

The initial 50 minute introductory/assessment session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give you an idea of whether you feel that I am the right therapist for you.

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor.  I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately, I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see and understand our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being. 

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ-affirmative therapist. 

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life. 

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory/assessment session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50 minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

The initial 50 minute introductory/assessment session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give you an idea of whether you feel that I am the right therapist for you. 

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.

I currently have some daytime and limited evening availability.

Hi, I'm Heike, I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I decided to retrain and change careers in mid-life after experiencing how transformative therapy can be myself.

In my sessions I offer warmth and compassion and a non-judgmental ear. I believe we are all unique, and ultimately, I respect you as the expert on your own life, but when we are struggling, it can be hard to know where to start or to see and understand our own patterns, unconscious default behaviours or reactions, or our values and filters to perceiving reality without the attentive, reflective presence of another human being.

Prior to retraining as a counsellor, I worked for many years in the public sector, most recently the NHS as a commissioning/project manager. I am passionate about bringing more joy, playfulness, connection and wellbeing to our experience of work and life. I consider myself a warm and tolerant person, and I am open-minded and fuelled by a deep curiosity about this mysterious business of being alive / a human being. Pain, laughter, shame, anger, fear, puzzlement, grief, joy, loss - everything is welcome in sessions with me. I am a LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist.

As well as my private practice I have experience of working as a counsellor for a mental health charity and an international health insurance provider. I have worked with clients from all over the world. I am bilingual and work with adult clients (18+) in English and German.

I’m trained in person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. I also draw from mindfulness and mindful self-compassion focused models. I am always incredibly excited to meet a new client, I feel privileged when you feel safe enough to allow me to get a glimpse of your life and inner world in order to for us to start exploring and helping you heal or move towards whatever change you wish to see in your life.

If you feel unsure about therapy or how I might be able to help you, why not contact me for an initial session to see if we are a good fit for each other? 

I offer weekly sessions of 50 minutes either via video call or telephone, this can be for short-term or long-term work. I currently don't offer face-to-face work.

Sessions are £25 for a 50 minute introductory/assessment session.

Then sessions are £50 for a regular 50 minute counselling session, if we decide to work together.

Agreeing to a first session does not mean you are agreeing to work with me and vice versa and you will be be given space to make your decision without any pressure from me.

My specialist areas of interest include the following:

• Feeling lost and confused about big transitions or decision points in life (career change, serious illness, relationship breakdown or re-building relationships, moving house / countries etc) or how to make sense of / find meaning in life

• The impact of cancer or other health-related issues, such as living with chronic health conditions / chronic pain

• Expat / migrant issues (questions of identity, feelings of rootlessness, alienation, managing relationships across different countries etc)

• Feeling stuck and unhappy in life, but unsure why or how to move forward

• Relationships issues

• Childhood abuse or other difficult experiences in your formative years

• Anxiety

• Bereavement

• Depression

• Low self-esteem, imposter syndrome

• Work related issues, including redundancy, stress, burnout, impact of health issues on work etc

• Self-harm

• Struggling with suicidal thoughts

• While I am not specifically trained in working therapeutically with disordered eating behaviours, nor a dietitian, my specialist area in the NHS was weight management and the different care pathways up to and including bariatric surgery. This has left me with a huge passion for and understanding of what people who struggle with their weight go through, including judgment and prejudice and the psychological root causes such as trauma. If this is you, please know you will be met with only warmth.

The initial 50 minute introductory/assessment session is an opportunity for us to meet, for you to discuss what you are hoping to gain from counselling and it will give you an idea of whether you feel that I am the right therapist for you.

Please indicate your preferred method for me to follow up on your initial enquiry - email, text or a free brief phone call.