Therapy Room
Other than being a person, you need no other reason to begin therapy.
Hello and Welcome
My name is Alexander Romanitan. I am an English-speaking counselor and psychotherapist, and I offer short and long-term psychotherapy in central Athens.
I am an experienced therapist who works with you. My experience and training allow me to provide a dynamic therapeutic experience which is personal to you. I have experience working with adults and children in both an individual and group therapy setting. I completed my studies and practice at the University of Edinburgh and the University of London and also received a psychology degree from the City University of New York. I am also a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh.
As a psychotherapist, my work stays in a dialogue between the psychodynamic and person-centered therapeutic approaches.
To understand how I practice as a psychotherapist you can read through my client work reflections.
Therapy is a space where one is accepted without any conditions.
Working with You...
Psychotherapy is a truly personal experience. Therapy is not something done to a person, but rather it is created by the person. And with that, working with you will significantly involve you. By staying with you and holding all that you bring, I hope to support the growth of this personal process.
Previously, I have worked with clients who have struggled with: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, anger, trauma, relationships, gender and sexuality, as well as clinical mental health. Some of these struggles may be familiar to you. In my work, I listen to how these struggles (or any of life's struggles) are real for you. That is, what makes them personal.
Working with you will be a new experience I look forward to having.
To get a sense of how it might be to work with me, you can read over my client work reflections by scrolling down.
Working in English
I work in English. This does not mean you must be a native-English speaker to begin psychotherapy with me. Many of my clients are actually not native-English speakers. Psychotherapy focuses on bringing attention to the soft-spoken or silent parts of ourselves and this does not involve only words. It is important though that you feel comfortable in communicating and expressing yourself to me. To understand this, you can schedule an initial meeting with me. This is a reduced fee meeting during which we will be able to see how we feel working with each other.
Working Online
I also offer psychotherapy sessions online, via Google Meets. Online sessions may be of interest to you if you don’t have access to a therapist in your area or if you travel often. There is also the added convenience of working from your own home.
Online therapy is different than in-person therapy because our interaction is confined to a video chat which narrows our sensation of each other. However, I have learned how to foster a better sense of my presence via video chat so that you feel supported and held in our relationship.
Contact me via email if you would like to arrange an online session. For some people online therapy may not be the support you need and in this case I will advise you find the appropriate support.
In a setting where someone is available, someone is present and that someone makes no demands, there the individual can allow himself to be... so that he can discover what he may become.
My client work reflections depict in-the-moment understanding of my practice as a psychotherapist. They are meant to offer you a sense of how I work as a psychotherapist. To maintain each of my client's confidentiality, I offer no means of identification (i.e. I change the name, gender, ethnicity of the client) and I share no information regarding my client's story.
Working with Chloe...
Understanding the use of feelings
And yet, Chloe…
(I lean in to make eye contact with her.)
...You do feel this.
These feelings are real.
I am accepting of Chloe’s feelings. This small gesture can be a compelling encouragement for the person to engage with the therapeutic process. Feelings are at the heart of our work because mood and emotion resonate with meaning. Feelings help us make meaning. With this gesture, I also want to empower Chloe to bring her feelings here.
Working with Mark...
Understanding my approach
As I see Mark walk into the therapy room I am reminded of the psychodynamic thought of "the past is present". With this, I am reminded of the history this person carries with him. A history I am unaware of and one that he knows best. Mark is the keeper of this history and so, I entrust him to narrate it. Through this telling, he is extending, compressing, stretching, squeezing that history into something never before said and thankfully this won’t go unheard because I, the therapist, will be there listening.
Working with Panagiotis...
Understanding how we begin therapy
Panagiotis and I are still at an early stage in our relationship. This is our second session together; our relationship is in its infancy. Space and time must be generously offered to Panagiotis in order for him to find and use me in a meaningful way. Rushing this process with Panagiotis would create an imposed therapy.
Working with Ryan...
Understanding how I attend to the person
Therapists do not pursue information from their clients, unless there are protection concerns. No, instead we attend to the person sharing the story by focusing genuinely on the aliveness of the person sitting before us. In order to maintain the safe/secure base of the therapeutic relationship the whole of therapy must be settled in a space of open inquiry. I have the sense that Ryan is on the verge of engaging with a feeling and I want him to know that this is allowed here. Yet, the choice to share those feelings belongs to him. I am open to where Ryan takes this. This openness to inquiry in my practice gives power back to the client. By working in this state of mind, the therapist is less likely to impose a way of doing therapy and, rather, be open to the unknowns of a new personal process... a personal therapy.
Working with Zoe...
Understanding how I use theory
In my practice, I do not fit theory and research into the work that is taking place with a client. Instead, I use this knowledge to ground my practice. Theoretical knowledge in psychotherapy is not to be enforced. This knowledge is there for me to lean back against so that I can lean into the work with my client. With this, I do not believe I can make sense in a rational, step-by-step presentation of how Zoe and I arrived to her tears. That is, there is no straightforward path in therapy. Instead there is a layering of seemingly disconnected thoughts, experiences, emotions on both the client’s and therapist’s part that bring us to these heightened moments where meaning begins to flourish. Therapy is a shared space.
Working with Samantha...
Understanding how I work
As Samantha shares her story, I stay present to our encounter by reflecting back to her feelings and sensations that are creating an atmosphere in the room. By staying close to Samantha, I am facilitating that creation. These reflections are sometimes her exact words, and at other times an extension of her words by using my felt experience of her and her story:
Playful... Losing Control... Soaring....
Flying... Spontaneous.... Tantalising.... High....
And amongst these liberating words which I reflect back to Samantha, oddly there is:
...bad
...hurt
...stop
I am struck by the oddity I sense with this set of words. I wonder about this. What makes these words seem misplaced? Holding in mind these words I have a strong visceral reaction in my body and this is what I share with Samantha. What I am offering Samantha is not interpretations but a new way of listening and a new way of being heard.
A space rooted in reliability, predictability and consistency.
Our first meeting
Our relationship is a vital part of the psychotherapy process and so it is important that we meet to see if I am the right therapist for you. I offer an initial meeting at a reduced price of 30 euros. If we agree to begin working together, during this meeting we will also arrange the details of our next sessions together.
My current availability
At the present time, I have no availability to take on any new clients.
Please check back here, for updates on my availability.
Contact me directly via email or phone or submit the Request a Session form to see if I am able to work with you.
My fees
My fees are offered on a sliding scale from 50 euros to 70 euros. The fee is negotiated and the exact amount is agreed upon at our initial meeting.
I also offer a limited number of reduced fee spaces. These spaces are reserved for individuals in economic hardship who would not be able to afford counseling or psychotherapy otherwise.
My place of practice
My therapy practice is located in the Keramikos - Thiseio area of Athens.
It is a short walk from either the Keramikos metro station (blue line), the Thiseio ISAP station (green line) or the Metaxourgio metro station (red line).
Street parking is free in the area. Available parking spaces may be difficult to find towards the end of the day.
My contacts
You can reach me by scheduling an initial meeting directly from this site.
Click on "Schedule time with me" at the bottom of the screen and you will be able to choose the time and date that best suits you.
You can also reach me at:
Email: a.g.romanitan@gmail.com
Message via WhatsApp/Viber: (+30) 690 846 2244