Mandika Shah-Dhillon, BACP

Mandika Shah-Dhillon offers support for people dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma and abuse, low mood and major life transitions. She helps with relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, parenting strains, sleep and eating problems, ADHD and career worries. Mandika works with a wide range of issues including compassion fatigue, bipolar-related concerns and identity and LGBT matters.

Mandika trained in Person-Centred Counselling and the Psychotherapeutic Relationship at the University of Warwick and holds BACP registration. She has four years' experience working in private practice, university mental health services, addiction support and crisis roles. Her background means she is used to responding to both ongoing problems and more urgent emotional difficulties.

Her style feels warm and steady. Sessions are relational and down-to-earth. Mandika begins where a person is, even if they are unsure how to describe what they are feeling. Talking through small steps is the usual starting point.

She draws on client-centred foundations and blends them with trauma-aware ways of working and contemporary psychological ideas. This can include practical thinking patterns from cognitive behavioural approaches and mindfulness tools to help manage distress in everyday life.

Mandika aims to create a calm, grounded space where people can slow down and notice patterns. She supports clients to make sense of their experience and find manageable next steps. Work is collaborative and paced to each person's needs and preferences.

Approaches you can use online and how they help

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding. The therapist offers a non-judgemental space where people can talk through what matters to them and feel heard. This approach is helpful for people who are unsure where to start or want steady support while they sort things out.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, works with thinking patterns and behaviours. It helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and try small behavioural experiments to feel better day to day. CBT is often used for anxiety, low mood and some of the practical difficulties that come with stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with the client about needs, goals and preferences and then choose or combine methods together. That choice is collaborative and can change as progress is made.

Online sessions can take place by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation while phone sessions can be easier when internet bandwidth is limited. Live chat and messaging suit brief check-ins, shorter appointments or people who prefer writing to speaking. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving and travel, and to keep regular contact even when life is busy.