Elena’s approach and qualifications 

Elena’s approach is primarily Existential and Humanistic, with a strong focus on differentiation. The starting point of Existential Psychotherapy is the client’s lived experience; she focuses on the individual’s unique experience of themselves and the world, alongside their meaning-making processes.

Her work is grounded in helping clients develop a clearer sense of self while remaining in relationship with others. This means supporting clients to recognise their emotional responses, beliefs, and patterns without becoming organised entirely around others or overwhelmed by them. In this way, therapy creates the conditions for greater flexibility, choice, and authenticity in how one relates, both individually and within relationships.

We all have a natural inclination to find connections and make sense of life, but sometimes, in this process, connections are made between things that aren’t truly linked. These can become obstructive meanings or internal “knots.” In therapy, Elena works with clients to identify these knots, deconstruct them, and create healthier, more accurate connections.

Elena’s aim is to help clients craft a personal narrative that feels authentic and meaningful. She works in a direct and engaged way, offering perspectives that both support and challenge clients towards new ways of seeing, relating, and being.

When appropriate, she incorporates body-based work to support trauma processing and uses inner child work to help clients become aware of their internal dialogues and develop a more stable relationship with themselves.

Elena offers counselling and psychotherapy for individuals and couples online and from the Blackheath clinic, working with clients across Greenwich, Lewisham, South East and Central London.

Couples Therapy

Elena’s work is primarily focused on couples.

She works with couples who are trying to decide whether to stay together, who want to process past trauma or infidelity, or who experience communication difficulties and find themselves stuck in cycles of repetitive arguments.

Her approach is active and structured, creating space for both partners to speak, be heard, and understand what is happening between them in real time.

Her couples work is grounded in both differentiation and existential psychotherapy. Each partner is supported to become clearer about their own position, needs, and emotional responses, while also developing the capacity to remain in contact with the other without collapsing into reactivity or defensiveness.

Alongside this, the work explores the underlying assumptions, expectations, and meanings each person brings into the relationship. Questions around choice, responsibility, values, and freedom are examined, particularly where relationships begin to feel constrained, repetitive, or shaped by roles that are no longer questioned.

Rather than trying to resolve differences too quickly, the focus is on understanding them, so that change is not driven by pressure or fear, but by awareness and choice.

Elena specialises in:

• Infidelity and betrayal

• Neurodiverse relationships and differences in communication and emotional regulation

• Repetitive patterns of conflict and disconnection

• Differences in values, priorities, and life direction

Infidelity & Betrayal Trauma

Elena specialises in supporting both individuals and couples impacted by infidelity, secrecy, and breaches of trust.

She works with the emotional and psychological impact of betrayal, including shock, grief, anger, confusion, and the destabilisation of one’s sense of reality. In couples work, this involves helping both partners understand what has happened, the meaning it holds for each of them, and whether and how they want to move forward.

In individual therapy, the focus is often on making sense of the experience, processing its impact, and restoring a sense of stability, self-trust, and clarity.

This work does not assume a particular outcome. Instead, it creates space for clients to understand their position more fully and make decisions from a place of awareness rather than reactivity.

Narcissistic Abuse

Elena specialises in working with survivors of narcissistic abuse and coercive control.

She supports clients in understanding the dynamics of these relationships, processing the trauma, and rebuilding their sense of reality and self. The work focuses on making sense of confusion, restoring internal stability, and developing the capacity to relate differently going forward.

She understands the complexity of these dynamics and offers a space where clients can think clearly, express themselves without fear of judgement, and begin to regain a sense of agency.

ADHD

Elena works with individuals with ADHD, whether self-identified, in the process of diagnosis, or already diagnosed.

This includes exploring the impact of ADHD across development and relationships, particularly where it has been misunderstood or unrecognised. Alongside this, she works collaboratively with clients to develop ways of managing its impact while making sense of how it has shaped their life and identity.

Her work also extends to couples where ADHD is part of the relational dynamic, particularly where it affects communication, emotional regulation, and patterns of conflict.

Existential Themes

Elena has a particular interest in working with existential themes, including meaning, choice, responsibility, freedom, limitation, and uncertainty.

She supports clients in examining how they make sense of their lives, relationships, and identities, particularly during periods of transition, crisis, or inner conflict. This often includes exploring what has been taken as a given, beliefs about love, roles, success, and self, and bringing these into awareness so they can be questioned rather than automatically lived out.

This work also engages with the tensions inherent in being human: the pull between closeness and independence, the desire for certainty alongside the reality of ambiguity, and the responsibility that comes with having to choose how to live and relate.

Rather than offering fixed answers, Elena works with clients to develop a more honest and flexible relationship to themselves and their circumstances, allowing for greater clarity, agency, and the possibility of living in a way that feels more aligned.

Single Session Therapy

Single Session Therapy is designed for those who want focused support without committing to ongoing work.

For individuals, it offers space to explore a specific issue and leave with greater clarity and direction.

For couples, a longer two-hour session allows for focused work on relationship dynamics, communication, or a particular dilemma. The aim is to create meaningful movement and a clearer sense of next steps.