Sonia Dugay, BACP

Sonia Dugay offers a calm listening space for people feeling overwhelmed by relationship strain, anxiety, low self-esteem or big life changes. She introduces herself simply and warmly, and aims to help clients feel heard and less alone. Sonia uses a gentle, person-focused way of working that helps people find their own solutions.

Sonia has nine years' experience as a BACP counsellor in the United Kingdom and has worked across support centres and private practice. She has considerable experience supporting survivors of rape and sexual abuse and has helped people with eating and food-related issues, self-harm, intimacy difficulties and anger. She has also worked with people facing family-of-origin problems, separation and blended family concerns.

Her approach is rooted in client-centred practice, where listening is the first step. Sonia also uses psychodynamic ideas to look at how early experiences shape current patterns. She draws on solution-focused tools when practical short-term goals are useful, and trauma-focused methods when past harm needs careful attention.

Sonia likes to work at the pace people need, helping them name feelings and test small changes that feel manageable. She encourages gentle self-care such as walking or movement as part of coping strategies. Her style is warm, non-judgemental and respectful of each person’s background.

People can expect straightforward conversations about what they want to change and step-by-step planning for how to get there. Sonia aims to help people move from feeling stuck to feeling more hopeful about the future.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Client-centred therapy places your experience at the heart of the work and focuses on being heard. The counsellor listens without judging and helps you draw out your own answers rather than giving instructions. This approach can help with low self-esteem, relationship worries and decision-making.

Psychodynamic therapy looks at how early life events and repeated patterns influence how you respond now. It aims to bring these patterns into awareness so you can make different choices, which can be useful for attachment issues, family-of-origin problems and long-standing emotional difficulties.

Finding the right approach is part of the work and will be decided together. The therapist will ask about your goals, preferences and what has or hasn't helped before, then suggest a way forward. You can change course at any time if something does not feel helpful.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. Video works well for in-depth conversations and reading non-verbal cues, phone sessions suit people who prefer not to be on camera, live chat is good for shorter check-ins and text messaging lets you pause and reflect between exchanges. Many people find these options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family and travel.