Olesia Maksymiv – BACP Registered Gestalt Therapist
MA in Psychology | Diploma in Counselling
Therapy for thoughtful adults who want deeper relationships, clearer boundaries and a more grounded sense of self
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, experiential approach that focuses on what is present for you in the moment — your thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations and ways of relating.
It is rooted in psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology, existential philosophy, Zen Buddhism and a deep connection to the body. Over time, Gestalt therapy has evolved beyond a therapeutic model into a way of being — one that values present-moment awareness, responsibility and wholeness.
How I work
My approach is grounded in presence. In the sessions, we might slow down and become curious about what is unfolding now. How do you interrupt yourself? What emotions are just beneath the surface? What happens in your body as you speak? How do you meet another person — including me — in real time?
Gestalt therapy emphasises personal responsibility as being a choice. As awareness increases, so does the capacity to respond rather than react, therefore create more choices. Thoughts, feelings and actions begin to align. Change arises through integration rather than force.
I keep the existential focus in my work. Many clients find that underneath specific difficulties such as anxiety, overwhelm, relationship struggles, loss or transition often lay deeper existential questions. Therapy gradually opens space for the exploration of questions about meaning, freedom, identity, responsibility, intimacy, mortality and how to live more fully and authentically.
I work relationally, meaning the therapeutic relationship itself becomes central. We pay attention to what happens in the space between us: moments of ease or tension, closeness or distance, misunderstanding or resonance and many other experiences that may arise. These experiences often reflect patterns that exist in your wider relationships. By gently noticing and exploring them together, in real time, therapy becomes a lived experience rather than a discussion about life from afar. This approach invites honesty, mutual presence and emotional risk in a contained, safe, thoughtful way. It allows new relational experiences to emerge — ones that feel more grounded and truthful.
I draw on experiential methods — such as role exploration, the body and movement exercises, work with art materials and many more. This allows the work to go beyond thinking and talking alone. Insight is important, but insight on its own rarely creates change. When we include the body, imagination and lived expression, something shifts at a deeper level — not just new understanding, but a new experience of yourself. The aim is always greater self-discovery, emotional processing and the restoration of vitality.
Gestalt therapy creates the conditions for long lasting change by deepening awareness, courage and authentic contact with yourself and others. This depth of work often leads to a more fulfilling, grounded and emotionally richer life — one shaped by clarity, integrity and genuine choice.
What I Can Help With
If you are feeling overwhelmed, confused, flat, anxious, highly self-critical or emotionally numb, therapy can offer a space to pause and gently begin to understand what these experiences might be expressing.
Rather than trying to push feelings away, we can become curious about them — what they are connected to, how they have developed, and what they may be asking for.
I work with a wide range of difficulties, including:
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Anxiety, stress and overwhelm
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Depression, low mood and loss of vitality
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Trauma and complex trauma
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Shame and a strong inner critic
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Identity questions and life transitions
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Relationship and intimacy difficulties
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The impact of early attachment experiences
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Burnout and work-related stress
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Parenting challenges and periods of crisis
Instead of focusing only on symptoms, we explore the patterns beneath them — how your anxiety, low mood or relational struggles relate to your history, your current relationships and the way you meet yourself now.
The aim is not to fix you, but to create a thoughtful, steady space where greater awareness, self-compassion and choice can gradually emerge.
Trauma-Informed & Humanitarian Experience
I am a member of the Complex Trauma Institute and have extensive experience working with complex trauma.
I have spent the last few years working with charities supporting people displaced by war. This work has deeply informed my therapeutic stance — not only learning the effective technics but grounding it in sensitivity, cultural awareness and respect for each person’s pace and capacity.
I draw on a range of evidence-based and effective approaches, always adapting the work to your unique needs rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model.
Testimonials
What value has the therapy brought for you?
Therapy has given me a regular space to prioritize self-care and to check in with myself. It is one of the antidotes to procrastination, self-deception and the constant dulling of the senses. While it's easy to feel temporarily better, it is much harder to stay with the process long enough for real change. It also provides an outside perspective that challenges unhealthy patterns.
What difference/change do you experience?
I am more aware of my emotions and feelings. I can see and therefore interpret bodily symptoms and needs far more easily, or at all. To describe it in more detail, I can address them before they reach extremes, even with something as simple as noticing the need to drink, which is different from actual thirst, the most extreme expression of that particular need. It takes constant presence to be able to do this. Therapy has gotten me there. I learned to trust in a process where the individual steps can't always be seen. There is a growing sense of hope and clarity. All of this contributes to learning practical tools for emotional regulation that help me respond rather than react.
What is your input in it?
I show up consistently, reflect honestly, and practice what I learn between sessions
Ashley
What value has the therapy brought for you?
I see one of the biggest values of therapy for me in heightened awareness: of my own emotions, their bodily manifestations, their origins; of my energy levels and of what energises or drains me; of my needs and desires; of my connection to other people and the world in general, of my expectations around it. I tend to reflect more on my life — on my behaviors, habits, and other things I do and why I do them — questioning whether they still serve me or whether it’s time to let them go.
What difference/change do you experience?
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Lower anxiety
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Higher stress tolerance
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Better relationships, especially with my wife
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Greater sense of agency, openness to the world, and willingness to take risks (despite the fact I’ve always thought of myself as risk-averse)
What is your input in it?
I bring my anxieties, frustrations, insights, reflections to sessions and share them with my therapist
Oleksandr
Professional Credentials
• BACP Registered Member
• MA in Psychology
• Diploma in Counselling
• Advanced Embodied Psychotherapy Training
• Advanced Trauma-Informed Training
• Member, Complex Trauma Institute
• Ongoing Clinical Supervision
This work is suited to adults who are ready for depth rather than quick solutions.
If you are seeking a thoughtful, grounded and psychologically informed process — and are willing to engage actively in it — we may work well together.
You are welcome to book an initial consultation to discuss whether this feels like the right fit.