Chandana Rathnayake , BACP, NCPS

Chandana Rathnayake helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief and major life changes. He also supports those dealing with addictions, low self-esteem, relationship and family difficulties, ADHD and work or career concerns. Chandana works in English and Sinhala and practises from the United Kingdom.

He trained in counselling and began practice in Malaysia in 2013 before moving to the UK in 2019. He holds registration with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP, and with NCPS. He has around ten years of experience in human services and counselling work.

Before his counselling career, Chandana spent twenty years living as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka. That life gave him a traditional education and many practical life lessons he now brings into sessions. He later pursued formal study in psychology and counselling and left the monkhood to raise a family.

Chandana describes his style as collaborative and down-to-earth. He invites people to bring whatever they have into the room and to use those parts as material for change. He often works with issues such as loss, betrayal, overthinking and a lack of purpose or motivation.

In sessions he blends client-centred listening with systemic and internal family perspectives. The work tends to focus on helping people notice patterns, reclaim inner strengths and build a clearer sense of direction. He also has experience advising young adults in higher education settings in the UK.

People who want help finding life purpose, rebuilding after change, or recovering self-worth may find his way of working helpful. He aims to make sessions practical, simple and focused on the next steps people want to take.

Therapeutic approaches for online healing

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening carefully and helping people find their own answers; it suits those who need space to talk and be heard while they work out next steps. Internal Family Systems looks at how different parts of a person can hold feelings or beliefs and helps people understand and unblend from those parts to reduce internal conflict and shame. Systemic Therapy pays attention to patterns and relationships around a person and can help when family history, role expectations or repeated behaviours are part of the problem.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Chandana will explore needs, goals and preferences with the person and together decide which methods to emphasise. This is a collaborative process and can change as therapy progresses.

Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video calls let people use face-to-face conversation from wherever they are. Phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging suit people who prefer typed conversation or want greater flexibility around timing. These options help people fit therapy around work, family and travel.