About Joonas
Joonas Vehvilainen is a counsellor who supports people dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction and low self-esteem. He also helps with depression, trauma, grief, anger and relationship-related concerns. He speaks English and Finnish and practises from the United Kingdom.
He began studying psychology and then moved into neuroscience to understand behaviour linked to addiction and mental health. Joonas has worked in a range of frontline roles since 2016, including as a healthcare assistant in a mental health unit and as a recovery worker in supported accommodation.
Background and approach
Those roles shaped his practical approach to everyday problems. He trained further in addiction psychology and counselling at London South Bank University while working part time as a counsellor for the NHS and charity services. That early clinical work focused on teaching coping skills, offering psychoeducation and giving emotional support in difficult moments.
Joonas is a member of the British Association of Counselling Practitioners - BACP. Since 2016 he has built experience across clinical, hospital and personal settings, and in 2022 he opened his own practice and worked as an addiction therapist at Castle Craig Hospital in Scotland.
In sessions he uses evidence-informed methods such as cognitive behavioural approaches, acceptance and commitment ideas, attachment-focused work and client-centred listening. He aims to help people find practical steps they can use between sessions and to build a clearer sense of what matters to them. People who contact him typically start by describing one or two immediate problems.
From there he helps map out small, manageable goals and offers tools to reduce overwhelm and improve day-to-day functioning.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and focus on what they want their life to stand for. It uses simple exercises to build actions that match personal values and reduces getting stuck in avoidance. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours interact and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns. It is useful for anxiety, low mood and many everyday problems.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk through preferences, goals and what has helped or not helped before. That conversation shapes whether sessions lean more on acceptance, skills-based CBT or gentle attachment-focused reflection. It is a collaborative process and can change as needs evolve.
Online sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversations and exercises, phone sessions work well if bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can fit quick check-ins or shorter reflections. These options make it easier to fit sessions around work, caring duties or travel while still keeping therapy focused and practical.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Eating disorders
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Codependency
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Narcissism
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual dysfunction
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English, Finnish
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