Chandana Rathnayake

• Stress and anxiety
• Grief and loss
• Client-Centred approach

About Chandana

Chandana Rathnayake works with stress, anxiety, grief and loss, self-esteem issues, depression and life changes. He uses a mix of client-centred, existential and systemic ideas to help people find direction and rebuild after setbacks. He is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and has ten years' experience practising counselling since 2013.

Chandana began his counselling work in Malaysia and moved to the United Kingdom in 2019, where he has continued practising and also works as a mental health adviser for young adults in higher education. Before becoming a counsellor he lived as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka for twenty years, and he draws on those life experiences in his professional practice.

His style combines practical conversation with reflective exercises. He encourages people to notice the skills and strengths they already bring to sessions and to try out small changes between meetings. He often focuses on issues around purpose, motivation and direction, and on rebuilding after losses or betrayals.

Chandana also works with people who struggle with anger, addictions and intimacy-related problems, and with those coping with family of origin issues or multicultural concerns. He describes difficult material as something that can be reshaped into useful building blocks for change.

Sessions are offered in English and Sinhala. He accepts international clients and brings a cross-cultural perspective to work with concerns such as career questions, parenting worries and compassion fatigue.

How his approaches work in online counselling

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on building a supportive conversational space where the person leads the pace and topics, useful for issues like low self-esteem and lack of direction. Existential Therapy looks at meaning, choice and responsibility, and is often helpful when people are questioning life purpose, career direction or spirituality.

He also draws on Internal Family Systems ideas that invite people to notice different parts of themselves and how those parts relate, which can be useful for work with shame, self-criticism or process addictions. He will discuss these approaches with each person and agree on what to try first, making the decision together based on needs, goals and personal preference.

Practical benefits of online counselling include fitting sessions into a busy week and reducing travel time. If you are unsure which session format is offered, please confirm the current options before booking. The counsellor will help arrange appointments that fit around work, study or family commitments and suggest a session rhythm that matches what you want to achieve.

Topics Chandana lists

• Stress and anxiety
• Grief
• Self-esteem
• Depression
• Coping with life changes
• Addictions
• Relationship issues
• Family conflicts
• Trauma and abuse
• Intimacy-related issues
• Parenting issues
• Anger management
• Career difficulties
• Compassion fatigue
• ADHD
• Attachment issues
• Codependency
• Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
• Emptiness
• Family of origin issues
• Family problems
• Fatherhood issues
• Forgiveness
• Guilt and shame
• Isolation and loneliness
• Jealousy
• Life purpose
• Midlife crisis
• Multicultural concerns
• Process addictions
• Self-harm
• Self-love
• Sexual assault and abuse
• Workplace issues
• Young adult issues

Ways of working

• Client-Centred Therapy
• Existential Therapy
• Internal Family Systems
• Systemic Therapy

Questions about Chandana

Does he work with anxiety?

Yes. Anxiety and stress feature among the concerns he supports, including related issues such as overthinking and burnout.

What kind of counselling does he offer?

He uses client-centred methods along with existential and systemic ideas, and draws on Internal Family Systems in his work.

How much experience does he have?

He has been practising as a counsellor since 2013, giving him ten years of experience.

What are his credentials and where is he based?

He is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and with NCPS, and he practises in the United Kingdom.

Which languages can sessions be held in?

Sessions are offered in English and Sinhala.

Can he work with international clients?

Yes. He accepts international clients.

How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?

Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.

How do I start counselling with him?

Select the Talk to a counsellor online button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.