Valerie Stanley-Brooks, BACP
Valerie Stanley-Brooks is a counsellor with 25 years' experience and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
About Valerie
Valerie Stanley-Brooks is a counsellor with 25 years' experience and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She offers calm, steady support for people facing stress, anxiety, depression and other difficult life moments. Her tone is direct and warm, aimed at people who want practical help and clear conversation.
She draws on a mix of approaches to suit each person's needs. Sessions focus on understanding what is causing distress and building ways to manage it.
Background and approach
Valerie uses client-centred listening to make space for people to be heard and understood. In practice she also uses cognitive behavioural ideas to spot unhelpful thinking and try simple experiments that can change how people feel. Psychodynamic work helps look at patterns that repeat in relationships and life choices.
Trauma-informed methods are used when painful experiences need careful, paced attention. Her background includes work in schools, therapeutic services and voluntary settings. That variety shaped a flexible style that adapts to different situations and concerns.
Valerie brings practical tools, reading suggestions and exercises to support progress between sessions. People come for many reasons including grief, relationship strain, parenting stress, addiction concerns, low self-esteem and coping with major life changes. She accepts international clients and offers sessions by video, phone, live chat or text messaging to fit different routines and needs.
Registration
| Body | Registration number | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| BACP | 179806 | August 2026 |
Registration details are as listed on the counsellor's public profile. You can check any number with the registering body.
Sessions and payment
Sessions are held online through our partner platform, by video, phone or messaging depending on the counsellor.
Costs are shown on the partner platform before you commit. If cost is a concern, ask about reduced-fee options.
Focus areas and approaches
What Valerie works with
Everything Valerie lists, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Valerie lists
- Client-Centred Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each counsellor names and does not check training records.
Online support
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. It uses simple, practical exercises and experiments to test unhelpful thinking and try new behaviours, which many people find helpful for depression and anxiety.
Psychodynamic work looks at recurring patterns from past relationships and life events that may affect current reactions. This approach can help people understand long-standing difficulties and make different choices moving forward.
Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy journey. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences and what feels most useful, and will adapt methods as progress unfolds. That makes the work collaborative and tailored to the individual.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video is good for face-to-face conversation, phone works when bandwidth is limited, live chat and messaging suit shorter check-ins or when writing feels easier. These formats make therapy more flexible and easier to fit around work, family and travel commitments.
Frequently asked
What concerns does Valerie focus on?
She helps with a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, relationship and family difficulties, self-esteem, parenting challenges and coping with life changes.
What is her general therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and practical. She listens in a client-centred way and uses tools from cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic approaches when helpful.
How much experience does she have?
She has 25 years of professional experience working across educational, therapeutic and voluntary settings.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and is based in the United Kingdom.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are accepted.
What session formats does she offer?
Sessions can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different preferences.
How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist arrangements; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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