Jessica Townsend, BACP

Jessica Townsend offers a calm, straightforward presence for people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression or life changes. She speaks plainly and listens closely so a worried parent can quickly see how sessions would feel. Jessica uses practical steps alongside listening to help people feel less stuck and more capable of coping.

Jessica has seven years of professional experience and holds BACP accreditation, which she uses as a professional reference. She describes her work as person-centred and integrative, mixing approaches to suit each person’s needs. The relationship between counsellor and client is central to how she works.

In sessions Jessica helps people name difficult emotions and spot unhelpful habits. She uses cognitive behavioural ideas to tackle anxious thoughts and behavioural patterns. She also draws on attachment-based thinking to understand how early relationships affect current ones.

Jessica works with a broad range of concerns including grief, trauma and abuse, addictions, low self-esteem, intimacy-related and relationship worries, sleeping and eating issues, anger, career stress and compassion fatigue. She also gives attention to more specific problems such as hoarding, obsessions and compulsions, phobias, postpartum depression and seasonal affective disorder.

Practical options include short-term coaching-style work or longer therapeutic work to explore patterns from the past. Sessions aim to leave people with clearer choices, coping tools and a plan for small changes. She supports people who want steady, respectful help to move forward.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Jessica blends person-centred work with cognitive behavioural techniques and attachment-based ideas. Person-centred counselling focuses on listening, empathy and helping the person feel heard so they can find their own answers; it is useful for building trust and exploring feelings. Cognitive behavioural therapy helps identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and then practise alternative ways of thinking and acting, which can be helpful for anxiety, low mood and sleep problems. Attachment-based work looks at how early relationship patterns affect current connections and can be useful for relationship, intimacy and trust issues.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Jessica will collaborate with each person to decide which methods suit their needs, goals and preferences. This might mean trying practical CBT tasks one week and focusing on attachment-based reflection the next, so the plan changes as progress is made.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let people read facial cues and work more like an in-person session. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat or text-based messaging can suit quick check-ins, coaching-style support or people who express themselves better in writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy family or work schedules and to continue work when life is unpredictable.