Harry de Ayala-Rutherford

Harry de Ayala-Rutherford is a trainee Integrative Counsellor currently working towards an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling at The Awareness Centre and is a registered member of the BACP.

Harry works to create a safe, non-judgemental space where clients feel genuinely heard and understood. Drawing on Person-Centred Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy and Gestalt approaches, he tailors his way of working to the needs, pace and goals of each individual client. He views therapy as a collaborative process, built on warmth, steadiness and genuine curiosity. Central to Harry’s work is an interest in exploring the stories and narratives clients carry about themselves, including patterns formed through early experiences, shame or internalised criticism that can quietly shape how a person thinks, feels and relates to the world today. He uses Solution-Focused Therapy to help clients identify their unique strengths, while his Gestalt approach deepens awareness of what is happening in the present moment—physically, emotionally and relationally. Harry’s aim is not simply to help clients cope, but to support them in growing into the fullest, most authentic version of themselves.

Prior to training as a counsellor, Harry worked for a number of years in the construction industry, an environment that often demands resilience and self-sufficiency while providing little space for emotional reflection. This background informs his sensitivity to the ways in which people can become disconnected from their emotional lives, often without fully realising it. Harry has a particular interest in how early experiences, shame and internalised self-criticism shape the patterns people carry into adulthood, including people-pleasing, boundary difficulties and struggles with self-worth. His clinical interests include self-esteem, relationships, identity and anxiety, and he works with clients navigating a wide range of emotional difficulties, encouraging them to reconnect with their resilience, develop emotional clarity, and move from merely coping to living with greater purpose and confidence.