Kat Hurst, BACP

Kat Hurst offers therapy for people who are feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, past trauma, relationship strain or concerns about eating and self-worth. She works from a gendered perspective with women and girls and people who identify as female, starting from age 14. Kat aims to create a calm space where someone can talk about what is worrying them and start to feel more in control.

She uses an integrative, phased approach to recovery. That means sessions are tailored to each person and progress at a pace that feels manageable. Kat draws on a mix of evidence-based techniques including cognitive approaches and humanistic ideas to help people understand their thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

Kat spent time working in mental health hospitals before training as a counsellor. That work gave her direct experience supporting adolescents and adults with eating disorders, and she continues to focus on disordered eating for female clients. She asks that anyone seeking help for an eating disorder also remains under the care of a GP or other medical professional because of the physical risks involved.

In sessions she prioritises collaboration and empowerment. People are invited to explore their experiences and make choices about what to work on next. Kat also offers clinical supervision to other practitioners.

She is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP. Sessions are offered in English and are arranged around the client’s needs and schedule.

How Kat adapts therapeutic methods for online work

Kat uses a mix of cognitive approaches and humanistic, relational ideas to help people facing anxiety, trauma and disordered eating. Cognitive approaches focus on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and can help with panic, social anxiety and mood problems. Humanistic and relational work concentrates on the therapeutic relationship and personal insight, which can be useful for issues like self-esteem, attachment and processing emotional pain.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Kat will talk with each person about their goals, symptoms and preferences and then suggest ways of working that fit. That choice is collaborative and can change as progress is made or needs shift.

Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging to make sessions more flexible. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed, and messaging or live chat can suit people who prefer shorter, more frequent contact. These options help people fit therapy around school, work and family commitments while keeping the focus on steady progress.