Deborah Gallagher, BACP, NCPS

Deborah Gallagher is a counsellor with ten years' experience helping people work through stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem and depression. She is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).

She started practising in 2014 and has supported people with motivation, confidence and the aftermath of domestic abuse through volunteering. Over the years she has also helped with addictions, grief, intimacy concerns, sleeping problems, anger and career stress. Her work includes a wide range of other issues such as adoption and foster care, attachment matters, caregiving strain, and eating and food-related problems.

Her approach blends client-centred ways of working with cognitive behavioural ideas and psychodynamic thinking. That means she pays attention to what is happening in the moment, how thoughts and behaviours interact, and past patterns that still influence current life. Sessions are shaped around each person's goals rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.

In practice she listens for strengths and small, practical changes that can make daily life easier. Conversations aim to be straightforward and down-to-earth. Deborah focuses on helping people build confidence, manage symptoms, and make steps towards clearer choices.

She works with individuals from a range of backgrounds and accepts international clients. Sessions are offered in English and delivered via video calls, phone, live chat or text-based messaging.

Approaches online and how they help

Deborah commonly draws on client-centred work and cognitive behavioural therapy to shape online sessions. Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and building an empathetic relationship so people feel heard and understood; it is useful for improving self-esteem, handling grief and talking through relationship worries. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and offers practical strategies to reduce anxiety, manage mood and change unhelpful habits. Psychodynamic ideas may also be used to notice repeating life patterns and understand how past experiences affect present choices.

Finding the right approach is a joint process. She will work with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences, and may combine techniques as needs evolve. This collaborative stance aims to match practical tools with deeper understanding so therapy feels relevant and workable.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to give flexibility. Video calls are useful for face-to-face conversation and non-verbal cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging suits brief check-ins or people who prefer not to be on camera. These options help people fit therapy around work, caregiving and travel, while keeping a steady cadence of support.