- Career and study decisions
- Grief and major change
- Self esteem and overthinking
About Chandana
Chandana Rathnayake is a counsellor registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and NCPS, with ten years' experience. He has worked in Malaysia and the United Kingdom and currently supports young adults facing common pressures of early adulthood such as career choices, study stress, relationships and finding life direction.
He draws on long personal experience and a background that included two decades living as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka. That life informed his move into formal studies in psychology and counselling, and later practice in higher education settings with young adults.
Sessions are conversational and practical. He aims to help people turn difficult feelings and events into useful material for moving forward. Grief, major life changes, low self-esteem and overthinking are areas he often addresses in straightforward ways.
Chandana uses a blend of client-centred listening, systems thinking and parts work to help people understand patterns and make choices. He talks through options for work, study or spiritual questions without pressing a single solution. He is comfortable discussing addiction, attachment issues and family of origin problems as they affect an individual’s present life.
He works in English and Sinhala and has experience supporting people from different cultural backgrounds. If someone is unsure how to start, he asks a few practical questions and then agrees a clear first session plan. To begin, clients use the platform’s matching steps and schedule a first appointment.
How his approaches translate to online counselling
Client-Centred Therapy focuses on careful listening and reflecting what a person brings. Online sessions let that listening continue across distances, helping people speak about choices, motivation and self-worth in simple conversation.Internal Family Systems works with parts of a person’s inner life - the critic, the wounded part, the protector - and helps those parts communicate. That approach can be useful for low self-esteem, shame, addiction and patterns that repeat in relationships.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. He will discuss what feels most useful and adapt the methods based on your goals and preferences. This is collaborative - you try something and then you both review whether it helped.
Practical benefits of online sessions include fitting therapy into study or work timetables and reducing travel time. Phone or video can make it easier to have shorter check-ins or longer discussions depending on what you need. The exact session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm the available options before booking so they match your routine.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
10+ years
Listed in
United Kingdom
Languages
English, Sinhala
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does he help with?
He works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem and life changes including career and education decisions.
How would you describe his therapeutic style?
He uses conversational, client-centred work combined with systems thinking and parts work to make sense of patterns and choices.
How much experience does he have?
He has practiced as a counsellor since 2013, with around ten years' experience and several years working in the UK higher education sector.
What credentials and professional registration does he hold?
He is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and with NCPS and practises in the United Kingdom.
Can sessions be run in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English and Sinhala.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm the current session options before booking as formats are not listed in the biography.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I get started with him?
Choose the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy through BetterHelp is for adults aged 18 and over and is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.