Aldona Olchanowska , BACP

Aldona Olchanowska is a BACP-accredited counsellor and psychotherapist based in the United Kingdom with 20 years of professional experience. She trained in Poland and the United States and combines academic grounding with broad clinical practice to support people through difficult life stages.

Her education includes a Master of Science in Special Education from Warsaw University, a Master of Education in Counselling and Guidance from North Dakota State University, and a year of clinical social work study at the University of Denver. Clinical placements included work in a university psychiatric hospital and a range of additional psychotherapeutic trainings, which inform her integrative, person-centered style.

Aldona works with individuals and families on relationship and family issues, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, stress, trauma and abuse, addictions, neurodiversity, eating and sleeping difficulties, parenting challenges, intimacy concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. She also addresses attachment and abandonment issues, blended family dynamics, communication problems, and other relational difficulties. Her practice is age, race, faith and LGBTQ+ affirmative, and she provides therapy in English and Polish. Aldona approaches therapy as a collaborative effort that asks for commitment but aims to create meaningful and lasting change for people seeking support.

Therapeutic approaches and online support

Aldona draws on client-centered therapy to create a respectful, non-judgmental space where a person's own goals guide the work. This approach focuses on empathic listening and supports people coping with depression, anxiety, self-esteem and relationship concerns. Motivational interviewing is used to help clients explore ambivalence and build motivation for change - it is practical for issues such as addictions, lifestyle shifts, and readiness to make difficult decisions. Systemic therapy looks at relationships and family patterns to understand how problems develop and persist, and it can be especially helpful for family conflicts, parenting challenges and relationship breakdowns.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Aldona collaborates with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences, and she adapts her work as those needs evolve so the client and therapist make choices together.

Online therapy offers flexible access to licensed professionals through video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, to maintain continuity when schedules change, and to connect with a therapist from different locations, while preserving the same therapeutic focus and collaborative relationship that in-person work provides.