Nicola Vernon, BACP

Nicola Vernon is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom with 20 years of experience. She works with adults on problems such as anxiety, depression, relationship strain and addiction. Nicola also supports people facing grief, trauma and parenting stresses, helping them make sense of difficult feelings.

Nicola offers a calm space to talk and to be heard. She aims to move at each person’s pace and to help them understand how past experiences shape current reactions. Sessions focus on practical steps as well as making room for emotions.

Her work combines a person-centred outlook with tools drawn from cognitive behavioural therapy and solution-focused approaches. That mix lets Nicola follow what matters to the person in front of her while also trying concrete ways to change unhelpful patterns. Motivational interviewing techniques are used when people want help with behaviour change, such as reducing substance use or improving sleep.

Nicola has particular experience supporting people through bereavement and loss, including work with families and life story work for children. She also works with issues like anger, self-esteem, career strain, compassion fatigue and ADHD-related concerns.

Sessions are offered online by video, phone, live chat or text messaging. Nicola works evenings and weekends to provide flexible appointment times and she is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Nicola blends a person-centred way of working with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Person-centred work focuses on listening, empathy and following what matters to the client. It helps people feel heard and to make sense of their reactions. CBT looks at thoughts, feelings and behaviours and offers practical exercises to reduce anxiety, improve sleep or shift unhelpful habits.

Motivational interviewing is also used when change feels difficult. It helps people clarify their own reasons for change and builds motivation in a respectful, non-confrontational way. Together these methods can suit concerns such as addiction, low mood, stress and coping with life changes. Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Nicola will talk through options with the client and decide together what fits their goals and preferences. This collaborative choice happens over the first sessions and can be adjusted as progress is made.

Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions around work, caring duties or busy days. Video calls are useful for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits short check-ins and text messaging lets people reflect in writing. These formats offer flexibility so therapy can continue even when routines are tight.