Julie Shankly, BACP

Julie Shankly is a counsellor working in the United Kingdom with 21 years of experience. She is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, known as BACP. Julie aims to treat people with respect, sensitivity and compassion while helping them find clearer ways forward.

She focuses on practical concerns such as stress and anxiety, depression, intimacy and relationship problems, and family conflict. She also supports people facing grief, trauma and abuse, difficulties with eating or sleeping, and challenges at work or with self‑esteem. Julie has experience addressing neurodiversity and personality-related struggles as well.

Julie adapts sessions to each person. She listens first, then works together to set goals. Her approach combines client-centred conversations with techniques from cognitive behavioural and solution-focused work. Hypnotherapy and psychodynamic ideas can be used when they suit the person’s needs.

Sessions are shaped around what the person wants to change. Short-term coaching-style work is an option, as is longer talking therapy when deeper issues need attention. Julie explains options clearly and helps people make practical plans they can try between sessions.

She welcomes people from a range of backgrounds and offers sessions in English. Julie accepts international clients and uses a flexible mix of video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging to meet different needs.

How Julie’s approaches work online

Julie uses client-centred therapy to build understanding and trust. This approach focuses on listening and following the person’s lead so they feel heard and understood; it helps when someone needs space to talk through feelings or make sense of difficult situations.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, is used to identify unhelpful thoughts and try practical changes. CBT is useful for tackling anxiety, low mood, sleep problems and stress by testing ideas and practising new ways of thinking and acting.

She may also draw on psychodynamic ideas to look at repeating patterns and past influences when that helps to explain current difficulties. These sessions can be helpful for people who want to explore deeper roots of emotions and relationships.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will talk about options and work with the person to match methods to their goals and preferences. Plans can change as progress is made or different priorities emerge.

Online therapy offers practical benefits for those with busy schedules or limited travel time. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation; phone sessions are useful when a camera is not needed or bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging make shorter check-ins or ongoing support easier to fit into a day. Together these formats give flexibility so therapy can fit around work, caring responsibilities and travel.