I began my career 25 years ago working with adults presenting with acute mental health distress. It was an experience that confronted me with the many shapes and faces of trauma. We often think of trauma as something that happened to us; as an incident or an event. The key however is not only in what happened, but in how it affected us. Overwhelming experiences can profoundly reshape our private world and our ways of relating to ourselves, others and life as a whole.
Professional Background & Qualifications
Dr Elena Manafi, CPsychol, AFBPsS, HCPC, and UKCP registered
I am a Chartered Counselling Psychologist and an Existential Psychotherapist with in depth training in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), specialising in trauma and in particular the ways in which responses developed to cope with overwhelming experiences continue to shape our adult lives and relationships.
I have trained in a range of therapeutic approaches, but one size certainly does not fit all. My way of working is therefore integrative: I draw on these approaches according to the person I am meeting, their circumstances and what brings them to therapy. Each person’s experience is unique, as is the therapeutic relationship we develop together.
For over two decades, my work also included developing and delivering clinical training for psychologists and psychotherapists and serving as an external assessor for doctoral programmes across the UK.
I offer face-to-face appointments in Central London on Fridays and online sessions via Zoom during the rest of the week.