Michelle Chapman, NCPS

Michelle Chapman (she/her) is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who runs Athena Counselling. She brings three years of professional experience and works in an integrative way that draws on evidence-based techniques. Michelle aims to offer a calm, down-to-earth space where people can talk through what feels overwhelming right now.

Her style is informal and non-judgemental. She pays attention to how daily pressures show up as stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression. Michelle also offers support around grief, relationship difficulties, addictions, and intimacy-related concerns. She is comfortable discussing issues connected to LGBT identity and prejudice or discrimination.

Michelle developed an interest in combining counselling with gaming and geek culture. That blend informs how she connects with some people and how she frames sessions and workshops. She describes this as a practical way to make conversations relatable and engaging.

Her approach is collaborative. Sessions are about looking at what is happening now, and what small steps might help someone feel steadier. Michelle also works with longer-term themes such as attachment, identity, body image and life purpose.

She holds the NCPS credential and spent around a decade training in stages while gaining wider work experience. Michelle uses that background to shape a flexible practice focused on listening, practical tools, and helping people find clearer ways forward.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Michelle works in an integrative way, drawing on evidence-based techniques to meet each person's needs. One common strand is practical problem-solving work that looks at current patterns and helps people try new ways of coping with stress and anxiety. This is useful for day-to-day pressures and short-term goals.

She also uses approaches that look at longer-standing difficulties, such as attachment-related patterns and issues around self-esteem or shame. These ways of working aim to identify repeating patterns in relationships and offer different choices for interacting and feeling more secure.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Michelle will talk through different options with clients and together decide what fits best with their goals, values and comfort level. Changes are often gradual, and she encourages small steps and regular check-ins to see what helps.

Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, so sessions can fit around work, study or family commitments. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits shorter check-ins, and text messaging can be used for ongoing reflections between meetings. These formats make therapy more flexible and easier to maintain alongside a busy life.