Carla Patino

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Welcome, my name is Carla. I am a psychotherapeutic Counsellor and member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists. I offer therapeutic sessions in English and German.

I work in an open, warm and non-judgmental way. I believe my job is not to tell you what to do, but to create a safe space for you to feel truly heard. Drawing on different therapeutic approaches, I aim to support you in gaining deeper awareness of behaviour patterns and difficult feelings. Therapy is an opportunity to reconnect with your authentic self and to develop a better relationship with yourself and others.

It is crucial that the relationship with your psychotherapeutic counsellor is one of empathy and trust, and that you feel comfortable in working together. That’s why I offer a free 30-minute initial consultation, so that I can get an understanding of why you want to start therapy and so that we can assess if we can work together, in order to best support your needs.

I am a LGBTQ+ affirmative counsellor and I work with a diverse client group of adults of any gender. I am experienced in working with issues such as, attachment issues, postnatal depression, relationship issues, betrayal and heartbreak, low self-esteem, anger, shame, family issues, estranged/difficult family dynamics, narcissistic abuse, work related difficulties, loss and change, anxiety, body image issues, LGBTQ+ issues, jealousy and trauma bonding.

Services

"Counselling gave me the space and the safety to open up and to find inner strength I did not know I had."

Testimonials

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Areas of Expertise

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Areas of Expertise

My counselling training is humanistic integrative, this means that I apply different therapeutic methods, depending on your individual needs.

My 4 main psychotherapeutic approaches are:

Transactional Analysis

A theory that analyses your patterns of behaviour, as well as your patterns of relating. It also covers inner child work and understanding your core beliefs.

Person Centred Therapy

A theory that is client centred and focusses on giving the client a non-judgemental environment for self-exploration.

Gestalt Therapy

A form of psychotherapy that is centred on increasing a person's awareness of how they feel, by using creative approaches

Attachment Theory

This is based on the coping strategies we learned as children and how they present themselves as adults in our relationships.

"I was apprehensive to start counselling, but Carla made me feel like I could finally be myself and say things out loud, I never dared to say before. It was a liberating experience."

R. P. - Client

My Experience

As well as working in private practice, I also work for the charity “Mind”, in order to provide therapeutic counselling to people with low income.

I worked 2 years as a volunteer counsellor for “Redlands Counselling”, an organisation that offers low-cost counselling for people with financial difficulties in Dorset. Here, I worked with topics like family issues, relationship issues, trauma in childhood, depression, narcissistic abuse and low self-worth.

I am a fully qualified Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy which is the leading professional association for counselling professions in the UK.

I hold a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, accredited by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB), the only awarding body in Europe to specialise in counselling.

I also hold a CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills and a CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies.

I am currently studying for the final exam to achieve the German title of Alternative Medicine Practitioner in Psychotherapy.

I hold a Certificate in Counselling LGBTQI+ People by Lotus Counselling.

I have completed continuing professional development in Trauma responses, Attachment Theory for Adults, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Working with Couples/Relationship Issues.

I have a Postgraduate Degree in Secondary School Education, awarded by Bath SPA University and I worked 5 years as a Sixth Form Tutor and teacher for a large secondary school in Dorset.

I am fluent in German and therefore I am also available to work with German speaking clients.