Hi! I’m Carina (she/her).
I'm a senior psychological therapist, mindfulness teacher, and anxious person who was always rushing, overthinking, and criticising herself.
Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) changed so much in how I see myself and how I see the world. Then, using them with my clients and witnessing how much more settled they feel, and how much more meaningful and rich their lives become, sealed the deal.
Now I can’t shut up about them - why would I, when I saw, up-close, how they can transform people? So, here I am, sharing them with everyone who wants to get unstuck - from rushing, overthinking, avoiding, and more.
How can I help you?
I’m all about helping you find balance, purpose, meaning - make better choices, and enjoy life a little more. But why me - what makes me and my approach unique?
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 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
I also 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
Imperfection
Openness
Silly sense of humour
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).
I have some good experience…
Alongside Project Even Keel, I work as a Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), and I am accredited by the BABCP as a therapist and as a supervisor. I also work as a CBT Course Supervisor with a Level 2 BABCP-Accredited postgraduate diploma course, and as an external research supervisor on the same Master’s programme in CBT I graduated from with a distinction. I’ve also co-authored some articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals - see some here.
I’ve worked in the field of psychology and mental health since 2013, wearing different hats - in academic research at the University of Cambridge, and clinically with a wide range of client groups (people with neurological conditions, children and teenagers, and adults with both common, and long-standing and complex difficulties). I’ve also worked in a mobile health startup - and moved to California for three months to participate in the world’s leading startup accelerator.
Mindfulness has been the approach I’ve connected with the most ever since I discovered it. I’ve been practising it personally since 2015, and have been weaving it into all the work I’ve done. Wearing my therapist hat, I mostly use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, a mindfulness-based therapeutic modality), and include elements from various other mindfulness-based approaches such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). I’ve developed and run several ACT and Mindfulness/MBSR groups over the years.
There isn’t a specific training route into ACT, but there are many resources and continuing professional development courses which I’ve been devouring for years. For mindfulness, there are some training routes - and I have completed the training and retreat requirements as a Practising Teacher with the largest and oldest mindfulness teacher training organisation in the UK, in Bangor. My aim is to continue developing towards the highest level of mindfulness teacher training certification in the UK - all in line with the BAMBA Good Practice Guidelines. And of course, to keep learning and learning!
I have some good qualifications…
Mindfulness Teacher Training Pathway (Level 1 Mindfulness Teacher Training, Inquiry Workshop, Foundations of Mindfulness Retreat, Groupwork Workshop, MBSR Specialist Training), The Mindfulness Network/Bangor University
MSc Psychological Therapies - Practice and Research - High Intensity CBT (Top-Up), University of Exeter
Accreditation as therapist and supervisor - British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
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
Most importantly, I’m human
I’m an anxious person by nature, but the year of my first master's, I let it get the better of me. Maybe “let” isn’t the right word, because I didn’t know I was doing it.
I watched horror movies because I’d have rather been scared of sinister spirits than of going to the supermarket.
I needed to plan everything in detail, I barely ate and was at my lowest adult weight, and I had sky-high expectations of others and myself. I couldn’t be on my own, because I couldn’t bear my own thoughts and feelings.
The extent to which I knew what was going on was that I had some sort of anxiety, and that I needed to "face my fears".
I first heard about mindfulness in 2015. I don’t remember how, I just did - I downloaded an app, and just sat down with myself for 10 minutes - simple. And it made sense and felt right.
Ever since, I continued practising, read lots of books and scientific papers, listened to lots of podcast episodes, and attended an MBCT course, and several retreats and training events.
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. 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, 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.
And instead, I just am.
As much as I love what I do, I love other things too - so, I also read fiction books, consume culture (a fancy way of saying I like things like museums, theatre, and music), take photos (I took all the ones on this site apart from the ones I’m in), appreciate quirkiness, ask questions, and spend time with dogs (mostly my one and only Calli, the golden retriever girl).