idir. Clinical Counselling and Creative Coaching in Helsinki, Finland; Oxford and Central London.

"Where the fear, there is your task"

— Carl Jung

Welcome. My name is Dr Fiona McAndrew.

I am a trained Clinical Counsellor and a high performance coach

working with a focus in Jungian Analysis and Depth Psychology and trained in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

I am a counsellor and coach for professionals in the performing arts, business, athletics, film, advertising and creative industries

I trained as a psychologist, specialising in the areas of personality and peak experience states. I hold a PhD in Music Psychology from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Counselling (Distinction) from Monash University, Australia and a BA Hons (First Class) in Psychology, University of Western Australia.

I have over 25 years’ experience as a performer on the international stage. I trained professionally as an opera singer on the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London.

I have used this experience to nurture and coach the next generation of performers in many art forms including musical theatre, opera and contemporary music.

I am licensed to provide a personality profile for individuals or groups using the Myers Briggs Personality Indicator (M.B.T.I.) and a trained Creativity Coach.

I work internationally online and offer in-person sessions in central Helsinki, Finland, and by arrangement in Oxford and Central London.

I incorporate a range of therapeutic approaches

from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Jungian and post-Jungian Psychoanalysis, Narrative therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Motivational Interviewing.

Here are some of the areas

that clients and I have successfully worked with:

Stress, anxiety and depression
Coping with injury and chronic pain
Hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD)
Menopause and peri-menopause
Breathing
International re-settlement
Problems with confidence, over-thinking
Preparing for interview and audition
Creative blocks
Difficulties at work
Major life and career changes
Relationship problems
Grief, loss or bereavement

“If we can stay with the tension of opposites long enough-sustain it, be true to it- we can sometimes become vessels within which the divine opposites come together and give birth to a new reality.”

M-L.Von Franz

Therapy for Performers

I specialise in counselling and coaching for performing artists, sports and creative industries and for those involved in performing at any level.

My approach to counselling draws on broad experiences- as an elite performer, many years as a successful teacher on voice faculties at multi arts conservatoires and my own study and experience of Jungian psychoanalysis.

The title of the practice, idir. Clinical Counselling and Creative Coaching, from the Irish word for “between”, describes how the space created between therapist and client allows performers to explore a deeper relationship with their own creativity. In both therapy and performance we rely upon the presence of another in order realise our own internal worlds, opening up opportunities for play, intuition, interpretation, reconsidering, creative discovery and solutions.

“….the new energy that is brought with the meeting of a theme, actors living it, and an audience gradually entering it to live it with them. At that moment, a certain light appears, revealing what we would never have thought of on our own.”

Peter Brook

“Thank you so much for everything that you've allowed me to understand about myself and my relationships through these sessions, and I really look forward to working with you again in the near future.”

GD (business consultant)

“I’m definitely in a way better head space these days and busy with work in a good way. I’m sober nearly 2 months now and going to the gym 2-3 days a week as well as family time on the weekends.”

DJ (engineer)

“Deep gratitude that I managed to have sessions with you the unique combination of all the various branches of understanding you bring to the table. I deeply appreciate and thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight with me.”

BB (musician)

Get in touch

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling and performance coaching works, or if you would like to arrange a single session consultation.

I work internationally online and in person in central Helsinki, Finland, and by arrangement in Oxford and Central London. I offer single session consultations, brief interventions from 4-8 sessions and longer-term therapy.