Online Counselling Across the UK
Professional counselling from a private space that works for you
Counselling does not always need to take place in a therapy room.
Online counselling allows you to access professional therapeutic support from your own home or another private space, without needing to travel to appointments.
For some people, this is simply more convenient. For others, online counselling makes therapy possible when work, family commitments, health, location or travel would otherwise make attending regular face-to-face sessions difficult.
I provide confidential online counselling for adults across the UK, supporting people with anxiety, trauma, addiction, relationship difficulties, stress and other emotional challenges.
My approach remains personal and relational.
The fact that we are meeting online does not mean the counselling itself needs to feel distant.
Why choose online counselling?
There are many reasons people choose to work with a counsellor online.
You may have a busy working life and find travelling to regular appointments difficult.
You might live somewhere where finding the right counsellor locally is challenging.
You may travel regularly for work, have caring responsibilities, experience mobility difficulties or simply feel more comfortable talking from your own environment.
Online counselling can also provide greater continuity when circumstances change.
Rather than choosing a counsellor solely because they happen to be geographically close to you, online therapy gives you more opportunity to find someone whose experience and approach fit what you actually need.
Is online counselling different from face-to-face counselling?
The setting is different, but much of the therapeutic work remains the same.
We meet at an agreed time and have a confidential conversation about what is happening in your life.
You might arrive with something very specific that you want to address.
Alternatively, you may simply know that you are struggling and need somewhere to begin making sense of what is happening.
As with face-to-face counselling, my role is not to tell you how you should live your life.
We work together to understand your experiences, emotions, relationships and patterns and consider what may need to change.
For some people, sitting in their own familiar environment can actually make it easier to talk openly.
Others strongly prefer being physically in the same room as their counsellor.
Neither is inherently better.
What matters is finding an approach that works for you.
What can I help with online?
I work with a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties through online counselling.
These include:
- anxiety and panic
- stress and feeling overwhelmed
- trauma and difficult past experiences
- alcohol and drug problems
- addiction and recovery
- relationship difficulties
- low mood and depression
- grief and loss
- low self-esteem
- major life changes
- family difficulties
- problems with boundaries
- work-related pressures
- feeling stuck or uncertain about the future.
You do not need to fit neatly into a particular diagnosis or category to come to counselling.
Often several things are happening at the same time.
Online counselling for anxiety and panic
Anxiety can make everyday life increasingly difficult.
You may experience constant worry, overthinking, physical anxiety, panic attacks or find yourself avoiding situations because of how they make you feel.
Online counselling can provide a regular space to understand the patterns surrounding your anxiety and develop different ways of responding to them.
Read more about my Anxiety & Panic Counselling.
→ Link to your new Anxiety Counselling page.
Online trauma counselling
Some people prefer exploring difficult past experiences from the familiarity of their own environment.
My trauma work is informed by specialist Level 5 and Level 6 Diploma training in Working with Complex Trauma and PTSD alongside my wider counselling experience.
Trauma work needs to be paced carefully.
We do not automatically begin by asking you to describe traumatic experiences in detail.
Our initial work may instead involve understanding your current difficulties, developing emotional regulation and establishing sufficient safety and stability before deciding together what further therapeutic work is appropriate.
Read more about my specialist Trauma Counselling.
→ Link to your Trauma Counselling page.
Online addiction counselling
I have particular professional experience working with addiction and recovery.
Alongside my counselling practice, I have worked within addiction services for around 15 years, including extensive experience within residential rehabilitation and detoxification services.
Online counselling can be particularly useful for people who are trying to make changes to their alcohol or drug use, are already in recovery or are trying to understand the role substances have come to play in their lives.
It can also provide continuity following more structured treatment.
Read more about my Addiction Counselling.
→ Link to Addiction Counselling.
Online support for families affected by addiction
Addiction can have a profound effect on partners, parents, adult children, siblings and other people close to the person who is struggling.
You may find that much of your life has become organised around worrying about, monitoring or trying to help somebody else.
Online counselling means family members can access support even if they are not based near my Hertford practice.
Your loved one does not need to be ready for treatment before you seek support for yourself.
Read more about my Addiction & Family Support.
→ Link to the Addiction & Family Support page.
What do I need for an online counselling session?
You do not need specialist equipment.
You will need a reliable internet connection and a device with a camera and microphone, such as a laptop, tablet or suitable phone.
More importantly, you need somewhere sufficiently private and comfortable to talk.
Try to choose somewhere you are unlikely to be interrupted or overheard.
Using headphones can provide additional privacy and can sometimes make the conversation feel more contained.
I would also encourage you to treat the appointment in much the same way as you would a face-to-face counselling session.
Where possible, give yourself a few minutes before and after the session rather than moving immediately from a work meeting or household task into counselling and straight back out again.
That little bit of space can be valuable.
Confidentiality and online counselling
Confidentiality is an important part of counselling whether we meet face-to-face or online.
At the beginning of our work, I will explain how confidentiality operates and the circumstances in which there may be limits to it, such as serious concerns involving safety or safeguarding.
There are also practical things you can do to protect your privacy when attending online.
Choosing a private location, using your own device where possible and making sure other people cannot overhear the conversation can all help create an appropriate therapeutic space.
We will discuss the arrangements for online work when we begin.
What happens if the internet connection fails?
Technology occasionally goes wrong.
If the connection temporarily drops, we can normally reconnect and continue the session.
When we establish our counselling agreement, we can also make sure we have an agreed way of responding if technical difficulties mean the online session cannot continue normally.
A temporary connection problem does not need to derail the therapeutic work.
Is online counselling suitable for everyone?
Online counselling works well for many people, but it isn’t automatically the best option in every circumstance.
Part of my responsibility as a counsellor is considering whether the way we are working is appropriate for your needs.
There may be situations involving significant immediate risk, safeguarding concerns, severe mental health difficulties or other circumstances where additional or more specialist support is required.
We can discuss this openly.
If I believe that another form of support would be more appropriate, I will explain this rather than continuing counselling simply because you have contacted me.
What if I am in crisis?
Online counselling is not an emergency or crisis service.
If you believe you or somebody else is in immediate danger, call 999 or attend your nearest Accident & Emergency department.
If you require urgent mental health support, you can also contact NHS 111 and select the mental health option where this is available in your area.
We can discuss appropriate support and crisis arrangements as part of counselling where relevant, but I cannot provide continuous or emergency support between sessions.
My approach to online counselling
I am a qualified counsellor and BACP Registered Member with more than a decade of counselling experience.
My approach is integrative and humanistic, which means I do not believe that every person should be fitted into the same therapeutic model.
Instead, we begin by understanding you.
My wider experience includes specialist work with addiction, trauma, anxiety and relationships, alongside many years working within addiction treatment and residential services.
Whether we meet online or face-to-face, I want counselling to provide somewhere you can speak openly, explore difficult experiences and begin understanding yourself without feeling judged.
You can read more about my experience, qualifications and therapeutic approach on my About ACS page.
→ Link to About ACS.
Can I switch between online and face-to-face counselling?
Where practical and agreed between us, there may be circumstances where the way we meet needs to change.
For example, illness, travel or work commitments might occasionally make an online appointment more practical.
If you normally attend online but are local to Hertford and would like to discuss face-to-face work, we can also consider what is available.
The important thing is that we agree the arrangement rather than changing the format unexpectedly.
Starting online counselling
You do not need to prepare a detailed explanation of everything that has happened before contacting me.
Our first conversations are an opportunity for me to understand what has brought you to counselling and for you to decide whether I feel like the right counsellor for you.
Therapy works best when there is a relationship in which you feel sufficiently comfortable to talk openly.
That is why I offer an introductory conversation before you decide whether you would like to begin.
Free 15-minute introductory call
I offer a free 15-minute confidential introductory telephone call.
You can briefly tell me what has brought you to counselling, ask questions about how I work and consider whether online counselling might be appropriate for you.
There is no obligation to book a session afterwards.
Online counselling is available to adults across the UK. Face-to-face counselling is also available from my practice in Hertford, Hertfordshire.
Ready to talk?
Get in touch to arrange your free 15-minute introductory call.
→ Link Get in touch to Contact.