I'm Michele Lamonaca, a UKCP and NCPS accredited psychodynamic psychotherapist and BACP-registered psychotherapist. I provide trauma-informed, LGBTQ+ affirming therapy for individuals and couples in Woolwich, London, and online across the world, supporting lasting psychological and emotional change.
Personal Touch
What inspired me to become a therapist is a deep respect for the complexity of human experience. I’ve seen how people often carry unspoken shame, confusion, or pain while appearing to function on the outside, and how transformative it can be to finally feel seen without judgement. I’m particularly drawn to working with areas that are often silenced or misunderstood, such as intimacy, sexuality (including paraphilias) identity, and trauma, because I believe that when these parts of ourselves are met with curiosity and compassion, real change becomes possible. At the heart of my work is a belief that every person deserves a space where they can slow down, make sense of their story, and reconnect with themselves in a way that feels safe, respectful, and empowering.
Client Focus
My client focus is centred on working with individuals and couples experiencing emotional distress rooted in trauma, relational difficulties, identity conflict, and challenges around intimacy and sexuality. I work particularly with clients who present with complex histories, including experiences of abuse, neglect, loss, marginalisation, or chronic shame, and who may struggle with anxiety, depression, addiction, or compulsive patterns of behaviour. My approach is psychodynamically informed and integrative, offering a safe, reflective, and non-judgemental therapeutic space in which clients can explore unconscious processes, attachment dynamics, and relational patterns at depth. I am committed to inclusive and affirmative practice, with particular sensitivity to LGBTQ+ clients and those whose experiences fall outside normative frameworks. Across my work, I aim to support clients in developing greater emotional awareness, relational capacity, and agency, enabling meaningful and sustainable change over time.
Background
I am a highly experienced Psychodynamic and Integrative Psychotherapist with advanced academic training (BSc Hons, MSt, MA) and extensive clinical experience across private practice, higher education, the NHS, the voluntary sector, and restorative justice settings. I have undertaken specialist postgraduate training in psychodynamic psychotherapy, clinical psychosexology, couple therapy, trauma, and the treatment of sexual abuse and offending behaviours. My work integrates depth-oriented psychodynamic thinking with evidence-based interventions to support individuals, couples, and families experiencing trauma, relational and intimacy difficulties, anxiety, depression, addiction, and complex identity issues. I have particular expertise in working with survivors of abuse, victims of crime, marginalised communities, and individuals presenting with compulsive sexual behaviours or paraphilic interests, and my practice is explicitly LGBTQ+ inclusive. Alongside my clinical work, I provide supervision, mentoring, and training for trainee and qualified psychotherapists and have contributed to university-led wellbeing and anti-discriminatory programmes.
Therapy Approach
My therapeutic approach is psychodynamically informed and integrative, grounded in the belief that emotional difficulties are shaped by unconscious processes, early relational experiences, and patterns that continue to operate in the present. I work collaboratively and at depth, offering a containing, reflective, and emotionally attuned therapeutic relationship in which clients can explore thoughts, feelings, and relational dynamics safely and without judgement. Alongside psychodynamic understanding, I draw on evidence-based and trauma-informed interventions where appropriate, tailoring the work to each client’s needs, capacity, and pace. I place particular emphasis on the therapeutic relationship as a central agent of change, using it to support insight, emotional regulation, and the development of greater self-awareness, agency, and relational flexibility over time.
Therapies explained
Integrative or Holistic Therapy
Integrative or Holistic Therapy combines practices and theories from various therapeutic approaches to fit the needs of the individual client.
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person’s present behavior, with the goals of self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.
Before arranging an assessment, I offer a complimentary 20-minute online introductory consultation. This provides an opportunity for us to discuss what has brought you to therapy, explore your needs, and consider whether I may be the right therapist for you, with no obligation to proceed.
If we decide to work together, my standard session fees are £80 for individual therapy and £150 for couple therapy. Individual assessments last 50 minutes, while the initial couple assessment lasts 90 minutes. During this first meeting, we will explore your current difficulties, relevant background, and therapeutic goals, as well as discuss confidentiality, session frequency, and the practical aspects of working together. There is no obligation to continue beyond the assessment; its purpose is to help you make an informed decision about whether ongoing therapy feels right for you and to ensure that you feel comfortable, supported, and confident before beginning the therapeutic process.
