Chrysostomos Athanasiadis

I run a small counselling practice. I offer sessions Monday to Thursday evenings (6pm–8pm) and Saturday mornings (10am–1pm). I work exclusively online, and I use Microsoft Teams for my online counselling and supervision sessions. 

In my role as a supervisor, my approach is primarily informed by the integrative model of Hawkins and Shohet (2000), Clarkson’s (1992) six-stage developmental supervision model, and Inskipp and Proctor’s (1993) functional model of supervision.

Hawkins and Shohet’s model, which emphasises the supervisory relationship as central to learning, development, and safe practice, enables me to provide containment and encourage increasing autonomy and reflective depth. I also pay attention to parallel processes and unconscious dynamics, where relevant, to support supervisees in exploring the therapeutic relationship more fully.

In addition, Clarkson’s (1992) six-stage supervision model provides a helpful framework for structuring and enhancing the supervisory process. I find that this model supports both me and my supervisees in ensuring that key aspects of supervision, including contracting, risk assessment, developmental challenges, process exploration, and the quality of the supervisory relationship, are consistently attended to.

Together with the above models, my supervision practice is also informed by the three core functions described by Inskipp and Proctor (1993): the formative (educational), normative (ethical and professional), and restorative (supportive) dimensions. These functions help guide my work with supervisees across a range of areas, from skills development and case reflection to ethical decision-making and emotional processing.

I aim to meet supervisees at their current stage of development, offering appropriate levels of support and challenge as they progress. You can expect that as a supervisor I will encourage reflexive practice, help you identify and build on your strengths, integrate theory with practice, and stay attuned to your values, limitations, and areas for growth. 

My therapeutic background

As noted in my therapist profile, I am a BACP-accredited counsellor, and I also work as a senior lecturer, teaching counselling and supporting trainees as they develop their clinical competences and professional identity.

In my work as a therapist, I place strong emphasis on building a trusting and respectful therapeutic relationship. I describe my approach as pluralistic person-centred - grounded in the core values of empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard, while also recognising the need for flexibility and responsiveness. I draw on a range of therapeutic modalities, including person-centred, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, CBT, solution-focused, systemic, and narrative approaches. These perspectives offer a diverse set of tools that I integrate collaboratively, according to each client's needs, preferences, and goals.

About my supervision practice

In my role as a supervisor, I seek to create an ethically and emotionally safe and supportive environment where supervisees can think openly about their client work, their development, and the challenges of practice. My approach to supervision is collaborative and grounded in mutual respect. I see supervision as a space for curiosity, critical and reflexive thinking, and professional growth.

Having taught and supervised counselling trainees, I have a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities that arise both during training and in ongoing professional practice. My approach to supervision is outlined in a paper I wrote about my work with trainees, published in the BACP’s Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. BACP members can access the paper using the following reference: Athanasiadis, C. (2022, January). Supervision: Meeting the needs of trainees. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, 26-28.

I welcome enquiries from both trainee and qualified counsellors seeking supervision. 

I offer a free initial 20-minute session, which gives us a chance to meet, talk about your expectations of supervision, and see whether working together feels like a good fit.

I offer sessions Monday to Thursday evenings (6pm–8pm) and Saturday mornings (10am–1pm). I work exclusively online, and I use Microsoft Teams for my online counselling and supervision sessions. 

I am a BACP-registered and accredited therapist, as well as an academic and supervisor. I aim to provide my clients with a therapeutic space where thoughts and feelings can be explored with honesty and care, at a pace that feels manageable to each client. My approach is collaborative, with an emphasis on ensuring that what we focus on and how we work together is guided by what feels most meaningful and supportive to you.

Alongside my therapeutic practice, I lecture in counselling at university level and find great fulfilment in supporting the development of future counsellors. I have a rich academic background, with many years of experience as a trainer on Master’s-level courses in counselling and psychotherapy. In addition to programme leadership, external examining, and research supervision, I have published my scholarly work and participated in peer review for international journals in counselling and psychology. These roles have helped me stay seamlessly connected to current theoretical developments in the field and have helped me develop a nuanced understanding of how people make sense of their experiences in therapy.

I started my career as a psychologist and I hold a BA, a DipPsych, an MPhil, and a PhD in psychology. My interest in counselling developed further through an MSc in Counselling Psychology, which I completed in 2008. My most recent research has explored ways that men with depression construct and negotiate their experiences in online forums. I have an interest in the role of masculinity ideologies in men’s mental health.

I run a small counselling practice, with appointments generally available on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings.

I endeavour to offer a counselling space grounded in humanistic values and underpinned by a pluralistic perspective. I describe my therapeutic approach as pluralistic person-centred. At its core, it is grounded in person-centred principles - offering empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard as the foundation of the therapeutic relationship. At the same time, I recognise that no single approach meets the needs of every client in every situation. I therefore draw, additionally, on a range of therapeutic modalities to offer a flexible and responsive way of working. In practice, I integrate elements from a variety of approaches, including Gestalt, systemic, Transactional Analysis, CBT, solution-focused therapy, and narrative therapy. Each of these contributes different perspectives and tools that I use collaboratively with clients, depending on their preferences, presenting concerns, and therapeutic goals.

Depending on what feels most helpful in the moment, we might work together to explore unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour using ideas from CBT or focus on understanding current experiences through an exploration of early relationships. At times, we may reflect on deeper emotional themes and unconscious processes, informed by psychodynamic thinking. If you are looking for change in a specific area of life, we can use solution-focused techniques to identify strengths and small, manageable steps forward. I sometimes introduce concepts from transactional analysis to support insight into patterns in communication and internal dialogue, or narrative therapy to explore how the stories we tell about ourselves shape our identity. Throughout, I aim to work in partnership with you - openly discussing what is working, what is not, and how we can shape the therapy to best support your goals and values.

I offer a free initial 20-minute session, which gives us both a chance to meet and get a sense of how we might work together. You can talk about what brings you to therapy, ask any questions you may have, and explore whether working together feels right for you. It is also an opportunity for me to understand what support you are looking for, and how I might be able to help. 

After the first session, subsequent sessions last 60 minutes and are typically scheduled on a weekly basis. While we may agree on a number of sessions at the outset, counselling can continue beyond this if we both feel that ongoing work would be helpful. Clients are free to end therapy when they feel ready.