Virginia Karavakou
Counselling Psychologist & Psychological Counsellor
As a Mental Health Counsellor, I help individuals grow & successfully overcome difficulties & challenges in different domains, such as relationships & work, find their meaning & purpose in life and flourish.
I specialise in:
About me
I am a certified Mental Health Counsellor with a MA (Master of Arts) in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of East London, UK, the longest running program in the UK accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
I am also a certified Coach at Master Practitioner Level with an EMCC accredited MSc (Master of Science) in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology from University of East London, one of Europe's oldest and best-established degrees in the science of wellbeing.
I was born and live in Athens, Greece with my family where my office is also located. Having lived, studied and worked abroad, I have had the opportunity to come across people from different cultures and diverse backgrounds that broadened my mind, perspective & life philosophy, and moreover opened my heart and harnessed my understanding and acceptance of human nature in profound ways. Even though my initial studies were on Management & Business administration and had worked for a decade in banks and investment companies, the creation of my family 14 years ago inspired me to find my true calling and pursue a meaningful work path as a counsellor & therapist.
My passion and purpose is to help individuals who feel stuck, drained, disappointed, confused and disoriented not only to cope with stress & depression, but also to rediscover their creativity, passion, meaning & purpose in life and become authentic self-actualizers. I also enjoy to help parents build more profound and meaningful relationships with their children, without guilt and self-blame. I support individuals like expats to navigate challenging transition in life and work, without self-doubt & self-sabotage. I also like to work with young adults, who feel lost and demotivated, to build their self-confidence, find their own voice and become agents in the society, leaving their unique imprint on the world. In my free time, I enjoy creative writing, drawing, playing music & sailing.
I speak:
Location:
Media Gallery
Approach
As a Mental Health Counsellor, my therapeutic style is integrative counselling and psychotherapy, drawing mainly on the person-centered approach & the psychodynamic approach, and also incorporating elements of Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Systemic approach, Attachment theory & Gestalt. Integrative counselling can help people successfully cope with issues such as anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma, bereavement, low self-esteem. On one hand, the person-centered approach provides the basis for a therapeutic alliance & relationship that is characterized by acceptance, unconditional positive regard, honesty, authenticity, warmth, mutual respect & empathy, providing a solid ground, a stable context for the therapeutic process to take place. Moreover, the psychodynamic approach offers theories and a valuable lens to understand and interpret emotions, thoughts & behaviors in the present by revealing connections to past experiences, of how childhood and deeply-rooted feelings have impacted a person, helping to bring subconscious issues, repressed material and conflicts to the conscious mind in order to learn to cope with them. Positive Psychology, on the other hand, as cognitive behavioral & existential approach, offers interventions, mindsets and a broader philosophy of how to live a meaningful and creative life based on values, character strengths, mindfulness, meaning, positive relationships, engagement at work. As a counsellor, through reflective practice, personal therapy, supervision & lifelong learning, I maintain a solid foundation of counselling skills and self-awareness, an overview & critical appreciation of different therapy approaches and methods and cultivation of in-depth knowledge of main approaches. By adopting a pluralistic stance, I tap into a conceptual space where all psychological theories can coexist, therapy can be delivered through different methods and clients can be actively engaged in the therapeutic work.
Experience
- Mental Health Counsellor, private practice
- Positive Psychology Coach, personal development and career orientation with emphasis on wellbeing, private practice
- Tutor at Athens Coaching Institute
- Founder of "Joyful Parents", a private company developing & offering psychoeducational seminars to new parents
- Head of Marketing & Business Development, CM Advisors (subsidiary of EFG International)
Education
- MA in Counselling & Psychotherapy, University of East London, UK (2023)
- MSc in Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology, University of East London, UK (2020)
- Certificate in Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania via Coursera (2017)
- EMCC accredited Diploma in Personal & Business Coaching, Greece (2015)
- Diploma in organization & development of Parent training, EKPA, Greece (2014)
- Bachelor of Science in Management & Business Administration, EAP, Greece (2006)
Services
Intro Call
Individual Session
Individual Session
Insurances
