Sandra Wheeler, NCPS

Evidence-based therapeutic techniques focus on practical steps and tools that help people manage distress and change patterns of behaviour. One common approach involves learning specific coping skills and strategies to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms; this helps with everyday tasks and emotional ups and downs. Another approach works on processing traumatic memories and building safer responses to triggers, which can reduce the hold of past events on daily life.

Finding the right style of therapy is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss the client’s needs, goals and preferences and suggest which techniques might fit best. Over the first few sessions both client and therapist can adjust the plan so it feels useful and manageable.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let people see body language and maintain a familiar face-to-face rhythm. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a quieter audio check-in is preferred. Live chat and text-based messaging suit shorter check-ins, ongoing reflections between sessions and those who prefer writing over speaking. These formats make it easier to fit therapy around work, family or travel commitments while still using evidence-based methods with registered or accredited professionals.