Dr. Elena Manafi

Dr Elena Manafi is a Counselling Psychologist and Existential Psychotherapist registered with the HCPC, BPS and UKCP. She is also an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and holds a Master's degree in Psychoanalytic Studies from UCL, a Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic Counselling Psychology from the University of Surrey and a Certificate in Group Analysis from the Institute of Group Analysis in London. She has worked within the NHS and organisational settings and is currently running her own private practice in Central London and online.

Dr Manafi has over 15 years of experience working with a number of individuals with various mental health conditions, including trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, self-worth issues, suicidal ideation, (sexual) identity problems, relationship issues and issues pertinent to the human condition such as meaningless, isolation, aloneness, and death anxiety. Her style of working is dialogical and interactive in nature aiming at tailoring her practice to suit her clients' individual needs. She mainly practices from relational, psychodynamic and existential perspectives that attempt to understand psychological distress in a holistic way that always takes into account one's past history, current circumstances and future aspirations. She offers couples and individual therapy as well as family interventions.

Dr Manafi works with all her clients to understand their subjective experience, sense of self and relationship to others, as well as, relational and emotional patterns, and responses to life limitations and paradoxes. Together with her clients, she then decides the length of therapy as well as its style.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr Manafi has 15 years of experience in the higher education sector which includes programme leadership of doctoral trainings in counselling psychology and psychotherapy, clinical supervision and research. She is passionate about existential and postmodern philosophies