Irene Soldavini

Deciding to begin counselling is an important step, and choosing the right person to work with matters. This page is intended to help you consider whether I might be a suitable counsellor for you.

People consult me for many of the difficulties that lead anyone to seek therapy: anxiety, stress and low mood; grief, loss and bereavement; significant life transitions; and difficulties within relationships. My aim is to provide a calm, considered and non-judgemental space in which you feel properly heard, and in which we can understand your situation together, at a pace that suits you.

I work with clients of all backgrounds, identities, and neurodivergencies. I offer affirmative counselling for LGBTQIA2S+ clients and sex workers,  for people in non-monogamous and polyamorous relationships, and for those whose lives do not conform to conventional expectations. I have a particular interest in questions of identity, culture and belonging, including the experience of migration and of living between cultures.

Should any of this resonate with you, I would be glad to hear from you. An initial conversation is offered without charge, and with no obligation to continue.

I offer online counselling throughout the UK, together with walk-and-talk sessions in Edinburgh, and I work in both English and Italian.

The title "Dr" relates to my academic doctorate in anthropology. It does not imply a medical qualification. 

I offer both shorter-term and longer-term counselling, according to what you require. Central to my work is a phenomenological approach. In practice, this means that I try to understand your experience as you actually live it, rather than fitting it to a theory or moving quickly to explanations. I pay careful attention to how things seem and feel from your point of view, and we proceed from there. 

My training is in counselling, and my academic background is in anthropology. As a result, I attend closely to the ways in which relationships, culture and circumstance shape a person's sense of themselves.

Sessions are conducted online via Zoom, or outdoors as walk-and-talk sessions in Edinburgh. Counselling is available in English and Italian.

Sono inoltre disponibile per sedute in italiano, online in tutto il Regno Unito. Qualora preferisse svolgere il percorso di counselling nella propria lingua, la invito a contattarmi.