Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell

Chartered Counselling Psychologist

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Presence, compassion, and heartfelt, authentic awareness are the foundations of psychological healing.

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Psychological recovery does not happen through striving to change who we are. It happens when we learn how to be compassionately accepting and present with our inner life; in a state of appreciation, authenticity, self-forgiveness and care.

 

When authentic self-loving presence replaces pressure, the nervous system settles. Heart and mind integrate.

 

Brain and heart move into "coherence".

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From this baseline, clarity, vitality, and positive emotional states can emerge naturally - not as something forced or performed, but as signs of safety, alignment, and inner trust.

 

I am a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, author, and clinician with over two decades of experience working with grief, trauma, emotional pain, and the human search for meaning.

 

My work is grounded in a simple but often overlooked truth:
lasting psychological change does not come from fixing ourselves, but from learning how to be present with what is already here.

 

Healing unfolds when awareness replaces avoidance, when compassion replaces self-judgement, and when emotional life is met rather than managed. In this space, change happens not through effort, but through understanding.

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My Perspective

Much of modern wellbeing culture is driven by effort, optimisation, and control. While well-intentioned, this approach can unintentionally deepen distress by encouraging people to override their emotional reality rather than listen to it.

 

My clinical work and writing offer an alternative: a psychologically rigorous, emotionally grounded approach that recognises presence itself as transformative.

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I integrate counselling psychology, existential practice, and lived experience to support people in meeting pain without fear and in rediscovering vitality, connection, and meaning on the other side of struggle.

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What I Am Known For

A depth-based approach to psychological healing rooted in presence and compassion.

The ability to translate complex emotional experience into clear, humane understanding.

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Work that honours suffering without pathologising it

 

Writing and teaching that bridge clinical insight with lived human experience

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My Work

I write, teach, and speak about:

• Psychological presence as a healing force.

• Compassion as an active, stabilising psychological capacity

• Positive emotions not as denial, but as indicators of safety and integration.

• The emotional body as a guide rather than a problem to solve

 

My clinical background informs everything I share. I do not offer quick fixes, performance strategies, or superficial reassurance.

 

Author

I am the author of "The Loss Prescription", a practical and compassionate guide to navigating grief and the emotional pain of all loss.

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I have also published academic work on Existential Trauma Therapy for Routledge and PCCS.

 

My wider work extends beyond grief into the psychology of healing, embodiment, and the restoration of emotional trust in oneself.

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