Paula Appleton, BACP, NCPS

Paula Appleton is a counsellor with 14 years of experience helping people through difficult life moments. She works in the United Kingdom and combines different counselling approaches to suit each person. Paula follows the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Ethical Framework and holds BACP and NCPS credentials.

She often supports people facing stress, anxiety and depression. Paula also helps with relationship and intimacy issues, addiction, grief and trauma. Her practice includes work linked to parenting, sleep and eating concerns, career questions and coping with life changes. She has a particular focus on aging and geriatric issues alongside areas such as caregiving stress and chronic illness.

Paula uses a flexible, integrative style rather than one fixed method. She draws on therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based approaches and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy to match what the person needs. Sessions tend to be practical and focused on clearer thinking and manageable steps.

She is experienced working with Deaf and hard of hearing people and uses Signed Supported English and British Sign Language at a qualified level. Paula also works with LGBT concerns, ADHD, and complex presentations such as co-morbidity and attachment difficulties.

People can expect a calm, straightforward space to talk things through and try new ways of coping. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then arrange sessions according to the therapist's schedule.

How therapy approaches can work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice what matters to them and take small committed steps toward those values while learning to sit with difficult thoughts. It can be useful for stress, anxiety and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT, looks at links between thoughts, feelings and actions and helps people try practical experiments to shift unhelpful patterns; it is often used for anxiety, depression and sleep or eating concerns. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to how early relationships shape current patterns and can help with intimacy, attachment issues and relationship difficulties.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work collaboratively to test methods and adjust what they do together based on a person's goals, preferences and how they respond. That means sessions can change over time if something else seems a better fit.

Practical benefits of online work depend on the session options available, so check current formats before booking. In general, online sessions can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy day, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. They can also help people who find on-screen work less tiring by choosing audio-only options where available. Confirm the exact session types offered when you arrange an appointment.