Team

Dr Anne-Sophie Bammens is a Counselling Psychologist, accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). She brings an extensive academic background with a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Psychology from UCL, complemented by a MA in Child Studies from King's College London, and a doctorate in Counselling Psychology. Anne-Sophie has dedicated her expertise to supporting women at a women’s centre for survivors of gender-based violence, enhancing recovery processes at an NHS drug and alcohol service, and as a primary school counsellor, where she provided support for children facing complex emotional challenges. Her experience extends to family services, assisting parents whose children were placed into care, and she has served in multiple charitable organisations, helping individuals with a wide spectrum of mental health challenges. In response to the critical need for affordable and accessible mental health services, Anne-Sophie founded Headstrong Counselling in 2019. As the Clinical Director and CEO, she continues to lead with a commitment to providing compassionate and effective psychological support to those in need. Headstrong Counselling, under Anne-Sophie's leadership, has made a profound impact since its inception. In just five years, the organisation has delivered over 120,000 counselling sessions across the UK, offering both remote and in-person support. It caters to individuals experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges. A cornerstone of Headstrong Counselling's philosophy is accessibility; the organisation is dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of income, has access to the mental health support they need.

Dan is a Registered MBACP Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Clinical Supervisor who practices an integrative approach, drawing primarily from humanistic and psychodynamic therapies, enriched with the principles of mindfulness. Working with teenagers and adults presenting with a variety of issues, Dan's clinical foundation is informed by time spent living and working in a mindfulness-based community in Southeast Asia, which fostered a strong personal practice and understanding of specific areas of Eastern Philosophy. He has furthered his clinical experience working in both private and public support settings in the UK and has been running his own private practice for 6 years. In addition to his client work, Dan is a Clinical Supervisor, offering guidance and support to both trainee and qualified counsellors. As Recruitment Director, Dan is responsible for strategic recruitment and capacity planning, overseeing trainees, supervisors, and independent practitioners, while managing key EAP relationships.

Jana (pronounced Yana) is a HCPC accredited Counselling Psychologist and currently Clinical Lead at Headstrong Counselling. She has over eight years of clinical experience in mental health and therapeutic interventions for children, adolescents and adults in NHS, private and third-sector settings. Jana is passionate about supporting racialised and marginalised individuals. As such she utilises a holistic approach that considers how intersecting identities and wider systemic factors such as migration and/or the State influence an individual’s life experiences. She aims to provide a validating space where each client is reminded of the innate tools, they possess to manage life’s challenges. Jana’s therapeutic style is one that is collaborative and pluralistic in nature. This means that she ‘works alongside’ each individual by placing importance on their needs whilst also adapting and drawing upon different approaches/theories to suit this. Jana has been trained within the Humanistic approach: Person-centred approach, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis, Psychodynamic approach and Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Jana believes there should be a degree of flexibility within therapy to account for each individual’s unique life experience and strives to mold each therapeutic experience to fit this ethos.

Daniel is a registered MBACP Pluralistic therapist with an MSc in Counselling from Abertay University in Dundee. He completed his counselling placements at Headstrong and Govan HELP, a small family support charity based in one of the most deprived areas in the UK. As a counsellor he has particular experience of working with lone parents, refugees and asylum seekers, and LGBTQIA+ clients, and he has previously worked in youth work, outdoor education, and funeralcare. While on placement at Headstrong Daniel volunteered and worked in various roles in the assessment and triage team before becoming Headstrong's Service Manager in September 2023. Outside of Headstrong Daniel is a Counselling Skills tutor at the University of Aberdeen, volunteers as a counsellor at Govan HELP, and is involved in various projects with charitt organisations in Scotland's Central Belt. Away from counselling he lives with his wife and their rescue dog, collects piles of unread books and has an unhealthy obsession with Katmai National Park's Fat Bear Week.

Paulo is an Existential psychotherapist. He holds a BA in Social Communication and is post-graduated in Integrative Psychotherapy. Before joining Headstrong, Paulo worked for Mind and for the RNIB – Royal National Institute for Blind People. Paulo works with complex clients affected by problems such as borderline personality disorder, severe anxiety, severe depression, trauma, sexual abuse and gender issues. He is particularly interested in the use of Existential Analysis with individuals living with personality disorders as well as in the rehabilitation of individuals affected by physical disablement. One of Paulo's main interest is in the role that philosophy plays in therapy. For that, he is specializing in Existential Analysis, with studies and research on Existential Phenomenology. Paulo is also a guest speaker at the SEA, Society for Existential Analysis.