Anthea
Smyth
Where psychological healing and spiritual awakening are not separate paths — trauma-informed counselling meets Advaita and Kashmir Shaivism.
For much of my life I searched for healing in the ways many of us do: through psychology, personal development, spirituality and trying to become a better version of myself. Along the way I discovered that whilst these approaches can bring enormous insight and relief, they do not by themselves answer a more fundamental question: Who am I, really?
That question gradually became the centre of my own exploration and now sits at the heart of my work.
I am an integrative counsellor, psychology graduate and trauma-informed practitioner with additional training in mindfulness, yoga and Ayurveda. My work is deeply informed by contemporary neuroscience and attachment theory, whilst also drawing on the nondual traditions of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism.
Rather than seeing psychological healing and spiritual awakening as separate paths, I see them as deeply complementary. Trauma can obscure our natural openness, whilst recognising our true nature can profoundly support the integration of trauma. Both matter.
My intention is not to teach a philosophy or offer answers to believe. Instead, I offer a safe, compassionate and relational space in which together we can explore immediate experience through self-enquiry, embodied awareness and gentle curiosity.
Again and again, I find myself returning to one simple recognition: beneath everything we have experienced is something that has never been wounded, never diminished and never separate from life itself. Helping people discover this directly — whilst fully honouring their humanity — is the privilege of my work.
Kashmir Shaivism, self-inquiry and integrative counselling.
- Kashmir Shaivism
- Self-Inquiry
- Moment Mindfulness
- Integrative Counselling
Her work draws on contemporary direct-path and nondual teachers.
How non-duality shapes the work.
At the heart of my work is the recognition that beneath our history, conditioning and psychological patterns lies something that has never been wounded and never needs to be fixed. This is not an idea to believe, but something that can be discovered directly through experience.
My approach integrates trauma-informed psychotherapy with the direct recognition of our true nature. Psychological healing and awakening are not separate paths. As unresolved trauma is gently met, felt and integrated, the habitual identification with the conditioned self naturally begins to soften.
Whilst my work is rooted in the nondual understanding, it is intentionally grounded, relational and embodied. Rather than dismissing thoughts, emotions or the personal story as illusion, we welcome them into awareness with curiosity and compassion. In this way, nothing is rejected and nothing needs to be transcended.
My approach draws inspiration from both the Advaita tradition of direct self-enquiry and the Tantric understanding found within Kashmir Shaivism. Self-enquiry gently questions the assumptions of a separate self, whilst the Tantric path recognises that every sensation, emotion and aspect of experience is already an expression of the same awareness we seek.
Sessions may weave together embodied awareness, nervous system regulation, trauma integration, direct pointing, self-enquiry and resting as aware presence. The emphasis is always on immediate experience rather than philosophy or belief.
To me, healing is not about becoming a better version of ourselves. It is about coming home to what has always been here: the shared ground of being that is unchanging, deeply compassionate and inherently whole. From this recognition, our humanity is not bypassed but embraced more fully.