Jennifer "Jen" Somerville, BACP

Jennifer "Jen" Somerville helps people facing addiction, grief, parenting struggles and major life changes. She uses a person-centred approach so people feel heard and respected while they talk through what matters most. Jen aims to create a calm, practical space where goals and next steps can be clear and simple.

Jen qualified as a counsellor in 2018 and holds BACP registration, which reflects professional membership with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She has eight years' experience supporting adults and young people. That work has included supporting people through bereavement, family conflict, housing instability and addiction challenges.

Her approach is integrative. Person-centred work is at the heart of her practice - she listens to your perspective and follows your pace. When useful, she draws on other therapeutic ideas and techniques to help with specific problems or practical coping skills.

Jen has particular experience with parenting and adoption issues, study and school attendance concerns, palliative care and life-shortening conditions, and loss including child loss. She also supports people dealing with workplace stress, control struggles, guilt and shame, and feelings of isolation.

Sessions are available in person, online or by phone. Jen offers both short-term and longer-term counselling to suit different needs. To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and then arrange sessions according to the therapist's schedule.

Therapeutic approaches and working online

Jen uses a person-centred foundation that prioritises listening and helping you make sense of your situation. This approach focuses on the person's experience, encouraging self-understanding and practical steps forward for issues like grief, parenting stress or feeling stuck.

Alongside that core, she uses integrative techniques drawn from evidence-based therapeutic methods when they fit the client's needs. These may include practical coping strategies for managing addictive urges or skills to handle workplace stress and guilt, and approaches that support adjustment to chronic illness or major life changes.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. Jen will work with each person to identify preferred ways of working and adjust methods as goals and needs evolve. She aims to be collaborative, checking in about what helps and what feels off, so the plan suits the individual.

Online therapy offers real flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation without travel, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is low, and live chat or text messaging work well for brief check-ins or when writing feels more comfortable. These options make it simpler to fit counselling around study, work and family commitments and to continue care when travel is difficult.