Anna Lewandowska-Bernat - Psychotherapy & Coaching

Anna Lewandowska-Bernat - Psychotherapy & Coaching Gestalt psychotherapy and coaching My name is Anna Lewandowska-Bernat. I'm an integrative psychotherapist, counsellor and coach.

I provide compassionate and supportive psychotherapy services both in-person and online. Specializing in helping individuals struggling with stress and anxiety, I create a safe space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings. My goal is to empower you to develop greater self-awareness and resilience in your life. Whether you're seeking to manage overwhelming emotions or embark on a journey of personal growth, I am here to guide you every step of the way.

Being in business means constantly stepping outside your comfort zone.That’s what we’re told.But what people rarely say ...
24/03/2026

Being in business means constantly stepping outside your comfort zone.

That’s what we’re told.

But what people rarely say is this:
There aren’t just *one* zone outside comfort. There are three.

Comfort zone – where things feel familiar and safe.
Learning zone – where growth happens. It’s uncomfortable, but manageable.
Panic zone – where overwhelm takes over.

As a solopreneur, you’re regularly stretching yourself. New visibility. New offers. Sales conversations. Financial pressure. Decision fatigue.

And sometimes, without noticing, you move past the learning zone… straight into panic.

You feel overwhelmed.
Anxious.
Exhausted.
Maybe even physically unwell or burned out.

Your fight, flight, or freeze response switches on.

That’s not weakness.
That’s your nervous system trying to protect you.

The goal of growth isn’t to live in constant stress.
It’s to expand your capacity — without pushing yourself into survival mode.

If you’re in panic, it’s not a sign to push harder.
It’s a sign to regulate.

Reset.
Rest.
Stabilize your nervous system.
Then move forward again.

Sustainable business growth isn’t about forcing yourself beyond your limits.
It’s about knowing which zone you’re in — and leading yourself wisely.

Where are you operating from right now: comfort, learning… or panic?

Have you ever wondered why you don’t do the things you know you want to do?Reaching out to someone.Writing that article....
09/03/2026

Have you ever wondered why you don’t do the things you know you want to do?

Reaching out to someone.
Writing that article.
Speaking up publicly.

You think about it. You even "decide" to do it.
And then… you don’t.

It’s easy to call it procrastination or lack of discipline.
But often, it’s something much deeper.

If you can’t “force yourself,” there may be a psychological barrier underneath.

These barriers usually form after difficult emotional experiences — shame, rejection, disappointment, sadness. Your nervous system remembers. And it does what it was designed to do: protect you from feeling that pain again.

So when you try productivity hacks, mindset tricks, or push yourself harder… they often don’t work.

Because you’re trying to outsmart a very powerful protection mechanism.

Your body isn’t lazy.
It’s protective.

Working with these inner barriers means gently engaging with emotions and the body — not fighting them. And that’s not always easy to do alone.

I’m curious — do you know what might be stopping you from doing what needs (or wants) to be done?

,,To be in communityIs the only medicine I've found to lessenThe pain of being alive"Rupi Kaur
06/03/2026

,,To be in community
Is the only medicine
I've found to lessen
The pain of being alive"
Rupi Kaur

03/03/2026

Coaching is not only about asking questions.

Recently, during a session, my client came with the topic of overgiving.

We could have stayed in conversation.
We could have analyzed patterns.
We could have explored beliefs.

But instead, I proposed an experiment.

Because insight that comes only from talking often stays in the head.
And we don’t change from the head alone.

I invited her to experience what overgiving actually feels like.

I gave her a glass of water and started pouring. And pouring. And pouring.

What surprised her was the reaction this created.
It wasn’t gratitude.
It wasn’t joy.
It wasn’t closeness.

It was discomfort.

Too much water becomes overwhelming. Intrusive. Unpleasant. The hands can’t hold it anymore. It spills. It creates tension instead of connection.
In that moment, something shifted.

Instead of believing that “more giving means more love,” she felt the other side of it — the heaviness, the imbalance, the subtle pressure it can create in others.

She felt surprised. Slightly suspicious. Uncomfortable.

And that embodied experience allowed her to confront her beliefs — not just intellectually, but emotionally and physically.

This is why experiential work is so powerful.

When insight comes through the body, it stays.
Next time she feels the impulse to overgive, her body will remember that uncomfortable feeling — the water overflowing — and she will have a pause. A choice. A moment to ask herself: What do I really want to do?

That’s where real change begins.

In my work, I integrate Gestalt techniques and somatic experiments because transformation doesn’t happen only through understanding.

It happens through experiencing.

One of the worries I often hear from my clients at the beginning of the therapeutic process is that they will have to do...
26/02/2026

One of the worries I often hear from my clients at the beginning of the therapeutic process is that they will have to do something they don’t want to do: stop talking to their parents, break up with their partner, find a partner, leave their job, or go back to work they don’t like.

It all comes from the belief that there is some “normal” guideline they have to fit into.

Laura Perls, one of the founders of Gestalt psychotherapy, described it this way:

“Gestalt therapy is an anarchistic process in the sense that it doesn’t conform to pre-set rules and regulations. It doesn’t try to adjust people to a certain system, but rather to help them adjust to their own potential.”

I truly share this point of view. My job as a psychotherapist or coach is not to help people fit in, but rather to help them become the best version of themselves.

Have you ever said “I’m fine” when you really weren’t?We live in a world that tells us to keep going, stay positive, smi...
25/02/2026

Have you ever said “I’m fine” when you really weren’t?

We live in a world that tells us to keep going, stay positive, smile through it, and always be “okay.” But honestly? That’s exhausting.

In my new article, “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: The Unspoken Cost of Always Having to Be ‘Okay’”, I talk about the quiet pressure we all carry — the pressure to hold it together even when we’re tired, overwhelmed, anxious, or just not ourselves.

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that if we’re not “okay,” we’re failing.
But feeling sad, stressed, or lost doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you’re human.

If you’ve been carrying more than you let on, this is your gentle reminder: you don’t have to be okay all the time. And you definitely don’t have to pretend.

Sending you softness today 🤍

https://www.alewandowskabernat.com/post/its-okay-to-not-be-okay

In an 85%* of sexual assault cases, the victim knows the perpetrator —a parent, sibling, partner, colleague, or family f...
15/12/2025

In an 85%* of sexual assault cases, the victim knows the perpetrator —
a parent, sibling, partner, colleague, or family friend.

Media often focuses on the “stranger in the dark” narrative,
but that represents only 15% of assaults.

This is terrifying in its own way:
we fear the streets, yet for many victims, home is where the violence happens.

And yet many crimes are often not reported, because reporting a stranger is easier than reporting a parent, partner, or friend.
Awareness is the first step toward change.

*https://www.ons.gov.uk/

The constant need for understanding and analysing is a coping mechanism, and it’s called rationalisation. Rationalisatio...
14/12/2025

The constant need for understanding and analysing is a coping mechanism, and it’s called rationalisation.
Rationalisation can look like problem-solving.
It can feel like we’re trying to “do better.”

But often, it’s a way to avoid the emotions we don’t want to feel.
Emotions can be overwhelming, unpredictable, and not rational at all —
So, we fall back on logic. It’s a shield to avoid discomfort.

Understanding this pattern is the first step to breaking it.

But here’s the question:
What would happen if we faced those emotions instead of running from them?
What would happen if we stopped rationalising, and started feeling?

There are no “good” or “bad” decisions.There are only decisions and consequences, both positive and negative.No amount o...
11/12/2025

There are no “good” or “bad” decisions.
There are only decisions and consequences, both positive and negative.

No amount of analysing can give us full certainty; there’s too much information in the world.
Short-term consequences are predictable, but long-term ones almost never are.

That’s why decision-making often comes down to trust:
I trust myself to handle whatever comes next.

Addiction is a loss of control. That’s why asking, begging, or threatening won’t help. Even if someone wants to change, ...
10/12/2025

Addiction is a loss of control.

That’s why asking, begging, or threatening won’t help. Even if someone wants to change, they often don’t have the ability to control their actions or the skills to find healthier ways to cope.

Supporting a loved one with addiction means learning to separate the person from their behavior. Addiction often comes with deep shame tied to their actions, and that shame can pull them right back into old patterns. We can’t accept the addiction, but we can accept the person.

Accepting the person doesn’t mean accepting the behavior.

It also means setting healthy boundaries, even when it hurts.

Recovery is a long, sometimes difficult process, full of both wins and setbacks.

People aren’t addicted because they want to be.
They’re addicted because they haven’t yet learned healthier ways to cope with pain and stress.

Harvard Study on Happiness For over 80 years, Dr. Robert Waldinger and his team have tracked the lives of individuals in...
07/12/2025

Harvard Study on Happiness

For over 80 years, Dr. Robert Waldinger and his team have tracked the lives of individuals in one of the longest-running studies on happiness. And guess what they found? The key to happiness is relationships.
But here’s the challenge: In today’s world, we’re often more focused on our own needs and desires. We tend to see relationships as transactions—asking ourselves, “What can others give me?” or “What do I stand to lose?”

As a result, many of us shy away from real connections. We’re more likely to stay isolated or retreat into virtual spaces to avoid the discomfort that sometimes comes with relationships. But here's the truth: real relationships—the ones that bring us joy and challenge us—are what make life truly meaningful.
Relationships aren’t about just gains and losses—they’re about connection, growth, and shared experiences.

Let’s rethink how we approach our connections. True happiness lies in the bonds we build.

Address

London

Website

https://linktr.ee/a.lewandowska.bernat

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