Paula Otley, BACP, NCPS

Paula Otley welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, grief, anxiety, low mood or relationship and intimacy concerns. She meets each person where they are and helps them find practical ways to cope. Paula brings a calm, straightforward manner to sessions and focuses on building a trusting working relationship.

Paula has 16 years of experience supporting people through loss, beginning as a bereavement support volunteer. That work led her to train as an integrative counsellor specialising in person-centred and psychodynamic approaches. She later added cognitive behavioural techniques to the way she works so she could offer clearer tools for day-to-day problems.

Her background includes time in GP practices, the NHS, charities, community counselling services, private practice and employee assistance programmes. Those roles exposed her to many different life situations and shaped a flexible style. Paula adapts her approach to each person rather than following a fixed script.

In sessions she listens closely to the story you bring and helps you spot patterns that keep causing pain. Together you will try things that can change unhelpful habits and emotional reactions. The focus can be short-term problem solving or deeper exploration of past experiences, depending on what you want.

Paula works in English and accepts international clients. Her listed credentials are BACP, which is shown as a professional membership, and NCPS. She aims to make therapy straightforward and useful for everyday life.

Approaches you can try online

Paula uses a blend of person-centred work and cognitive behavioural approaches to help people make change. Person-centred therapy focuses on listening, empathy and creating a trusting relationship so clients feel understood and can speak openly about difficult feelings. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) offers clear, practical techniques to identify negative thought patterns and build new coping skills for anxiety, low mood and stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. Paula will work collaboratively to agree what to try first and review progress as you go. Some people begin with short-term CBT-style work for immediate relief, then move to deeper psychodynamic or relational work if they want to understand long-standing patterns.

Online therapy gives flexibility to fit sessions into busy lives. Video calls let you see each other and work through emotions face to face. Phone sessions can be easier when video is not suitable or bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, ongoing reflection between sessions or when writing helps you organise your thoughts. Registered or accredited professionals offer these formats so you can choose what fits your routine and needs.