Dr Irene M C Soldavini
Counselling for Life Between Cultures, Identities and Relationships
You may be navigating cultural differences in a relationship, adjusting to life in a new country, questioning your sense of identity, coping with grief or loss, or searching for meaning during a period of change.
Whatever has brought you here, I offer a warm, reflective, and non-judgmental space where we can explore your experiences together with curiosity, compassion, and care.
What makes my approach distinctive is my background in anthropology. Alongside my counselling training, I have spent years studying how culture, relationships, beliefs, and social environments shape our experiences and understanding of ourselves. This perspective helps me work sensitively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and those facing questions around identity, belonging, migration, family expectations, and life transitions.
I am a registered BACP counsellor and couples therapist, working with both individuals and couples. Together, we can explore the personal, cultural, social, and spiritual influences that may be affecting your wellbeing, relationships, and sense of direction.
My Approach
I specialise in pluralistic counselling, a collaborative and flexible approach that recognises that no single therapy works for everyone. We will work together to find the methods that best support your needs and goals.
My work draws on:
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Psychodynamic therapy
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Existential philosophy and therapy
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Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
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Existential anthropology and how individuals navigate uncertainties, struggles, and moral choices in everyday life.
These approaches can help you:
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Develop deeper self-understanding
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Build self-compassion and emotional resilience
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Navigate relationship challenges
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Explore identity and belonging
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Process grief and loss
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Find greater meaning, purpose, and direction in life
Whether you are seeking support as an individual or as a couple, therapy can provide a space to reflect, gain perspective, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
Online Counselling in English and Italian
I offer online counselling sessions via ZOOM, providing a flexible and accessible way to support from the comfort of your own space.
Sessions are available in English and Italian. I offer short and long-term counselling.
Walk and Talk Therapy
I offer walk-and-talk therapy in the Edinburgh area of Leith.
Taking the First Step
Finding the right therapist is important. If you would like to arrange an initial conversation or have any questions about how I work, please get in touch. I would be happy to discuss whether therapy with me feels the right fit for you.
I offer a warm, professional, and compassionate space where your experiences can be heard and understood.
The title "Dr" denotes an academic qualification, not a medical one.
© Georgia O'Keeffe
© Georgia O'Keeffe
AWARENESS, COMPASSION, INCLUSIVENESS
A NON-JUDGEMENTAL SPACE FOR A MEANINGFUL EXPLORATION OF COMPLEXITIES
AREAS OF INTEREST
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Anxiety
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Bereavement
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Consensual non-monogamous relationships
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Couple counselling
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Death and living losses
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Diasporic issues
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Displacement
- Epistemic, Hermeneutic, and Testimonial Injustice
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Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity (GSRD)
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Grief
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Hoarding
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Identity
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Isolation
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LGTBQIA+
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Loneliness
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Losses
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Politics
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Polyamory
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Sex workers affirmative therapy
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Unconventional lifestyles
INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING
My practice provides an inclusive and compassionate approach to helping individuals through emotional complexities. My areas of interest include anxiety, bereavement, death and non-death related losses, identity issues, binary and non-binary genders, and unconventional lifestyles and sexuality.
I provide a non-judgemental environment where individuals can explore their feelings and experiences. I aim to help people better understand themselves and create a therapeutic space to find their own path and feel empowered.
RELATIONSHIP COUNSELLING
I specialize in existential and pluralistic relationship counselling. I provide a tailored environment for people of all lifestyles and backgrounds. My services include support for those who practice consensual non-monogamous relationships, polyamory, and other unconventional lifestyles (GSRD). I understand the importance of creating an inclusive and empowering space for clients. My approach is empathic and inclusive.
Professional summary
QUALIFICATIONS
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BA Anthropology and Communication, Goldsmiths University of London
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MA Anthropology of Media, SOAS University of London
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PhD Anthropology and Film Studies, SOAS University of London
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Diploma in Couple Counselling, Relationships Scotland
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Foundation Course in Core Process Psychotherapy, Karuna Institute
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MSc in Existential Psychotherapy, New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (ongoing)
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Introduction to Compassionate Focus Therapy, The Compassionate Mind Foundation
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Compassion Focus Therapy for Grief, The Compassionate Mind Foundation
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Compassionate Focus Therapy for Hoarding, The Compassionate Mind Foundation
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Compassionate Focus Therapy Conference, The Compassionate Mind Foundation
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Introduction to Walk and Talk therapy.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
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BACP registered member number 398713
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UPCA trainee member
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Member of the Society for Existential Analysis (SEA)
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Member of the British Society for Phenomenology (BSP)
EXPERIENCE IN COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY:
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Counsellor/psychotherapist in private practice
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I worked as a counsellor/psychotherapist at
an LGBT Edinburgh-based counselling service
a relationship counselling service in Argyll and Glasgow
a low-cost counselling service based in London
a low-cost counselling service in Edinburgh
© Georgia O'Keeffe
"The ultimate goal of therapy ... it's too hard a question. The words come to me like tranquility, like fulfillment, like realizing your potential. Things that Freud used to say; being able to work and to love, that's pretty good summary of it right there. But mainly it's this idea I tried to explain ... you have to develop a separate new therapy for every single client. So for some clients the goal will be this and for some the goal will be that. For one client I have now the goal really is for him to be able to discuss some of his vulnerabilities with his wife and then have a real relationship between the two of them".
"Seven Questions for Irvin Yalom", Psychology Today, Mar. 25, 2009
Fees
Individual counselling: starting from GBP 80 per 50 minutes
Couple counselling: starting from GBP 160 per 50 minutes
I have a limited number of concession-rate spaces available at £65 per 50 minutes. If you believe you qualify for a concession rate, please get in touch.
For those earning above GBP 120K a year, a fee will be negotiated that you consider fairly represents your income.
Contact
