I am Irina Aron. In the photograph above you see the Bridge of Peter the Great on Neva river in St. Petersburg. I was born in a birthing home overlooking the river and this bridge. The metaphor of the bridge became very important in my life because I grew up moving between the two different languages and cultures of my parents and I had to learn how to bridge different worlds ever since. Building bridges across the spaces between people has shaped my personal and professional life.

I work with intercultural people - individuals, couples and groups - helping them to build and sustain strong and lasting relationships. I specialise in developing Relational Intelligence and in Relationship Design.

Work Experience

During the three decades of my professional career I have always been engaged in learning and personal development. I am the fourth generation of teachers  - a   family vocation that began with my great grand father who was a school teacher and Headmaster. At the end of his career (after the Second World War) he taught at the Financial Academy in Leningrad.

My academic career began at the University of Plovdiv, the second largest university in Bulgaria, where I became an Associate Professor in Intercultural Communication. I developed an international experience reading courses related to Intercultural Matters at a number of universities in Europe, Russia and the US.  Since 1998 I have also worked as an Intercultural Communication expert and trainer through my participation in International projects and European educational programmes.  

After my relocation to London in January 2008 during my Research Fellowship in Migration Studies at the University of Roehampton, I pursued my interest in psychoanalytic thinking and the therapeutic function of human communication. I trained at the world renowned Tavistock Centre in London and worked as a psychotherapist for the National Health Service (UK) for over 5 years. I also built up my private consultancy and I currently work as a consultant and psychotherapist in the UK and internationally.

I look at psychotherapy, mentoring and coaching as a process of creating a supportive environment for experiential learning. I am passionate about facilitating my clients to live the lives they want by improving the quality of their relationships - with themselves and others. This inspired me to set up the Relationship Design School in 2023.

Education and Qualifications

Languages

I am bilingual and bicultural by birth. Russian is my mother tongue and Bulgarian is my native tongue. I studied English at a professional level during my University years and I keep learning it through osmosis from my native speakers’ environment ever since my relocation to London.  

I offer consultancy, coaching, training and psychotherapy in English, Russian and Bulgarian. Working with bilingual and multilingual clients individually and in couples I design programmes that accommodate their migration and linguistic history.