Doraliz Aranda | About me

About me

There is no single answer or magic pill to improve mental health in the blink of an eye.

Mental Health is not only in your mind, but is subject to numerous factors such as the environment where you live and work, life events you are going through, and even the type of personal relationships you develop.

I grew up under the hot South American sun, in Paraguay, but emigrated to the UK in 2008, which produced great changes in my life, and thus I developed Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Being multilingual, for 20 years my work experience had been in international sales and customer service; sectors characterised for multitasking in fast paced environments and high pressure, which took its toll on my health.

I needed to make big changes in my life style after dealing with persistent anxiety for years that led me to a very severe depression that I could no longer ignore.

For a long time I dealt with my health challenges like many people do, with medication only, but the anxiety kept reoccurring.

Not all suffering results in growth and not all growth requires suffering, but "information is power". The more you understand what you are experiencing, the more you will get to know how to manage it in the long term.

Things changed for me once I went to therapy. This therapy helped me to understand what was feeding the cycle.

I also implemented other techniques that would help me to recover with solid foundations, and I recovered control over my overall health.

The experience, however, gave me a good insight as a patient into the difficulties to navigate the mental health system, the sense of helplessness, the changes in our perception of the world and sense of self, the side effect of medication which should not be minimised, and the other many challenges people face in the process of looking for recovery.

I did a lot of research to understand why it was taking so long for me to recover, and I published four books in the process.

In my middle 30s made the decision to pivot my career towards mental health. It was again another big change that would take a few years to come to fruition.

I started training in organisational stress management and individual stress, to understand issues at work that could affect our physical body and mental health. I also took a training in Workplace Chaplaincy and worked for some years for the Police and Rescue Team in Derbyshire.

In following years I trained in Person Centred Counselling until I became a BACP Accredited Counsellor.

More recently, I have been working with NHS patients and staff. Through a private practice I work with clients from different backgrounds providing online counselling.

I work with neurotypical and neurodivergent clients, with adults, older adults, and young people from age 11 and above. I have vast experience providing Pride Counselling.

Since I have been a Chaplain in the past, I can also provide Faith Counselling for those who choose to include spirituality or their faiths and beliefs into their therapy.

Nowadays I am a Counsellor, but since I have a lived experience with mental health issues myself, I have a unique dual perspective.

Let's work together to empower you with the understanding and tools needed for long-term wellbeing.

I am fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.