Maria Rakhmanova

I currently have limited availability. Please contact me on maria@innertherpylondon.co.uk.

I am a BACP Senior Accredited psychodynamic psychotherapist. I hold an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy from Birkbeck, University of London and have extensive experience working with people from a wide range of backgrounds and with many different emotional challenges.

You may be feeling alone or stuck with anxiety or low mood, overwhelmed by familiar patterns that keep repeating—perhaps in relationships, work, or the way you treat yourself.

I offer a confidential, thoughtful space where we can slow down and make sense of what is happening for you. Our sessions are a place to speak freely: about what feels important, confusing, painful, ordinary, or difficult to say elsewhere. We will work together at your pace, with curiosity rather than judgement. I am interested in both what is troubling you now and the experiences and relationships that may be shaping your life beneath the surface.

Psychodynamic therapy may suit you if you are looking for space to understand yourself more deeply, alongside support with the difficulties you are facing now. Over time, therapy may help you process difficult experiences and let go of old patterns that are no longer serving you, making room for a different understanding of yourself and for choices that feel more possible and more your own.

Rather than offering quick advice or telling you what to do, I pay attention to the relationship that develops between us. What happens in therapy can sometimes offer a window into the ways you have experienced relationships in the past, and the patterns that may still be affecting you now.

Change is not only about understanding rationally where a difficulty may have come from. It can also grow from new experiences and connections, and being able to explore thoughts and feelings differently.

We may notice recurring patterns, memories, dreams and the thoughts that arise freely in sessions. We will also consider the wider context of your life, including the social, cultural and external pressures that shape your experiences.

Before we start, I offer a free 10-15 minute phone/zoom call as an opportunity for you to tell me a little bit about your concerns and for me to briefly explain how I work.  Afterwards we will schedule a consultation to ensure that I am the right therapist for you. I consider our first couple of meetings as consultation sessions. This helps to establish the nature of your concerns in greater depth and discern whether what I can offer is suitable to your needs. It’s a two-way process and provides you with an experience of how I work and what both of us can expect from each other. If I am not the right person, I will connect you with someone who can help.

Once we agree on our regular sessions, I will keep that time slot only for you. We will meet once a week at the same time for 50-minute therapy sessions.