Sharmaine O'Keefe, BACP

Sharmaine O'Keefe helps people facing stress, anxiety, parenting pressures, low self-esteem and life changes. She also supports those dealing with relationships, family issues, grief, eating and body image concerns, and workplace strain. Sharmaine is a BACP member and has four years of counselling experience in the United Kingdom.

She keeps sessions straightforward and focused. Conversations are aimed at helping people feel heard and understood. Sessions offer time to reflect, practise new skills and set clear, manageable goals.

Sharmaine uses a blend of practical approaches to suit each person. She draws on cognitive behavioural methods to identify unhelpful thinking patterns. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice thoughts and focus on meaningful action.

Mindfulness techniques are taught to reduce rumination and increase present-moment awareness. Solution-focused work helps set short-term goals and track small changes that add up over time.

Her background includes counselling in private practice, senior schools and charities. Before qualifying she worked as a lawyer, teacher and lecturer, experience that informs a pragmatic and organised style.

Sharmaine has lived and worked in several countries, which contributes to her sensitivity towards multicultural concerns. She aims to create a warm, non-judgemental space so people can talk through difficult issues and move towards solutions.

How Sharmaine combines approaches for online counselling

Sharmaine often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people notice difficult thoughts and choose actions that match their values. ACT focuses on what matters to the person and supports moving towards those goals even when feelings are uncomfortable.

She also draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to identify patterns of thinking that fuel anxiety or low mood. CBT involves practical exercises and small behaviour changes to break cycles that keep problems going.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Sharmaine will talk with each person about goals, preferences and what feels useful. Together they decide which methods to try and review progress as therapy continues.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different needs. Video is good for face-to-face conversation, phone works well when bandwidth is limited, and text options allow shorter check-ins or messaging over time. These formats make it easier to fit counselling around work, childcare and daily life while keeping the focus on practical strategies and steady progress.