Nat Bolonkin

I currently work on Tuesdays. Please contact me to check availability.

Welcome. I offer a confidential, non-judgemental and supportive space where you can express your concerns and explore them safely. I offer both in-depth talk therapy and creative therapy, and I am experienced in working with a wide range of issues.

How I work

I work by assisting clients to explore their issues from different perspectives, including where they might have originated from, and how they may be a form of protection.

I support clients to process the emotions arising from these explorations, and to experiment with different ways of thinking, behaving and relating, both in and outside of sessions.

Finally, I encourage clients to celebrate as they move towards expressing themselves more confidently and authentically, having more enjoyable and fulfilling relationships, and living life more freely, joyfully and peacefully.

I have worked with clients on issues such as: anxiety; depression; gender identity, transitioning, sexuality, and relationship diversity; bereavement; early childhood trauma; self-esteem; family roles and dynamics; life paths; relationships and communication; identity; repetitive and destructive patterns; and compulsive behaviours and addictions, amongst others.

About me

I trained as an integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor with a specialism in creative approaches at IATE, and I have also trained  in complex trauma. 

I have been a counsellor with the LGBTQ+ East London Out Partnership, and a bereavement counselling service volunteer at Trinity Hospice in London.

I work in Hove, and I am fully insured, have an enhanced DBS certificate, and adhere to the BACP’s ethical framework. I am also registered with the ICO and follow their guidelines on data protection.

Originally from Australia, I have a background in education, the arts, mindfulness, and Buddhism. Alongside therapy I create opportunities for play with children and their caregivers in hospitals, hospices and specialist care centres.

I offer a safe space where clients can:

• explore thoughts, emotions and behaviours
• gain insight
• develop a better understanding of relationships
• consider how the past might be continuing to affect the present
• unlearn old patterns and relearn more beneficial ones
• experiment with new ways of responding and apply these outside sessions
• be fully themselves

Psychotherapeutic counselling

I offer in-depth therapy, using various approaches to personalise sessions according to client needs, suggesting practical techniques when appropriate. I do not offer 'answers', but support clients’ explorations towards understanding, acceptance, meaning and change.

I am attachment-based and trauma-informed, and I also specialise in mindfulness and self-compassion.

Clients can also combine talk therapy with creative therapy. Creativity can assist clients to express themselves more freely, reveal insights, deepen an exploration, and help when an issue is difficult to speak about.

Creative therapy / Sand tray therapy

Creative therapy is an intuitive way of working and allows clients to explore their concerns through creative approaches including sculpture, music, the body and movement, art, puppetry, sandplay, roleplay, visualisations, metaphors, and dreams.

Through creativity I help clients explore the feelings, meanings, and possibilities contained within their creative expressions, and encourage clients to consider how these new perspectives might allow them to experiment with new approaches to life.

This form of therapy also reveals the innate creativity we all possess in a safe and non-judgemental space, and can help with creative blocks as well.

Clients can also combine creative therapy with in-depth talk therapy.

It is also possible to work using sand tray as a standalone therapy.

I offer a free initial 20-minute phone consultation to discuss your needs. If we decide to work together I will ask for some further details at our first session, and you will also have the opportunity to tell me in more depth what you would like to work on.