Irene Martin Alvarez, NCPS

Irene Martin Alvarez is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who brings a trauma-informed and person-centered approach to her work. She combines formal training in Transactional Analysis with practical studies in complex trauma to support people experiencing depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, panic attacks, and major life changes. Irene has additional experience addressing attachment and abandonment concerns, communication problems, guilt and shame, loneliness, and issues specific to women and midlife transitions.

Irene has trained across several recognised programmes, including an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling in TA - Transactional Analysis is a therapeutic model that explores interpersonal patterns and self-awareness - as well as a Foundation Ecotherapy Transactional Analysis Certificate, training that introduces nature-informed techniques alongside TA principles. She also completed a Redecision Marathon with Mil Rosseau, a course in experiential TA methods, studied Complex Trauma Stress Studies at PESI, and holds Level 2 and 3 Person-Centred Counselling Certificates from Bury College. Irene is a registered member of NPCN and UKCP and holds the NCPS credential, which denotes professional standing in counselling.

Her professional background includes partnership work with the police, a national charity supporting survivors of domestic abuse, and a collaborative programme between UNHCR and the Home Office assisting people who have survived trauma and persecution. She has worked with neurodiverse clients and with people who identify as part of the LGBT+ community. Irene approaches each person as the expert of their own story, offering a supportive space to explore change, build resilience, and develop greater self-understanding over the course of therapy.

Practical therapeutic approaches for online care

Transactional Analysis (TA) offers a way to understand how past patterns of relating influence current feelings and interactions. In practice it helps people identify repeated communication styles and make different choices in relationships, useful for work on attachment issues, communication problems, and relationship stress.

Person-Centred therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and supporting the person's own capacity for growth. This approach creates space for self-exploration and is often helpful for depression, low self-esteem, and navigating life transitions.

Irene also draws on trauma-informed study and techniques for people who have experienced complex or repeated trauma, offering stabilising tools and step-by-step support for symptoms such as panic attacks or post-traumatic stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Irene works collaboratively with each person to identify which techniques fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and adapts methods as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Irene is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. Working remotely makes it possible to maintain continuity of care from home, manage appointments around busy lives, and access therapists who offer the specific expertise a person needs.