Anne-Marie Bates, BACP

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding. The counsellor follows the client’s lead, offers empathy and helps the person find their own solutions. This approach is useful when someone needs space to make sense of feelings or to be heard without judgement.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts influence feelings and behaviour. It uses straightforward exercises to challenge unhelpful thinking and to build practical coping skills for anxiety, low mood and stress.

Solution-Focused Therapy aims to identify small, achievable steps toward a preferred future. Sessions set clear, short-term goals and track progress, which can be helpful for people wanting quick, practical improvements.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The counsellor will discuss goals, preferences and what has or hasn’t helped before. That collaborative process means the method can be adjusted as therapy unfolds to fit the person’s needs.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to give flexibility. Video calls suit more in-depth conversations, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be a shorter check-in, and messaging lets people write when it fits their day. These options make it easier to fit counselling around study, work and family commitments.