Dr Fevronia Christodoulidi is interviewed by Dr Peter Blundell for the #TherapistsConnect Podcast

In this episode, Dr Fevronia Christodoulidi is interviewed by Dr Peter Blundell to discuss her working life and career. 

This conversation highlights the importance of connecting with other practitioners, building professional networks, and developing a career that reflects your unique experiences and passions. Whether you’re a therapist, counsellor, social worker, psychotherapist, or professional considering a portfolio career, this discussion offers valuable insights into career development in mental health and beyond.

Dr Fevronia Christodoulidi is a UK-based psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, researcher, and Senior Lecturer in Counselling & Psychotherapy. Originally from Athens, Greece, she has worked with clients since 2002 across diverse settings, including the NHS, universities, and mental health charities. Trained initially in humanistic and existential approaches, her work is grounded in collaboration, embodiment, cultural humility, and anti-oppressive practice. As an integrative practitioner, she combines evidence-based methods with mindfulness and a synthesis-focused perspective to empower meaningful change. Alongside her clinical work, Fevronia teaches and supervises counselling trainees up to doctoral level, and brings a deeply human, reflective, and inclusive lens to both therapy and education. 

Fenia's website - https://www.drfenia.com/about

#TherapyCareers #PortfolioCareer #TherapistLife #Counselling #SocialWork #Psychotherapy #MentalHealthProfessionals #CareerDevelopment #DualCareers #ProfessionalGrowth

#TherapistsConnect is a platform for connecting therapists.
Website: www.Therapists-Connect.com
Twitter: @Therapists_C
Instagram: @TherapistsConnect
Facebook: @TherConnect

Origins of #TherapistsConnect

Transcript

Dr Peter Blundell (2): 0:00

Welcome to another episode of the Therapist Connect podcast. My name is Dr. Peter b Blundell, and today I'm delighted to be interviewing Dr. Fevronia Christodoulidi also known as Fenia. Fenia is originally from Athens and moved to the UK for postgraduate studies, and she's been working in different settings as a psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, and researcher ever since. She originally trained in humanistic and existential approaches and is also committed to an anti-oppressive way of working. Over the years, she's practiced in different settings, including the NHS several student at staff counseling services with colleges and universities and in various mental health charities. She's also a lecturer in counseling and psychotherapy, and she's taught on several counseling courses at all different levels, from certificate all the way through to doctorate level. Feni has such a broad array of experience. So in addition to today's podcast episode, we also held a discussion which I've recorded from my YouTube channel about working in dual professions and portfolio working as a therapist. And if you want the link to that separate discussion, I'll put it into the show notes so you can find that easily. As per usual, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I have recording it.

Dr Peter Blundell: 1:12

hello and welcome to the Therapist Connect podcast. It's lovely to have you here.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 1:17

Thank you for the invite, Peter.

Dr Peter Blundell: 1:19

You're very welcome. So the first question I ask everybody who comes on the podcast is then to help people to find out a little bit more about you, is how did you come to be a therapist in the first place, and what drew you to this profession?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 1:32

Okay, so it may be worth starting from, uh, saying that, you know, I grew up in Athens, in Greece, uh, and I came to the UK in 2001, uh, in my mid twenties. And this was because I did want to change direction and actually train as a counselor after having obtained a degree in archeology, uh, which is very different. But actually I discovered, seeds of connection to the professions. In that. And, um, that was be because I think it was instigated by a lot of travel. I did, you know, during my early twenties moving away, in Asia and in places which are, you know, not the western world. And that opened my eyes in terms of, people and my own existential questions and, you know, how do I fit in the world and about relationships, about politics, about all sorts. And I think that, you know, therapy is a world where. All these questions are offering a home for, or there is a fruitful kind of ground to explore. And at that time counseling, psychotherapy were not developed in Greece in the, as a profession. You know, there were psychologists, but I didn't have a degree in psychology. Um, so I did like a diploma type of thing in Greece, you know, in the early days of this profession there. And that there was nowhere else to go. So I, I came to the UK as a student to do a master's degree at the University of Durham. You know, you can imagine the shock of the change of weather and all, and the culture and the accents and stuff like that. So, yeah, my decision to train as a therapist was very much from an existential quest and, you know, wanting to find. An environment and peers that where I could explore all these questions, I think. Yeah,

Dr Peter Blundell: 3:37

that's really interesting. I've got, I've got loads of questions here now that are popping around about, about all of that, but was the you said it was like an existential journey for you, so was that about trying to understand yourself? Was it, or kind of more about kind of understanding that, like the world around you?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 3:53

I think both. Yeah, because I think also that the decision to move and train abroad comes with, uh, what I understood later and need to step away from your family and your culture and come into a different world that you see your, your background from a distance. Uh, which then actually this concept I'm sharing now became a topic for my PhD studies later on. So yeah, it was about wanting to understand myself and the world. So the combination of entering this profession, which provides a fruitful environment for that, but also making myself a foreigner, you know, immigrating to do that somewhere else that was part of that experience.

Dr Peter Blundell: 4:36

I was also wondering, was there differences in terms of how you were taught therapy in Greece versus to how it was then taught to in Durham?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 4:46

Yeah, very much so. I would say that, what happens in Greece now in terms of counselling psychotherapy is that a lot of my generation of counselors who at that point moved abroad and studied, went back and actually. Formalize the profession more. So this is like 25 years later. Uh, so for example, now we do have an association for counseling psychotherapy in Greece. We didn't exist, you know, when I was there back then. So in terms of the formality of, you know, the profession, this is one big difference. But also, you know, it's a different culture. It's a different perception about you know, how you deal with mental health, who you do you talk to. You know, family values are still very high there. Sense of boundaries is are different. I know this is one of your areas of work, so yeah, we could talk a lot about this. And so I think now obviously I trained in the uk, which means that, uh, my professional identity was formed here. And later on when I did research on. Cross-cultural therapy and these dimensions, I went into more depth about, you know, adaptations of models and how do we work in a culturally sensitive way. And obviously my own experience of being different, you know, of being bilingual. That's another thing. You know, I studied counseling in a language. Um, so yeah, a lot of dimensions that come to that.

Dr Peter Blundell: 6:18

I think we might delve into some of those as we go through this conversation. Um, but can you tell us a little bit then about your career then so far, like after kind of qualifying, like what your areas of interest and kind of how did that develop?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 6:30

Yes. So I qualified in 2002 and at that time, yeah, I was living in the northeast in Durham, Newcastle area. Uh, I remember having my. First placement at University of Sunderland as a student counselor, which then, uh, got employed there. So after I qualified, there was a job and I applied and I got this job. And, um, I also worked at, uh, middle school university for a period of time in student counseling and also in charities. Like for example, I worked with, uh, refugees and asylum seekers in the area of Middlesborough. Um, so I stayed about four year, four or five years in the Northeast, uh, and up until 2005 where I was ready to apply for my BACP accreditation. And that was a milestone, which in terms of employability, and I know this is a hot topic now, you know, with the professional bodies, it, yeah, it meant that I was able to get paid work quite easily. Uh, you know, being masters qualified then and having the accreditation. And then I, about 2005 I went to, I moved to Manchester'cause I got the opportunity to get a scholarship and start a PhD in counseling, which again, was a very, very rich experience of my life. Then in the environment, you know, in the team I found in Manchester. Uh, and during this period, obviously, I developed, uh, new skills not only in, you know, practitioner skills, but also research skills. And that's something that I see closely related. I think something I'm passionate about is how research can inform our, you know, work as practitioners, which can be a taboo or something that counsellors are fearful. About sometimes but really depends on your mentors and your supervisors and how this is nurtured. So between 2005 and 2010, I was in Manchester and I did some part-time, practice as a counselor and I was at the same time a PhD student. And it was then that I got my first academic job as a lecturer at the University of Salford. Uh, so that's when my academic, uh, the academic part of my career started. And then after 2010, uh, when I finished my PhD, I got a job as a student and staff counselor at the University of Cardiff. So I moved to Wales. You can see how I go from north to the Midlands, then to Wales. So I spent

Dr Peter Blundell: 9:16

The tour of the uk Yes.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 9:18

Yeah. Which actually helped me really immerse in the UK culture, you know, because we have the subcultures, isn't it? Which is another thing I'm interested in, in my practice. And also, you know, the accents and the linguistic differences here in the UK because when I studied English in Athens, I, I was taught, you know, the Queen English, but then I got exposed to, to the Jor accent and the Manchester accent and, you know, Welsh and this and that. Then coming to London. Um, at that time it, I really enjoyed actually being at the University of Cardiff and I gained a lot of experience, you know, working with with staff, the university staff, which then became, you know, one of my niche areas now, and, and students as well. And also at that time I started also working at Metanoia Institute. I taught on the peas centered course. You know, I was doing that at, on a part-time basis. And then 2013 I got a job at the University of East London as a senior lecturer in counseling where I spent 11 years. And I actually just left this autumn, 2024 after 11 years. Again, that gave me a lot of experience in academia. And, you know, this is a, an area work I'm, I really loved, but also it has its own challenges. And I came to the decision now to do more of, you know, what is often called portfolio working where I have not one. Main full-time job like I had for 11 years. But at the moment, uh, I have, you know, my private practice, which I'm developing even more'cause I have more time than I have before where I offer therapy and supervision and training, uh, and student mentoring and some research supervision. And at the same time I've joined, uh, metanoia Institute again, but for the professional doctorate where I'm teaching mainly research methods and also supervised doctoral students. So that's where I'm at now. So that gives you. Between 2001 and, you know, 2002 and 25. Yeah, it's over 20 years I've just told you.

Dr Peter Blundell: 11:33

Um, I mean, there's, there's loads in there, isn't there? That, that we could, um, uh, kind of explore, but it sounds like you've had like a really interesting journey. And one of the things which links into I think one of the areas of your private practice is that, um, link between therapy and academia. Yes. And kind of how you've, you've been an academic but also, you know, teaching therapy and a therapist as well. And I think that's one of your client groups, isn't it? That you work with kind of, um, therapist clients who've also been academics.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 12:00

Yeah, so in my private practice, I'm often contacted and it's not something I also enjoy working, you know, with university academics also, you know, in further education and higher education because I think it's it has its own unique challenges. I mean, there's all, there's often the idea, if you ask an average person or if I say, if people ask me, you know, what do you do in assignment academic, you know, there's this. Reaction, you know, that this is a very rich environment in terms of ideas. And yeah. I mean, it is a university is a very rich environment when it comes to, collaboration of, you know, developing new projects, research, you know, knowledge. And this is the exciting part. But I think also there are challenges in terms of, you know, it can be isolating at times, it can be, you know, we live at times. Where I hear, you know, we hear in the news about the redundancies, about, you know, the threat of losing job security. There is obviously a lot of, particular personalities you would say in the, in academia that you find there's a lot of competition. The culture can be difficult to manage. And I think also. After Brexit, the scene has changed a bit because I think there's a, losing I think a lot of EU students, for example, don't choose to come and study in the UK anymore, which means that there's a loss of income and then universities become, more commercialized and instead of focusing on educational values, you know, it can be more businesslike. And that changes, shifts a lot of things. Which then the academics, you know, you may experience kind of a conflict in terms of the values and the sense of belonging. And I'm not talking negatively about academia. I think I'm critiquing perhaps, but,

Dr Peter Blundell: 13:48

but, but I think it's a really important area. I, one of, one of my areas that I'd probably say I specialize in is, um, people who work in emotionally demanding roles. And I'd probably include academics in, in that bracket. I think sometimes people might think, um, not think to go to therapy because of those, they might think that, um, it's a work situation, it's a work environment. And I think actually acknowledging that there's lots of people who do go to therapy to kind of explore those issues, understand how they fit into the, you know, a broader work environment, say for example, and talk about the stresses of that. I think it's important that people know there are people out there, therapists out there who, who would be able to help'em explore that and help'em understand that.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 14:29

Yeah, and I think academics, I mean, they tend to be. You know, they're high achieving individuals. They tend to be a bit, perfectionist or, you know, they are in the demanding roles. And yes, we go into it because of a passion for education and, and for a discipline, you know, if it comes to counseling, psychotherapy. But yeah, it doesn't mean that it, it hasn't, it has the challenges of all workplaces, you know, like the risk of burnout and, you know, how do you manage, you know, the work life balance and all that. But at the same time, I think because there is this misconception that it's, it's a bit like, uh, I don't know, utopia space, uh, which people idealize. Yeah, it, it can be quite, you know, it kind of have an effect on you. And, and also I think for me, I can speak as a female academic, you know, the challenges of, you know, raising a family at the same time. And there were a lot of discussions, for example, during COD, you know, how many female academics couldn't produce, you know, outputs and papers because they couldn't. Have the same opportunity, like the male, you know, colleagues. And, you know, there's so many things that happened, you know, more recently in the last five years, with Brexit, with the pandemic, with, you know, the change in in education. So yeah, I really enjoy working with academics who choose to have counseling with somebody who, who understands the context and all the nuances Yeah. That come to it.

Dr Peter Blundell: 15:56

And that might help people not have to explain the whole context and the situation. And there's a lot of maybe shared knowledge there, which kind of helps with that. Yeah. Exploration. And then one of the other areas I know that you also, um, focus on, um, which again is probably, it ties into your own personal experiences, uh, raising dual heritage children. And, and I know that you're gonna be offering some training around that for therapists in the future.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 16:19

Yes. Yes. So, uh, this is an interest, I mean, in, in that journey. I, um, I described to you before, you know, professionally at some point I got married and I'm, I am in an intercultural and interracial marriage. So my husband is a black man, and, uh, we have two children who yeah, the debate around the wording is big. You know, the, you would say mixed race or biracial or bicultural, you know, of dual heritage. So part of the aspect of the training I'll be offering is, you know, what language do we use to describe these identities, which is a debate at the moment in the literature. But yeah, since as I'm raising my family, I became very attuned with issues around, you know, culture and race and difference. And that meant that I started. Researching in this area. And also I work, I tend to work with mothers who have children of dual heritage and who are interested in exploring how they can affirm the whole identity. Because often we describe, dual heritage in a, you know, you are half like in, you're half Greek and you're half Nigerian, or you are un quarter this, and, half quarter that. So that is actually not something that reinforces a sense of wholeness and belonging. And there's many nuances in this topic that I think are not being discussed. And of course all this is sitting in the context of, you know, white privilege and you know, the dominant discourses around you know, identity and which voices are being. Heard and you know, the stereotypes and still, I mean, my kids are growing. We are in an area in Kent where yes, it is quite multicultural, which was part of the choice, you know, why we are in a certain neighborhood. But it doesn't mean that all this phenomena we see in society is not something that we are, you know, wrestling with. So this is very much an area that I'm interested in and I'm more and more immersed in. And I do have clients who, usually parents, usually the mother who, we sit, we work together on the parenting style that actually, uh, supports a sense of belonging and wholeness.

Dr Peter Blundell: 18:41

And I know one of the other things that you're gonna be doing is this, I think this might come out after, uh, this, but I know you're gonna be presenting at the BACP uh, research conference this year. Yes. Which is where, which is actually where we met, well, we kind of met online, didn't we? But we actually physically met in person at the BACP research conference.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 18:57

I've been a trainer for many years, like I've told you now, but also I see a lot of therapist who have, you know, knowledge on several areas and they don't know how to go about offering that in the form of, you know, shorter training. I also have supervisees who actually ask me about that, and I've worked with them together about how to translate this knowledge into, you know, some sort of facilitates and how can we offer psycho education. Sometimes we assume that, you know, if you're a good therapist, then you're immediately can transfer the skills into a training environment. But that is not the case. I mean, this is something that, many practitioners, I think, feel a bit lost with, or they, or it's a different part of identity development that we need to look at. And that's, I discovered my own style through years of teaching in academia, but also through offering training through my private practice, you know, in, in employee wellbeing settings or in educational settings. So there's an, there's another process of discovering your style as a facilitator, as a trainer. Parallel

Dr Peter Blundell: 20:02

being, I think that, I think that might be really important actually, because I think, as you say, people who've worked in academia and other kind of training organizations, they might have built up those skills. But people outside of that actually trying to translate that knowledge or your experience into some kind of, uh, training or calling someone. Yeah.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 20:20

People often tell me, how do I go into teaching? And I think now, I mean, you will know from. Okay. I mean, if it, if it's not to conduct research, a lot of people who work in universities are not necessarily went through the PhD avenue that we went. There are people, I think, especially in, in, uh, in the practitioner professions that we are in, people have skills that they can offer, in train others. And it's not about the traditional research path where you do a PhD or a doctorate, and you do that. Even if you do that, again, it doesn't mean that you're, you have a sound pedagogic approach. You, you still have to develop that. And by the way, that gives me opportunity to say that another thing I'm doing at Metanoia Institute is being involved in the PG Cert in teaching counseling, psychotherapy. I think it's one, maybe the only course that is specifically. About how to teach counseling and psychotherapy as opposed to general PG cert.

Dr Peter Blundell: 21:16

Yeah, I think that's a, a an amazing course. I've never heard of any others doing that specifically for counseling and psychotherapy. They might exist, but I I, I've not heard of them.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 21:24

Yeah. And I, I love, I I, I do facilitate a practice development group where we are looking at, you know, exactly what I was saying before. How do we develop a pathologic approach for this particular group for training therapists who want to go into teaching?

Dr Peter Blundell: 21:39

Yeah. That's brilliant. Yeah. Um, just slightly moving, moving away to a different topic. I'm wondering how how do you see the wider therapy community in the uk?'cause it sounds like you've seen lots of different elements of it. And how connected do you feel to other therapists?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 21:57

Oh, that's an interesting. Question. I mean, we, my immediate response is that we live in the social media world. Which, yeah, it has opened up a lot of opportunities for connection. Like, I'm part of many groups, uh, with people where we exchange ideas and resources. And having said that, I quite miss being in embodied spaces where we actually meet each other. And I would like to see more of that. So I am seeking opportunities for, you know, in person in the room, networking and you know, opportunities to really have the human connection. And also there's a lot of politics going on with SCoPEd and with regulation and there's a lot of upset and anger I think about how, this change is gonna shift. I think the power dynamics and, you know, there are many good therapies have trained years ago and have years of experience who may not fit into the need categories and they feel excluded. Uh, at the same time, you know, there's some benefits to it in terms of, who is calling themselves a counselor and all that. But it's a big topic and I think there's a lot of division at the moment as a result. So coming back to your question, how do I see in terms of,

Dr Peter Blundell: 23:22

and how connected do you feel to the therapists?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 23:25

Well that's something I would like to have more, as I say in person. That's why conferencing and go going to places to get together is I'm actively and intentionally seeking these spaces. Um. Yeah, you do meet people at work. Uh, you do meet people in social media. Like I wouldn't have known you if I didn't, if you didn't have a social media presence and that's why I came and spoke to you at that conference. You know, are you Peter Blundell? You know that I've encountered your work. So that is exciting that we can have more access. But at the same time when we talk about therapy, it's a lot of my supervisors and myself and they say there's a lot of competition now because location is irrelevant at the mo, and it's not relevant anymore since you can have clients from all over. And yeah, that is something that I can see that it creates a certain, uh, I dunno, people talk often that they don't feel safe in spaces, even amongst therapists because there can be this kind of competition attitude. Uh, you know, the, I think also we are a professional where. There's the imposter syndrome, you know, what is good enough holding people's pain and process and all this kind of stuff, you know, and the sensitivity that our, our own sensitivities and that makes it,

Dr Peter Blundell: 24:47

I was picking up on there, that can make it quite difficult to connect with other therapists potentially because of all those different issues and maybe people feel insecure in different groups or, or whatever. But kind of makes them even more important in my view because of that, to help people feel supported and connected to each other maybe.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 25:03

Yeah, I mean I also have a lot of good examples where yes, very good collaborations. And I think the more we come together, I do believe in unity. You know, in unity we win. I'm really an advocate of, of that reality. You know, it's not about competing, it's actually coming together. Yeah. And collaborating.

Dr Peter Blundell: 25:23

I agree. What do you think's the biggest challenge that the counseling and psychotherapy profession faces right now in your opinion?

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 25:32

I think it's the global context we live in where there's a sense of dread and threat around politics, around war, around what happens with our leaders which inevitably comes into the counseling room because even though we live here in the UK where you would say, you know, we are safe, but you know, are we safe? I mean, yeah, in comparison to other places of conflict, we're probably safer, but people have all this Yeah. Existential stirs, you know, of feeling dread, you know, climate change, all these global challenges we have. I definitely hear them from my clients. I definitely, experience them myself and in a way, because we are. Wrestling with, you know, questions about life and about ourselves and about relationships, the profession. Yeah. It's not neutral to all that. I mean, this is the bread and pattern of what we do every day, isn't it? So yeah, it is, it is a, an era with a lot of challenge because we are looking for certainty and security in a uncertain and unsafe world. It sounds very, pessimistic. But having said that, you know, if I draw from my existential training, yeah. I mean, I'm not, I'm not I don't wanna be cynical. I wanna believe that, you know, that can bring an awakening, that can bring, as I say initiatives around connection and resolution and hope. Otherwise, how do we live in a meaningful way? I think that's,

Dr Peter Blundell: 27:11

I think that's one of the difficulties with the news and social media is, uh, and there I'm not, there's horrendous things going on in the world, but there is also amazing things going on in the world that, that we don't always necessarily get to see because of the way the news cycle and everything like that works.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 27:23

Yeah. And, and that I'm also thinking this makes it very exciting working with students. Like, I love teaching counselors because they do come with the vision. They, and even mature students, you know, the, we see a lot of mass mature students in counseling that they want to change career. And it does come from this drive to make a difference, this drive to do something meaningful. So I think as a profession, yeah, we have a lot to offer in that overall global existential crisis because of the values and because of the relationality, you know, and challenging patriarchy, challenging, you know, oppression, uh, social justice movement in therapy. This is something that, has come to life even more to life. And I'm, I'm very, I feel hopeful about.

Dr Peter Blundell: 28:12

I love that. What are your future plans then? What thing other things have you got coming up? I feel like there's loads of things that you're already, you're already kind of involved with at the moment.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 28:24

Yeah, I mean, I want to deliver more and more training in these areas that I'm, that I, we just outlined, you know, in terms of, as I say, the dual heritage you know, existentialism or decolonization. Uh, another thing I haven't mentioned about my work is. I really enjoy clinical supervision and predominantly my supervisors tend to be bilingual therapist who work bilingually and cross-culturally. And that's something, but I think, yeah, it's very relevant to, especially in the uk. I mean, that's very common now. It's a very diverse setting and it's not uncommon for, you know, the counselor and the, and the client to be of a different culture or speak different languages and having shared English. So that's another area that I'm working on. And in the last how many years now, I've been offering, you know, employee wellbeing training. So I collaborate with companies, especially I'm invited for. From those companies that have a diverse workforce or people who work, you know, across count different countries on some sort of topic around cross-cultural communication around, you know, effective leadership when there's diverse employee, you know, backgrounds. Another topic I'm teaching on is preparing employees for global relocation. You know, there's many people who may be posted, I dunno, to the Middle East or to the US or, you know, other countries. How do you prepare them and their families or their partners for this transition and what happens when they're to repatriate, you know, all these issues I think around culture. That's the thread in all my work, uh, is culture and diversity and, different languages and things like that, which is also something I'm, I'm really enjoying doing.

Dr Peter Blundell: 30:21

It's absolutely fantastic, and we can put details of your website and everything in the show notes for people so that you can find out a little bit more about your work and, and the things that you've got coming up. Um, Fenia, thanks so much. I feel like we could do another two hours discussing this podcast. But thank you so much for being a guest. And yeah, good luck with everything that, that, um, you've got on your plate. I'm sure we will connect again in the future.

Dr Fenia Christodoulidi: 30:45

Thank you, Peter.