

Tanya Akrofi
Counsellor & Creative Facilitator
Storytelling | Ritual | Systems Change


...which in Twi (a Ghanaian language) means, "Welcome, my friends"...
Come, take a seat beside the fire and let me tell you about my work.
Rather than defining it as a single role, I prefer to hold it as an offering. One that is rooted in storytelling, care, ritual & community - where healing & imagination come together.
As part of this offering, I listen for the stories we all carry, whether in our bodies, in the places we live and work, in memory and in the land itself. I work intentionally and in reciprocity with the natural world and much of my practice is shaped by the quiet teachings of the seasons, in the wisdom of the rooted world beneath our feet and the dynamic life around us.
Sometimes this work takes the shape of creative storytelling and performance. Sometimes it is counselling and therapeutic support for wellbeing, designed specifically for children & young people or adults. And sometimes it unfolds in community groups and organisations, through participatory storytelling, creative ritual and spaces where we can imagine fairer futures together.
Across all of these spaces (and new ones we are yet to build), my practice is relational, trauma-aware and rooted in care - honouring emergent wisdom. I blend creativity, therapeutic insight and enchantment; not as escape, but as a way of tending to what is real, what is lived and what is possible, in regenerative relationship with one another and with the more than human world.
This is the collective work of listening, tending and being rooted in a reimagining; a dreaming into what might be...alchemy by another name
Akwaaba, me nnamfo...

The three branches of my offering:

Story, Writing & Performance
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performance and storytelling
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spoken word & poetry
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writing commissions
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creative collaborations
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ritual design and storytelling for events
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workshops and creative residencies
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My creative practice is grounded in myth, folklore and fairytales; finding their modern relevance to our lived experiences through tender acts of noticing and loving awareness.
I write and perform stories that hold complexity with compassion; stories which make space for grief & joy, belonging & becoming.
Sometimes this work is realised through performance and theatre-making.
Sometimes it flowers into poetry.
Sometimes it is the cathartic release of ritual.
And then there are times when it is a unique blend of all of these.

Counselling & Ritual
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counselling for children and young people
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storytelling-informed, ritual-infused counselling for adults
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guided meditation & embodied mindfulness
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guided magical practice for meaning-making
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My counselling work is rooted in care, deep listening and creative practice.
With children and young people, I offer playful, imaginative, relational therapy; a space where feelings can be explored safely through story, art, metaphor and somatic awareness.
With adults, I offer pluralistic counselling which ranges from talking therapy all the way to using magical practice and divination for exploration and understanding. This is always grounded and without dogma or judgement. It moves gently, creating space for the exploration of grief, identity, change, belonging, archetypes and the dismantling of old unhelpful patterns.
This isn't escapism.
It is lovingly tending our internal landscape so that we can walk more truthfully in the world.

Place-based Participation, Engagement & Futuring
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storytelling for evaluation & learning
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youth-led voice & participation
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creative engagement
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group ritual & collective sense-making
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dreaming into brighter futures
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work with local heritage, memory & belonging
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This strand of my work is explored in place; in the stories held by communities, landscapes and shared spaces.
I work with place-based organisations, collectives and local community groups to create participatory, imaginative spaces where we can listen to each other, reflect on what has been and dream towards what might yet grow.
Through storytelling, collective ritual and creative approaches to engagement, participation and evaluation, I co-create projects which nurture belonging, wellbeing and regenerative thinking for people and the places we are a part of.















































![• @zesttheatre When visiting artists match THE ZONE 💙🌀🩵
On Thursday, Tanya Akfrofi @ammaflower got in THE ZONE and worked with young people to create poetry about all the inspirational, aspirational, uninspiring, unknown, and everyday parts of living in Lincoln 💡
These incredible words are now on display inside THE ZONE trailer 👀
This coming Thursday (August 1st), Georgia Preece @gapinthelens will be picking up where Tanya left off to unleash even more words from the young people who visit THE ZONE!
💰FREE
📍City Square, Lincoln
📆 31st July to 3rd Aug, before moving to our next location!
📷 @philcrowphoto
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION]
Tanya in action. The camera shoots over the shoulders of two young people. Tanya is in motion, expressively using her hands whilst talking](https://scontent-phx1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/469351966_18346207057180631_3794569338895403014_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiRkVFRC5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=l5BRFFtoZaAQ7kNvwH9g-Dy&_nc_oc=AdnFrDVDWD_F2fqh9-ccHyy2qwk45OKraSF_ZWofsYrBeDmX-eNe1D-Zpv4T9F9nXYc&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-phx1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=NUbQmIioWGECIqCxIsSTCQ&oh=00_Afrh2W8y81LsbSW3mhnSPj-6lfhUtzQ1iFyeGkrGj-QvBQ&oe=69641E0A)


















