Nick Dela Tierra

Many people come to therapy believing they already know what the problem is. Sometimes they do. More often, they know the suffering, but not yet the deeper story behind it. A relationship that keeps repeating the same conflict. Anxiety that appears at unexpected moments. A sense of emptiness despite outward success. A diagnosis that explains something, but not everything. A feeling of being stuck without fully understanding why. Rather than rushing toward solutions, I prefer to begin with curiosity. What is this experience trying to tell us? What purpose might it be serving? What has been overlooked, dismissed, or left unresolved? Clients often tell me they feel deeply understood during our work together. I believe this comes from taking the time to listen carefully—not only to words, but also to emotions, patterns, relationships, contradictions, and the ways people have learned to adapt to cultures, family dynamics, and modern life challenges. My role is not to tell you who you are. It is to help you reflect more deeply on who you think you are—or who you could be. Together, we explore the patterns that shape your relationships, the stories you tell yourself, the emotional experiences beneath the surface, and the parts of yourself that may have been ignored, hidden, or pushed away. My work is informed primarily by attachment theory, trauma-informed care, Emotion Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and integrative counselling approaches. However, I do not believe in applying the same model to every person. Therapy should adapt to the individual, not the other way around. While some conversations are serious, therapy does not need to be heavy all the time. Humour, creativity, and genuine human connection are often important parts of the process. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we laugh. Often we do both. Ultimately, I see therapy as a collaborative exploration. A place where we can slow down, become curious, and make sense of experiences that may have felt confusing, overwhelming, or impossible to put into words. Because when people understand themselves more deeply, change often follows naturally.

I opened my private practice in 2020 in Bansko Bulgaria and ever since I have been working with people from all over the world. I have learned how to deal with complex trauma histories that make relationships really difficult, how to channel diverse cultural expectations, how to deal with many different forms of PTSD, including addictions, and how to be sensitive to both men and women and their different modalities. I also work as a Research Assistant for the University College Dublin, in Ireland, and thus remain academically active.

Despite education never being the soul of my therapeutic approach, which is rooted in compassion and presence, I believe my educational journey mirrors my commitment to understanding the human experience in its multifaceted complexity. My Master’s in Counseling and psychology degree, for instance, exposed me to a wealth of knowledge about the body-mind relationship, and my Master’s in Human Ecology enriched my understanding of how culture, economics, and environment intersect with personal identity, and how all these dimensions are so very important. Currently I am completing a Trauma Certificate with Bessel Van der Kolk, but I have pursued certificates in Art Therapy, participated in conferences on screen time, the use of psychedelics, Aboriginal issues, etc. By far, however, the most enriching education comes from my work with people...my supervisors for instance, who inform my work with wisdom, anecdotes, and compassionate solutions, but also, and perhaps especially my clients, who each bring me to a new world.