About WonderWell's Founder

Meet Irena - The Heart Behind WonderWell

WonderWell began with a story - one shaped by love, resilience, and a deep desire to create something kinder for children and families.

Irena’s journey started in Belgrade and led her to London over 30 years ago, where she completed her GCSEs, A Levels, and a BA (Hons) in English and French. A lifelong lover of language, culture and connection, she spent years travelling and living abroad, including time in Paris and the South of France, working as an EFL teacher. It was during these experiences that her fascination with psychology, emotional wellbeing and human connection truly began to grow.

Following that calling, Irena qualified as a CBT therapist and achieved a Level 5 qualification in Counselling and Psychology. Today, she works with children, adolescents, and adults, bringing both professional expertise and heartfelt compassion to every interaction. She holds an enhanced DBS check and supports individuals and families with warmth, understanding, and care.

Trilingual in English, Serbian, and French, Irena’s love for cultures and communication shapes everything she does. Beyond her professional life, she is a wife, a proud mother of three, and a devoted dog and cat owner who enjoys travel, astrology, and meaningful conversations about life’s deeper questions.

But WonderWell was not created from professional experience alone - it was born from something far more personal.

As both a parent and an educator working within mainstream education, Irena began to notice a growing gap between the idea of inclusion and the reality many children experienced. She saw sensitive, curious and wonderfully unique young people  misunderstood or pressured by systems that struggled to truly see them. What should have felt warm and nurturing often felt structured and distant - and it left a lasting impression on her heart.

She imagined how easily any child - including her own - could feel unseen within those systems. That realisation became the turning point.

WonderWell was created as a response to that moment of knowing: a space rooted in empathy, creativity, and genuine inclusion. A place where children and families feel safe, supported and valued. Here, emotions are honoured, individuality is celebrated and wellbeing is placed alongside achievement - not behind it. Compassion is not an extra; it is the foundation.

To the parents and families who arrive here: you are not imagining it, and you are not alone. Your child’s sensitivity, energy, curiosity, or differences are not problems to be fixed - they are strengths waiting to be understood. WonderWell exists to walk beside you, nurturing confidence, connection and growth for the whole family.

For Irena, this work is more than a profession - it is a reflection of lived experience, listening and an unwavering belief that when we lead with care, creativity and connection, real transformation becomes possible.