I'm Nina Cleaver, a counselling psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience in psychological care — combining psychodynamic insight & clinical depth with broad training in multiple therapeutic approaches, global experience, & an enduring belief in the transformative power of therapy.
My Therapeutic Approach
My work is rooted in psychodynamic therapy, an approach that explores how early experiences and unconscious patterns continue to shape our lives today. I integrate classical psychoanalytic thinking with contemporary psychodynamic theory and the latest research, allowing for deep, meaningful therapy within a modern relational framework. This depth of care and support - with all the potential for lasting change that it holds - is seldom available within the NHS. I am dedicated to making it more widely accessible, welcoming clients from all backgrounds with all kinds of life experiences. My work comes from a secure foundation of excellent training, and genuine care for each individual I see.
I am also trained in CBT and other complementary techniques, which I draw on where helpful. This flexible, informed approach helps me meet the specific needs of each individual I work with.
An element of my work (and current research ) focuses on the mental health of leaders in positions of high-emotional responsibility, including clergy. My commitment towards quality care in this area spans denominations and religions. I approach religion, atheism, spirituality and agnosticism with equal care and open-mindedness in the therapy room. The range of my own experience and knowledge enables me to offer safe, supportive space for clients to explore their own unique identities.
My work with organisations extends these principles, and my mental health advocacy, to group settings — offering reflective spaces where organisations and teams can explore their own dynamics. Thinking a little more strategically, we examine processes, structure, resource use and training to make careful changes and enable mental health and wellbeing to flourish for individuals, leaders, and teams.
Qualifications
Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
mUPCA (UKCP pathway for Oxford University)
mBACP
accredited reg. ACC
Fully Insured
Studies
Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling & Psychotherapy (Mst Research ongoing)
University of Oxford (2023–2025)
Postgraduate Certificate in Psychodynamic Counselling & Psychotherapy
University of Oxford (2021–2022)
BSc (Hons) Psychology
University of Warwick (2005–2008)
Postgraduate Certificate in Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment (CBT)
University of Reading (2009–2010)
Additional Training
Infant Loss, Rainbow Babies & Infertility (Accredited Practitioner Training, Foundation for Infant Loss)
Mental Health First Aid & Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace (NCFE CACHE, Level 2)
Neuro-Linguistic Programming & Hypnotherapy (Inspire 360)
The Science of Wellbeing (Yale University)
Faith-Based Therapy (Word of Life Counselling Training Institute)
Numerous CPD courses through the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre and NHS Trusts
(covering trauma, OCD, ADHD, mindfulness, voice hearing, cultural issues, older adults, long-term conditions, and more)
Professional Experience
Within the NHS, I have worked across inpatient and community, primary and secondary care services. As part of the early IAPT rollout, I worked extensively with individual and group Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). I later led and supervised a team of CBT practitioners in an area with complex demographics, developing innovative new treatment pathways for people with chronic illness & unexplained medical symptoms. Notably, I designed and administered CBT input for COPD patients, integrated into their nurse-led respiratory care. I became passionate about service evaluation and research at this time. Meanwhile, I worked privately as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, giving me valuable insight into more flexible, open-ended forms of therapy, for a broad range of issues.
In recent years, my focus has moved increasingly toward psychodynamic work — offering in-depth therapy for those who want to reflect more deeply on their internal worlds and relational patterns. Moving from NHS caseloads of 100+ clients, to focus on meaningful care for the individual, has been transformative in my practice.
My therapeutic work has generally been with adults, though I have worked in other settings with young people (including work with a charity in an A&E department, supporting children and teenagers in mental health crisis).
I have collaborated over the years with numerous charities and educational settings, larger organisations and national institutions.
My interest in emotional and spiritual wellbeing has taken me far beyond the therapy room. I’ve worked in Nepal with women’s post-trafficking organisations, in Ukraine fostering teenagers transitioning out of orphanages, and in Moscow with an international chaplaincy. Earlier in life, I volunteered in women’s refuges and at Hereward College for disabled learners. I then helped to pioneer an education-based charity in Tanzania, nominated 'Times Best New Charity of the Year' for its impact and cultural sensitivity. Wherever I’ve worked, the common thread has been a commitment to listening, understanding, and walking alongside people in their process of growth and change.
