Ellen Waldren

Ellen is an integrative psychotherapist with over 16 years of professional experience, including work within a major cancer charity and the criminal justice system. She specialises in working with anxiety, which may present as constant worry, panic attacks, overthinking, perfectionism, social anxiety, or a persistent sense of feeling overwhelmed and on edge. Many of the people Ellen works with appear high-functioning externally while feeling tense, exhausted, or stuck internally.

Her approach is grounded in the belief that anxiety is not a sign that something is “wrong,” but rather reflects how the mind and nervous system have learned to protect someone—often in ways that were once helpful but are no longer serving them. Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns and develop a more supportive relationship with oneself.

Ellen works integratively, drawing on evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness and somatic techniques, attachment-based work, psychodynamic insight, and compassion-focused therapy. This allows her to address both the symptoms of anxiety and the deeper patterns beneath them, including core beliefs, relational experiences, and nervous system responses.

In her work with clients, Ellen explores how anxiety shows up across thoughts, emotions, the body, and relationships. She supports clients in identifying habits anxiety can create—such as avoidance, self-criticism, or people-pleasing—and in gradually developing new, more grounding and empowering ways of responding. Somatic approaches are often part of this work, helping clients notice and regulate how anxiety is held in the body through breath, grounding, and nervous system awareness.

Her therapeutic style is warm, collaborative, and down-to-earth. Ellen aims to create a space where clients do not need to have everything figured out before beginning therapy. She works at a pace that feels right for each individual, checking in regularly and adapting the work as needs evolve.

Ellen’s goal is not to eliminate anxiety, but to help clients relate to it differently—so it no longer dominates their lives and they feel more connected to themselves, their values, and the life they want to live.

In addition to her clinical work, Ellen also provides supervision and group supervision for students and practising counsellors.