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Meet the Therapist

- Yann -

The path that led me here has not been neat or linear. My journey into therapy began in the client’s chair, not the classroom. I know what it is like to sit across from someone and wonder if they will really understand, if they can hear what you are not yet ready to say. Even now, in a different chair, I move through many of the same systems and pressures as you. The hypervigilance of daily life, the frustration of being forced into boxes that do not fit, the exhaustion of masking or surviving—I have not only studied these experiences, I have lived them.

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That lived experience shapes how I show up as a therapist. I do not believe in hiding behind clinical distance. You will not find blank stares or vague nods here. I show up warm, honest, grounded, and human. My role is to be with you, to hold space, to reflect, and to help make sense of what feels stuck or painful.

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For me, therapy is also political. Working with minoritised communities is never neutral; it is a form of activism. Alongside my clinical practice, I teach on an LGBTQIA+ counselling programme, training the next generation of queer-affirming therapists. I also write about queer shame, identity, social justice, and anti-oppressive practice, because therapy cannot be separated from the wider systems we live in. The personal is always political, and our survival is shaped not only by our inner lives but also by the structures around us.​​

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Many of the people I work with carry trauma, grief, shame, or burnout. Others are exploring identity, gender, sexuality, or relationships. Many arrive simply tired: tired of holding it all together, of feeling like too much or never enough, of navigating a world not built with them in mind. Whether you are queer, neurodivergent, disabled, racialised, working-class, or living at the intersections of many identities, you do not have to explain any of that here. I get it. It is already part of the work.

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My approach is collaborative and relational, rooted in respect for your inner world. I draw from psychodynamic therapy, trauma-informed and queer-affirming practice, EMDR, and somatic approaches so we can shape therapy around your needs rather than force you into a fixed model.

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Above all, I want our work to feel like a place where you can exhale. A space where your story makes sense, where your survival is honoured, and where you can begin to move with more ease.

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psychotherapist London, therapy sessions London, counselling London, EMDR therapist London, trauma therapy London, LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist, queer therapy London, couples therapy London, relationship counselling London, disability and neurodivergence affirmative therapy, sex-positive therapy London, Beyond Labels Therapy London

Core Training

  • EMDR Training (EMDRIA-Accredited) - Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute, USA

  • Post-Masters Certificate in Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice – New York University, USA

  • MSc in Gender & Sexuality (Distinction) – Birkbeck University, UK

  • BSc (Hons) in Counselling (BACP-Accredited, Distinction) – University of East London, UK

  • Certificate in Couple & Intimate Partner Therapy - CICS, UK

  • Introduction to Psychology – Yale University, USA

  • Interpersonal Psychotherapy – IPT Institute, New York, USA

Secondary Training

  • Introduction to Gestalt Therapy - NY Gestalt Center

  • L2 Certificate in Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention

  • L2 Certificate in Understanding Domestic Abuse

  • Understanding Autism, Asperger’s & ADHD – Derby University

  • Child Sexual Abuse – Hope for Healing Training – Carolyn Spring

  • Trauma & The Body: Dissociation & Somatisation – Carolyn Spring

  • Sex Worker Therapist Training – E.S.W.R.A.

  • Fundamentals of Therapy with LGBTQ+ Clients 

  • Intersectional Authenticity with LGBTQ+ Clients 

  • Chemsex Essentials Training – London Friends

  • Bereavement Awareness Training – MIND

  • The Psychology of Social Class – London South Bank University

Selected Writing

  • “Masc only”: When gender conformity is enforced everywhere from laws to dating apps, opacity
    becomes a site of resistance - Public Seminar

  • "Not Like Them": Opacity, Disidentification, and the Queer Art of Refusal in the Therapeutic Encounter - The Polyphony

  • The Art of Undoing: A Queer Autoethnography on Identity, Resistance, and Self-Creation

  • Un-Closeting Shame: A Qualitative Exploration of Counsellors’ Experiences Working with Gay Shame

Teaching

  • ELOP - LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Counselling Diploma
    Year 1 & 2

Volunteering

  • East London Out Project, London

  • London Young Counselling
    & Royal Greenwich Trust School

© 2025 Beyond Labels Coaching & Therapy Ltd | Yann Phesans – Counsellor & Psychotherapist (MBACP, MSc) | GSRD, LGBTQIA+ & Sex-Positive Counselling in London and Online | Privacy Policy

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