Maria Van Vreden, BACP

Many evidence-based therapeutic techniques focus on the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Cognitive approaches help people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and try out different responses to reduce anxiety and mood symptoms. These approaches suit problems like panic, persistent worry and low mood.

Trauma-informed work concentrates on making sense of distressing events and on stabilising strong emotions. It can involve grounding strategies, pacing the conversation and building skills to manage flashbacks or intense reactions after abuse or other trauma.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, day-to-day challenges and preferences, then adapt techniques that fit those needs. Together they review what helps and change course if something does not feel useful.

Online therapy offers practical benefits for many people. Video calls allow visual contact and fuller conversation, while phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or a camera is not wanted. Live chat and text messaging are useful for shorter check-ins, ongoing reflections between sessions, or when typing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, caregiving or irregular schedules, and support continuing progress when in-person meetings are difficult.