Elpida Spyridonos
Individual Psychotherapy for Adults
A space for understanding, processing and meaningful change
Psychotherapy offers a space to better understand our experiences, emotions and the patterns that shape the way we relate to ourselves, to others and to everyday life. It is not simply about managing difficulties or relieving symptoms. It can also be an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and create meaningful, lasting change.
Everyone comes to therapy with their own story and individual needs. For some, it may be a time of anxiety, ongoing stress or burnout. For others, it may follow a traumatic experience, a significant loss, difficulties in relationships, or a period of change that feels difficult to navigate alone.
Below, you can explore some of the key areas in which psychotherapy may offer support. Select a topic to learn more and explore the relevant section.
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Anxiety, Chronic Stress & Burnout
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Trauma, Loss, Depression & Life Transitions
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Relationships & Repeating Patterns
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Challenging Relationships
01
Anxiety, Chronic Stress & Burnout
When the Pressure of Daily Life Becomes Too Much
There are times in life when demands increase, and anxiety is a natural response to change and uncertainty. But when pressure continues for too long, the nervous system can struggle to settle back down. Over time, being constantly on alert can start to feel normal — even when there is no longer an immediate reason to be.
Anxiety, chronic stress and burnout can look different from person to person. For some, it may feel like constant worry and an inability to switch off. For others, it may show up as physical exhaustion, irritability, difficulty concentrating, or the feeling of always having to push through — even when life has started to slow down.
Burnout rarely happens overnight. It tends to build gradually when the mind and body spend too long trying to keep up with ongoing demands and responsibilities, without enough time for rest, recovery or taking care of yourself. Eventually, living with this level of tension can become so familiar that you may almost forget what it feels like to truly slow down and feel at ease.
When Anxiety Becomes Overwhelming
You may recognize some of the following.
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You may find yourself constantly thinking about what could go wrong or imagining negative scenarios, even when there is no immediate reason for concern.
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You may find yourself avoiding situations, decisions or activities because the anxiety they bring up feels bigger than the situation itself.
05
You may have heard “don’t worry so much” more times than you can count. But if you could simply switch your anxiety off, you would have done it already.
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Even the simplest decisions can feel exhausting when you are afraid of making the wrong choice or dealing with negative consequences.
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Your body may feel like it is constantly on alert. You may find it difficult to relax, feel physically tense, or notice that stress is showing up in your body.
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You may feel constantly exhausted, even when you are getting enough rest, because your body remains on high alert.
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You may appear to be managing everything well, while inside, it can feel like everything takes far more effort than other people realize.
Chronic Stress & Burnout When ongoing pressure leads to exhaustion.
You may recognize some of the following.
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You may feel exhausted, yet still find it difficult to let go of the tension and truly rest. Your body may be asking for rest, while your mind remains constantly on alert.
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You may notice your body sending constant signals of stress: muscle tension, headaches, digestive discomfort, disrupted sleep, or getting sick more often.
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Almost everything can start to feel urgent or demanding. Even small everyday responsibilities can leave you feeling like you are constantly under pressure.
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You may feel that something needs to change, but struggle to know where to begin or how to make space for yourself without feeling that you are neglecting something important.
02
You may find yourself more irritable than you used to be. Small difficulties can trigger stronger reactions than before, followed by guilt or disappointment in yourself.
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You may find it difficult to remember the last time you felt truly rested and at ease, rather than simply distracted by something else.
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You may find it harder to concentrate, remember things, or make decisions. Not because you have lost your abilities, but because your mind and body have been operating under prolonged strain.
Anxiety, Chronic Stress & Burnout
What Therapy Actually Looks Like
Therapy is not simply about managing the symptoms of anxiety or burnout. It involves exploring the factors that contribute to ongoing stress, as well as understanding how prolonged stress can affect your emotional and physical wellbeing, nervous system, and ability to function in everyday life.
Therapy is shaped around your individual needs and may include:
-Understanding Anxiety and Chronic Stress
We explore how your responses to stress have developed, what tends to trigger anxiety, and what may be keeping it going. Anxiety is often influenced not only by external demands, but also by deeper personal patterns, expectations, and ways of coping with difficult experiences.
-Understanding the Impact of Prolonged Stress on the Body and Nervous System
Prolonged stress can leave the body in a state of heightened arousal, which may show up as physical tension, persistent fatigue, difficulty relaxing, or a sense of being constantly on alert. Therapy can help you understand these responses as natural physiological reactions to prolonged stress, rather than as something that is wrong with you.
-Exploring Personal Boundaries and Patterns That Can Lead to Burnout
Taking on too much responsibility, difficulty saying “no,” feeling the need to meet other people’s expectations, perfectionism, or difficulty asking for help can all contribute to ongoing stress and emotional exhaustion. In therapy, we explore how these patterns developed and how they may be changed to support healthier and more sustainable ways of relating to yourself and others.
-Developing More Sustainable Ways of Coping with Stress
Therapy is not about avoiding difficulties or finding simple solutions to complex experiences. It focuses on developing more flexible ways of responding to stress, regulating emotional and physical intensity, and making decisions that are aligned with your needs, values, and capacities.
-Reconnecting with Your Needs and Restoring a Sense of Balance
The aim is to gradually restore a more balanced relationship with yourself, your work, and the important people in your life, so that everyday life feels more manageable, sustainable, and less exhausting.
Therapy is not about avoiding life’s difficulties, but about developing greater inner stability, so that you can face life’s challenges without losing touch with yourself.
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Trauma, Loss, Depression & Life Transitions
When Past Experiences Continue to Affect Your Present
There are experiences that, even after they are over, can continue to shape the way we feel, relate to others, and experience everyday life. These may include a traumatic experience, a significant loss, the end of a relationship, a major life change, or a period of emotional distress that became so overwhelming that it left a lasting impact.
This impact is not limited to memories of what happened. It may be experienced as persistent sadness, a sense of emptiness, difficulty trusting others, heightened alertness, withdrawal from relationships, or a feeling that part of your life has become “stuck,” even as everyday life continues.
People do not experience difficult events in the same way. An experience that may be difficult but manageable for one person can deeply affect another person’s sense of safety, self-image, and relationship with themselves and others.
In therapy, we are not only exploring what happened, but also how the experience continues to shape your present and your relationship with yourself and others. The aim is not to erase the past, but to process and make sense of it, so that it no longer defines your life today.
Traumatic Experiences-Some experiences continue to shape the way we feel, relate to others, and experience everyday life, even years after they have happened.
You may recognize some of the following:
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You feel constantly on alert, even when things seem to be okay. You find it difficult to fully relax, as though your nervous system remains in a heightened state of arousal.
03
Sometimes, the body continues to carry the impact of a difficult experience long after it has passed. You may experience muscle tension, difficulty relaxing, persistent fatigue, changes in your breathing, or a sense of disconnection from your body and emotions.
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You may find yourself avoiding people, conversations, places, or experiences that remind you, directly or indirectly, of what you have been through. This avoidance can develop so gradually that it becomes part of everyday life without you fully realising it.
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You may wonder whether you are overreacting, or whether something that happened years ago could really still be affecting you so deeply. Yet trauma does not always remain in the past. It can continue to shape the way your nervous system responds to the world, to relationships, and to situations that may feel threatening or unsafe.
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Certain situations can trigger reactions that feel much stronger than you would expect. You may realise in the moment that your response is out of proportion to what is happening, but still find it difficult to calm or regulate the reaction.
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Certain people, situations, or forms of communication can trigger intense fear or distress, even when you know rationally that you are not in danger. Your body, however, may continue to respond as though a threat were present.
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These experiences may continue to affect the way you relate to others. You may find it difficult to trust, set boundaries, feel safe in close relationships, or trust your own judgement.
Loss & Grief - When loss continues to affect your everyday life.
You may find some of these experiences familiar.
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You continue with your daily responsibilities, yet feel strangely detached from your own life. Everything may look much the same, but something feels profoundly different.
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You may feel guilty when you begin to enjoy small moments of everyday life again, as though moving forward means leaving behind the person or what you have lost.
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You may be grieving a loss that others may not recognise or fully understand, such as the end of a relationship, a significant life change, or a hoped-for future that did not come to pass.
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You may find yourself wondering whether this sadness will ever ease, or whether life can feel meaningful and hopeful again.
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Feelings of sadness, anger, or emptiness can surface unexpectedly, even long after the loss, without any obvious reason or trigger.
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You may feel that people around you expect you to “be better” or to have already moved on from what happened, while your own experience of grief unfolds at its own pace.
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You may struggle to stay connected to what you have lost while continuing to move forward in your life, especially when moving forward feels like leaving something or someone you still deeply care about behind.
Depression- More than a period of sadness or emotional exhaustion.
You may recognise some of the following experiences:
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You continue to meet your everyday responsibilities, but doing so takes more and more effort. The people around you may not realise how difficult things have become for you.
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You may feel more irritable than usual or, on the contrary, as though your emotions have become muted. Depression is not always experienced as intense sadness. At times, what stands out more is a sense of emptiness, detachment, or emotional numbness.
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Your thoughts may often return to the past, to things you wish you had done differently, or to a future that feels uncertain and difficult to imagine. You may find yourself caught in a cycle of thoughts that is hard to switch off.
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You may find yourself wondering whether what you are experiencing is a temporary period, or whether this is how life will feel from now on. At times, it may be difficult to imagine that things could feel different.
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Activities that once brought you joy or a sense of meaning may no longer feel enjoyable or worthwhile. You may still do them, but they no longer give you the same sense of pleasure or fulfilment.
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You may find it difficult to feel truly connected to the people around you, even those you love. You are present in conversations and everyday responsibilities, yet you may feel emotionally detached, as though a part of you is not fully there.
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Even everyday activities that once felt manageable may now require much more effort than they used to. You know what needs to be done, but finding the energy or motivation to get started can feel difficult.
Trauma, Loss, Depression & Life Transitions
What Therapy Looks Like
Therapy is not about erasing what has happened or expecting you to simply “accept” it and move on. It is about understanding how traumatic experiences, significant losses, or prolonged emotional distress may continue to shape your present, and creating the conditions for these experiences to be processed safely and gradually.
Depending on your individual needs, therapy may include:
-Processing Difficult Experiences
Therapy provides a safe space for experiences that have remained unresolved or unprocessed to gradually be understood, given meaning, and integrated into your personal story, without continuing to define your present.
-Understanding the Impact on the Body and Nervous System
Difficult experiences can affect both the mind and the body, influencing the way the nervous system responds. Sometimes, the body remains in a heightened state of alert even after the threat has passed. This may show up as ongoing tension, difficulty relaxing, a sense of disconnection, or difficulty feeling genuinely safe. Therapy can help you understand these responses and gradually restore a greater sense of safety and connection within yourself.
-Processing Loss and Grief
Loss can take many forms. It may follow the death of someone we love, but it can also come with the end of a relationship, a significant life change, the closing of an important chapter, or the loss of something that once held deep meaning. In therapy, there is space for grief, anger, guilt, uncertainty, and whatever other emotions may arise, without pressure to “move on” quickly or to experience grief in any particular way.
-Exploring Patterns Shaped by Your Life Experiences
Certain experiences can shape the way you see yourself, your relationships, your boundaries, and the way you respond to difficult situations, sometimes long after the experience itself has passed. In therapy, we explore where these patterns come from and how they continue to influence your life today. Over time, they can begin to change, allowing you to make choices and build relationships that feel more in keeping with who you are and what you need.
-Restoring a Sense of Safety and Connection with Yourself
Therapy does not require you to talk about or relive painful experiences before you feel ready. The process unfolds gradually, at a pace that respects your readiness and your sense of safety. The aim is to strengthen your sense of safety in your body, in your relationships, and in your relationship with yourself, so that the past no longer determines how you experience the present.
Therapy is not about removing difficult experiences from your past, but about gradually processing and integrating them, so that they no longer shape the way you relate to yourself, others, and your life. The aim is to cultivate greater inner stability, strengthen your sense of safety, and help you move forward with greater freedom and a deeper connection with yourself.
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Relationships & Repeating Patterns
When the same difficulties seem to keep repeating in your relationships.
Relationships are an important part of our lives and deeply influence the way we see ourselves, relate to others, and experience the world around us. When the same difficulties seem to arise again and again, even with different people or at different stages of life, you may begin to feel that something keeps repeating without being easy to understand or explain.
You may find it difficult to express your needs, set boundaries, or say “no” without feeling guilty. You may often find yourself taking responsibility for other people’s feelings, adapting yourself to avoid conflict, or consistently putting your own needs second. At other times, you may fear rejection, struggle to trust others, or notice that you are drawn to relationships that end up hurting you in similar ways.
These recurring relationship difficulties are not a sign of weakness or simply a reflection of who you are. They are often connected to the ways we learned to relate to others through our earliest significant relationships, the experiences we have had, and the ways we learned to adapt and protect ourselves.
Therapy provides a safe space to explore how these patterns developed, how they continue to shape your relationships and everyday life, and how you can gradually develop more authentic, secure, and balanced ways of connecting with others without losing touch with yourself.
Relationships & Repeating Patterns
You may recognize some of the following experiences:
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You find it difficult to say “no,” even when what is being asked of you feels like too much.
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After a conversation or disagreement, you may find yourself going over what was said again and again, wondering whether you said or did something wrong.
05
You may notice that the same difficulties or relationship dynamics keep repeating in different relationships throughout your life.
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You may feel that your relationships are not as balanced or equal as they should be, yet speaking up about how you feel can seem harder than simply continuing to adapt.
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Even though you put a lot of effort into maintaining your relationships, you often end up feeling emotionally drained, overlooked, or as though you are giving more than you receive.
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You may often feel responsible for other people’s emotions or reactions, even when they are not yours to carry.
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You often put your own needs aside, and when you do express them, you may feel guilty for doing so.
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You may find it difficult to distinguish between what you truly want for yourself and what you believe others expect from you.
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People often describe you as the one who keeps the peace, takes on responsibility, and looks after everyone else.
Relationships & Repeating Patterns
What Therapy Looks Like
Therapy is not about telling you what you should do in your relationships, or about asking you to care less about others. It is about understanding the ways you have learned to relate, recognizing the patterns that keep showing up in your relationships, and developing greater freedom in how you choose to relate to others.
Depending on your needs, therapy may include:
-Understanding Repeating Relationship Patterns
You may find that the same difficulties arise in different relationships, even when the people involved are different. In therapy, we explore these patterns and how they may be connected to your past experiences, the ways you learned to relate to others, and the needs these patterns may have helped you meet.
-Exploring Your Boundaries and Needs
Exploring people-pleasing and the need for approval. If you often put other people’s needs before your own, we explore how this pattern developed and how it affects your relationships and sense of self.
-Understanding Your Role in Relationship Dynamics Without Blaming Yourself
Therapy can help you explore your own role in your relationships, without taking responsibility for what other people do. Understanding your part in these dynamics is an important step towards changing patterns that keep emerging in your relationships.
-Developing Healthier Boundaries and Ways of Communicating
Change is not just about understanding boundaries; it is also about learning to express your needs, wants, and disagreements more clearly and safely, even when doing so brings up fear or guilt.
-Ενίσχυση της σχέσης με τον εαυτό και τους άλλους
When the way you relate to others changes, your relationships can change too. The aim is not to distance yourself from the people in your life, but to build relationships with greater mutuality, respect, authenticity, and emotional safety.
The aim of therapy is to develop a deeper understanding of how you relate to others, the patterns that shape your relationships, and the needs that lie beneath them, so that you can build relationships that feel more authentic, balanced, and aligned with your values.
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Challenging Relationships
When a relationship begins to affect the way you see yourself.
Some relationships can affect you in ways that go far beyond conflict or difficulties in communication. Over time, they can begin to shape how you feel, think, and see yourself. Ongoing criticism or belittling, manipulation, control, unpredictable emotional behavior, or having your sense of reality repeatedly questioned can have a significant impact on your emotional wellbeing. It can be difficult to recognize exactly what is happening when you are in the relationship, especially when these patterns have developed gradually over time.
A relationship can be psychologically harmful, regardless of whether the other person has a diagnosis or whether there is a clear label for what is happening. What matters most is how the relationship affects you — your sense of safety, self-esteem, trust in yourself, and freedom to express your needs and boundaries. Many people find it difficult to put what they are experiencing into words. You may feel a persistent sense of doubt or unease without being able to understand where it comes from. You may find yourself constantly questioning your own judgement, feeling responsible for problems you did not create, or struggling to trust your own instincts. It can take time to recognize that these responses are not a sign of personal weakness. They may be a natural response to being in a relationship that repeatedly takes an emotional toll on you.
The effects of such a relationship do not necessarily end when the relationship itself comes to an end. Difficulties with trust, low self-esteem, a constant sense of being on alert, doubts about your own judgement, or feeling disconnected from yourself can continue to affect your everyday life and future relationships. Therapy offers a safe space to make sense of these experiences, recognize their impact, and gradually rebuild trust in yourself, your needs, and your relationships.
Challenging Relationship Dynamics Can Occur Across Different Types of Relationships
Relationship difficulties do not always take the same form. They can arise in different relationships and areas of life:
-Romantic Relationships
Manipulation, control, ongoing criticism or belittling, and difficulty respecting your needs and boundaries.
-Relationships with Parents or Siblings
Excessive criticism, control, emotional instability, or difficulty recognizing and respecting your autonomy.
-Friendships
Exploitation, a lack of trust, one-sided emotional investment, or difficulty establishing mutual boundaries.
-Workplace Relationships
Manipulation, persistent undermining, gaslighting, workplace harassment, bullying, or abuse of power.
-Family and Wider Social Contexts
Environments in which your needs, boundaries, and sense of autonomy may be overlooked, dismissed, or difficult to respect.
Challenging Relationships
You may recognize some of the following experiences.
01
You may often question your own judgement or wonder whether you are overreacting to what is happening in the relationship.
03
You may notice that you have started changing the way you behave and adapting your needs or wants in order to maintain a sense of balance in the relationship.
05
You may often feel guilty or hold yourself responsible for problems, conflicts, or emotions that are not yours to carry.
07
Despite your ongoing efforts to improve the relationship, you may feel that nothing really changes, or that the responsibility always ends up falling on you.
09
You may feel that the relationship has started to affect the way you see yourself, your sense of self-worth, or your trust in your own thoughts and feelings.
02
You may feel that you have to be constantly careful about what you say or how you behave, in order to avoid tension or negative reactions.
04
You may find it difficult to talk to others about what is happening, either because you are afraid they will not understand or because you are not sure how to put your experience into words.
06
You may have become more distant from people, activities, or parts of your life that were once important to you.
08
You may often feel constantly on edge, trying to predict the other person’s mood, reactions, or needs before they are even expressed.
Challenging relationships
What Therapy Looks Like
Therapy is not about diagnosing or labelling the person you are in a relationship with, nor is it about deciding whether a relationship should continue or come to an end. The aim is to understand the dynamics within the relationship, how they have affected you, and the behaviors or relationship patterns that may be contributing to the emotional strain you are experiencing. Through this process, you can develop a deeper understanding of your experience, strengthen your trust in yourself, reconnect with your needs and boundaries, and make decisions that reflect your own values and what matters to you.
Therapy is always shaped around your needs and unfolds at a pace that feels right for you. It may include:
-Understanding the Dynamics of the Relationship
In therapy, we explore the dynamics that have developed within the relationship and how they have affected your everyday life. Understanding these patterns can often help make sense of experiences that may have previously felt confusing or left you questioning yourself.
-Rebuilding Trust in Yourself
Ongoing questioning, belittling, or manipulation can gradually undermine your trust in your own judgement and feelings. Therapy can help you reconnect with your needs, thoughts, and feelings, and recognize them as valid and trustworthy.
-Processing the Psychological and Physical Impact of the Relationship
The ongoing emotional impact of a difficult relationship can affect both your emotional and physical wellbeing. It may show up as anxiety, a constant sense of being on alert, low self-esteem, guilt, difficulty trusting others, or emotional exhaustion. It can also affect your sleep and leave you experiencing persistent fatigue, muscle tension, or other physical symptoms linked to the long-term effects of stress on the body. Therapy offers a safe space to understand and gradually process these experiences.
-Re-evaluating Your Boundaries and Needs
When your needs have been overlooked or dismissed for a long time, it can become difficult to recognize what you truly need or to express your boundaries. Therapy can help you reconnect with these parts of yourself.
-Gradually Rebuilding a Sense of Safety in Relationships
Challenging relationships can often affect your ability to trust others and make it difficult to feel safe in relationships, to build intimacy, or to allow yourself to become emotionally close to someone. Therapy can support you in gradually rebuilding a sense of safety, so that future relationships can be built on greater mutual respect, trust, and freedom to choose.
Challenging relationships can leave a lasting impact on the way we see ourselves and others. Therapy is not about erasing what has happened, but about helping you understand and process these experiences, so that you can gradually rebuild trust in yourself, strengthen your sense of safety, and develop relationships grounded in mutual respect, trust, and authentic connection.
*Important Note
This section addresses relationships that may cause significant emotional distress and affect your mental health and everyday life. If you or someone you care about is in immediate danger, or if their physical or emotional safety is at risk, it is important to seek immediate help from the appropriate emergency services or specialized support services. Therapy can be an important part of support and recovery, but it does not replace the necessary protective measures when there is an immediate risk.