Hello, I’m Damien Melhem.

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP 408142) with an Enhanced DBS.

I completed my training at Iron Mill College, earning an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling.

I am a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP). I completed the “Anxiety, Panic, & Phobia Certification Training” and the “Stop the Dread & Avoidance of Anxiety! How to Apply IFS Techniques for Anxiety”.

Since 2022, I have worked with the Bereavement Counselling Service, increasing my experience in supporting individuals through traumatic loss, grief, existential crises, childhood trauma, anxiety and depression.

In 2025, I began working on commission as a therapist with Victim Support.

I have three years of clinical experience at Derriford Hospital, working within a multidisciplinary healthcare environment working closely with individuals with cerebral palsy, recovering from strokes and traumatic accidents, undergoing cancer treatment, and families coping with dementia and end-of-life transitions.

I am person-centred and existential psychotherapist, that integrates tools from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy and Gestalt Therapy.

My comprehensive approach addresses both existential and cognitive aspects of well-being.

My story:

I have spent nearly 30 years trying to understand how the mind and emotions work. I don’t discredit what I found along this path of self-discovery—like meditation, exercise, healthy eating, and philosophy—but nothing has helped me more than therapy and studying psychology.

When I tried to solve my innermost problems on my own, I realised after many years that the results were limited by the subjectivity of observing myself through the lens of past traumas, wounds, and misunderstandings. These burdens distorted my self-perception and my understanding of life. They skewed my efforts to help myself, leading me to places I didn’t need to go and creating coping mechanisms that didn’t support my healing journey. They also distorted my understanding of what was best for me, creating objectives that, instead of helping me find my place in the world, led me into the rat race that distanced me from who I truly wanted to be.

It took me 20 years to contact a psychotherapist. When I finally started therapy I realised two things. First, I had a universe of unresolved issues inside me—pain, tangled emotions, and unfulfilled dreams—that were causing anxiety and unhealthy habits. Second, therapy is a massive shortcut in a finite life.

If you haven’t experienced deep trauma, you might be able to manage on your own and feel okay with who you are, the decisions you’ve made and with life itself. The only problem is that it might take many years instead of months or a few years—years that you could have spent feeling better. At least, that was my experience. We are all different, and you have to decide what is best for yourself.

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