Hi, I’m Carina (she/her), and I have a complicated relationship with my overthinking mind.

Plot twist: I’m also a senior psychological therapist and mindfulness teacher - believe it or not, therapists can be anxious too!

How I got here: The Millennial introvert’s guide to finding (at least some) peace

Back in 2015, I was the kind of anxious that meant I'd rather watch horror movies than face a trip to the supermarket. I planned everything in excruciating detail, couldn't be alone with my thoughts, had standards so high they needed oxygen masks, and was at my lowest adult weight. All I knew was that I had some sort of 'anxiety' and needed to 'face my fears', but that was about as helpful as telling someone to 'just relax.'

Then Mindfulness found me (I don't even remember how - I just downloaded an app and sat with myself for 10 minutes). Something about it made sense in a way other approaches hadn't - I started noticing my thoughts instead of being kidnapped by them. A bit later I discovered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which felt like mindfulness with directions. It wasn't about fixing my anxiety (because spoiler alert: trying to get rid of anxiety usually just creates more of it) - it was about learning to relate to it differently. So, I "faced my fears" - my thoughts and feelings, and what they were keeping me from doing, but with curiosity, kindness, and no judgement. I still do, everytime I practise, and as much as I can in my everyday life.

My anxiety hasn't magically disappeared. I still react automatically and unhelpfully sometimes. But I'm so much quicker to notice, and therefore, so much more likely to make a better, wiser choice. I enjoy being by myself now, because I'm curious about what my mind and body come up with. I notice when I don't, or when I judge myself, or when I worry, or overthink, or am just being unkind.

Working with clients and witnessing how much more settled they feel, and how much richer their lives become using these approaches, sealed the deal for me. Now I can't shut up about them - why would I, when I've seen how they transform lives?

Here’s what really matters

I'm not here to fix you (you're not broken), calm you down (sometimes anxiety makes sense), or turn you into a zen master (I'm certainly not one). I'm here to help you:

  • Get unstuck from rushing, overthinking, and avoiding

  • Find your own version of balance (not Instagram's version)

  • Make choices that actually matter to you

  • Navigate your relationship with yourself with a bit more kindness

  • Build a life that feels meaningful even when it's messy

  • Maybe enjoy the journey a bit more along the way

What makes my approach different

The professional stuff

I’m both a mindfulness teacher and a cognitive behavioural therapist, and I also have a background in psychology and clinical neuroscience, with experience in academic research, clinical roles, and healthtech. This means that I:

  • Use evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches - no BS, airy-fairy stuff

  • Know how to handle situations that can come up because of trauma or other psychological difficulties - no opening things up that we then don’t (know how to) close

  • Have practised mindfulness personally since 2015, and have been weaving it into all the work I’ve done - like the several ACT and Mindfulness groups I’ve developed and run over the years

  • Have an understanding of good research - I’ll know when old approaches have been disproven, or when new exciting discoveries have been made

  • Get what it’s like to live and work in high-pressure, fast-paced environments - I’ve been/am there, so I know there’s never enough time

The human stuff

I think you have to really feel comfortable and safe with your mindfulness teacher or therapist (the importance of this is known, nothing new). But I guess the way I do this is that I’m pretty informal (while still being professional), so you can also be yourself - whether there’s crying, laughing, or talking about embarrassing things. So here’s what you can expect from me:

  • Humanity (I’ll never pretend to have it all figured out)

  • Imperfection (because no one is, and thise who try probably make terrible therapists)

  • Openness (about what’s working and what isn’t)

  • Silly sense of humour (because sometimes that’s the only thing that makes sense)

The official stuff (because credentials matter!)

  • Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS)

  • CBT Course Supervisor for a BABCP-Accredited postgraduate diploma

  • Accreditation as therapist and supervisor - British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

  • Mindfulness Teacher - Mindfulness Teacher Training Pathway (Level 1 Teacher Training, Inquiry Workshop, Foundations of Mindfulness Retreat, Groupwork Workshop, MBSR Specialist Training, Deepening and Extending the Foundations of Mindfulness Retreat, Level 2 Teacher Training), The Mindfulness Network/Bangor University

  • Published researcher with articles in peer-reviewed journals

  • Experience in academic research (University of Cambridge), other clinical roles (working with people with neurological conditions, children and teenagers, and adults with both common, and long-standing and complex difficulties), and healthtech (worked in a startup and spent three months in California at the world's leading startup accelerator

  • MSc Psychological Therapies - Practice and Research - High Intensity CBT (Top-Up), University of Exeter - and now a research supervisor on the same course

  • Clinical Supervisor Course (CBT/IAPT), University of Surrey

  • PGDip Psychological Intervention (CBT), University of Surrey

  • MSc Clinical Neuroscience, University College London (UCL)

  • BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of York

I also have private indemnity insurance, an enhanced DBS, and receive regular supervision for my work, in accordance with the relevant governing bodies - the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA).

The unofficial stuff (because this matters too, maybe even more)

  • I’m originally from Romania and moved to the UK aged 19 to study - I’m still here for now (East London)

  • I went to a German high school and technically German is my second language - but I’ve sort of lost it by not speaking it for so long

  • I used to listen to a lot of heavy (and other kinds of) metal music - I’ve seen Metallica and Iron Maiden live

When I'm not helping others navigate their messy minds, you'll find me:

  • Reading fiction

  • Wandering around museums, galleries, or theatres

  • Taking photos (all the ones on this site except most of the ones I'm in)

  • Travelling (went to Myanmar by myself)

  • Honestly, chilling at home a lot - I never get bored

  • Spending time with my adopted golden retriever, Calli (who, frankly, is better at living in the moment than I'll ever be)

What’s in a name? - The story of ‘Project Even Keel’

You may or may not have noticed the name I gave to this thing we’re doing here - Project Even Keel. So if you don’t know what a bloody keel is in the first place, or you know it’s something to do with boats, but the dots connecting isn’t happening (wouldn’t blame you!!) - here’s a lil’ video in which I explain the mystery.

Ready to give this being-human thing a go together?