Sarah Tolley, NCPS

Sarah Tolley has worked in counselling for ten years and holds the NCPS credential. She brings practical help for people coping with stress, anxiety, trauma, anger, low self-esteem and depression. Sarah talks plainly and focuses on small, achievable steps rather than jargon. She works with adults facing a wide range of emotional and life challenges.

Across her career Sarah has supported people affected by abandonment, adoption and foster care concerns, attachment issues and those on the autism spectrum. She has also helped clients dealing with substance problems, domestic violence, relationship breakup and complex identity or intimacy questions. These experiences inform how she tailors each session to the individual.

Her day-to-day style is warm and direct. Sessions aim to build coping skills, shift unhelpful thinking patterns and process painful memories when needed. Sarah uses tools from attachment-based work, client-centred approaches, cognitive behavioural techniques, dialectical behaviour ideas and EMDR depending on what the person needs.

People come for short-term practical change or longer work on deep-rooted patterns. Sarah encourages clear goals and regular check-ins so progress is visible. She adapts the pace to each person's comfort and readiness.

Sessions are offered in English and can be arranged online in a variety of formats. The initial steps are straightforward: choose Start Therapy, complete a short matching questionnaire, and book a time that fits a person's schedule.

How different approaches work online

Attachment-based work looks at how early connections affect current relationships and emotional safety. Online sessions can help people notice patterns in relationships and practise new ways of relating in everyday life.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. In remote sessions a therapist helps identify unhelpful thinking, test new beliefs and set practical homework to change day-to-day habits.

EMDR helps people process distressing memories by using bilateral stimulation alongside guided recall. Delivered online it can be used to reduce the intensity of traumatic memories and make them easier to manage in daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss options and make choices together based on the person's goals, needs and preferences. That collaborative process helps tailor methods and pace so therapy fits the individual's life.

Online therapy offers real flexibility. Video calls let people use body language and screen-sharing for exercises, phone sessions work well when internet bandwidth is limited, live chat suits shorter real-time check-ins, and text messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family and travel, and to choose the format that feels most manageable.