Dr Karolina Balciunaite

I am an accredited Clinical Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) psychotherapist. I offer professional, evidence-based therapy that is warm, non-judgmental, and tailored to you. Seeking support is a significant step, and I hope the information below helps you decide whether I might be the right fit for you.

My experience:

With over eleven years of NHS experience, I also work in private practice. My career has taken me across a variety of mental health services - adult community and hospital settings, specialist trauma, learning disability and child and family services. I have worked with people across the lifespan with people presenting with a wide range of challenges, from mild to severe and complex.

Who I work with:

I offer therapy to adults, young people, couples, and families, and I welcome people from all backgrounds, cultures, faiths, and identities. Whether you are dealing with something long-standing or a more recent difficulty, we can work together to make sense of it and find a path forward. I have extensive experience supporting people with difficulties listed below, with particular expertise in the first four areas.

• - Trauma and post-traumatic stress, including complex and childhood trauma (PTSD and C-PTSD)
• - Low self-esteem, shame, and difficulties with self-compassion
• - Relationship and attachment difficulties, including couples, family conflict, and diverse relationship structures such as non-monogamous and polyamorous arrangements
• - Different forms of anxiety, including OCD, social anxiety, health anxiety, generalised anxiety, phobias, and panic
• - Perfectionism and burnout
• - Depression and low mood
• - Difficulties related to identity, culture, discrimination, and belonging
• - Identity questions related to sexuality and gender – I am queer-affirmative and LGBTQ+ inclusive
• - Neurodiversity, including autism and ADHD, and the emotional and relational impact of navigating a neurotypical world
• - Significant life changes or feeling lost or stuck, whether related to career, parenthood, health, or other transitions
• - Bereavement and grief
• - Long-term physical health conditions and their emotional impact
• - Behaviour that challenges in young people, understanding behaviour as meaningful communication and exploring what lies beneath

My therapeutic approach:

Although I specialise in CBT and systemic-based therapy, I work very much integratively, drawing on a range of evidence-based approaches. I am conscious that no single model fits everyone and I hold the evidence base critically, adapting my thinking to fit you, your background, and your values, rather than the other way around.

• - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – identifying and working with unhelpful patterns in thinking, feeling, and behaviour
• - Systemic therapy – understanding family and relational patterns, and the wider context of your life
• - Narrative therapy – understanding the stories that shape us, and finding new ways to tell them
• - Liberation psychology – acknowledging the real impact of oppression, discrimination, and inequality on mental health
• - Psychodynamic therapy and attachment-informed practice – exploring how past experiences and relationships shape the present
• - Nature-based approaches – drawing on research into connectedness, wellbeing, and the healing potential of the natural world
• - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – for building psychological flexibility and living in line with your values
• - Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) – for shame, self-criticism, and developing a kinder, more compassionate relationship with yourself
• - Mindfulness-based practices – cultivating present-moment awareness without judgement

My way of working:

I believe therapy is collaborative and client-led. I work flexibly, moving between reflective exploration and practical skill-building. I am not a passive therapist - I will gently encourage you to face what feels difficult, at a pace that feels right. My aim is to move through distress, not around it, building self-awareness and skills for lasting change.

My work is grounded in a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive and anti-oppressive framework. I am deeply aware of how race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability and other aspects of identity shape our experiences of distress, and I recognise that many difficulties are rooted not only in the individual but in the systems around us.