Dr Elisa Cunial
I am a multilingual and multicultural UK Chartered counselling psychologist, psychotherapist, eco-counsellor and supervisor.
I lived and worked in the UK for over 15 years, before moving to Italy in 2020 where I now work as a counsellor/eco-counsellor, group facilitator and supervisor from near Trieste, in the North-East region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia.
I speak fluently English, Italian and French.
Professional memberships
As a Chartered Counselling Psychologist in the UK, I am registered with:
- The British Psychological Society
- Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
- The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
I am also on the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS) since 2018.
In Italy, I am a registered with AssoCounseling as a Supervisor-Counselor (REG-A2720-2021).
I hold degrees in special needs education and in psychology from Switzerland, where I also qualified as a French teacher for non-native speakers.
I specialised in psychotherapy in London, where I obtained a doctorate in Counselling Psychology. My training followed an integrative approach, combining existential, psychodynamic and transpersonal theoretical models, as well as Jungian ideas.
I started my private practice in London in 2013, where I worked with individuals and couples, both as a ‘traditional psychotherapist’ practising from a consulting room, and as an eco-therapist, facilitating sessions outdoors, in parks and wild areas in South London.
My professional experience benefited from working in a variety of settings:
- associations supporting children and adults with special needs
- health care groups supporting people with life-threatening conditions and wanting to die at home
- institutions supporting people with genetic syndromes and psychiatric disorders
- GP practices within the National Health System (NHS), UK
- charities
- schools
I practiced also as a bereavement counsellor for Cruse Bereavement Support, and as a team leader and psychotherapist in educational settings, with children and families involved in severe situations of trauma, abuse and neglect.
Alongside my research-based background, I always cultivated a keen interest for ancient healing traditions and for the natural world. From an early age, I found in plants and animals, as well as in music/sounds and artistic expression a great source of inspirations and insight. With time, I started integrating these aspects in my work to go deeper and further with clients.
I have been studying and practicing shamanism for more than 15 years. I am currently training as a systemic constellation facilitator, with the aim to bring psyche/soul and Earth in more regular conversations through my work on the land, and with the other-than-human.
I have extensive experience in working with a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, in particular as a psychotherapist with expats.
I integrate the use of arts, creative writing, dream work, body work, energy psychology, mindfulness techniques, and psycho-spiritual nature-based practices in what I offer during the sessions and the courses I facilitate.
Some of the issues I worked with in the past are:
- Depression & anxiety
- Self-esteem & creativity
- Loss, bereavement & the end of life
- Relationships & parenting
- Separation & divorce
- Abortion & miscarriage
- Abuse & trauma
- Eating disorders
- Obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD)
- Infertility problems & sexuality
- Existential crisis/loss of meaning
- Midlife passage & life transitions
- Chronic & life-threatening illness
- Work-related problems
- Disability (better called ‘different ability’)
- Multi-cultural & cross-cultural issues (for example, third culture kids)
- I adapt my style of working to each person, opening to what is different and new, whilst remaining congruent to my own values and knowledge
- I take into account individualised aims, personal interests and predispositions with each client, which I review and discuss regularly (feedback always welcome)
- I aim at establishing a strong and trusting relationship with my clients, one that considers the uniqueness of each person/couple/group
- I encourage reflection and promote questioning as we explore and discuss patterns of behaviours, emotional attitudes and personal assumptions
- I strongly believe in the value of diversity and creativity – while definitions and labels can be very useful, I also encourage the exploration of what lies beyond, above and below such definitions and labels.