Vanessa Higgins, BACP

Vanessa Higgins has spent more than 10 years working as a counsellor in the United Kingdom. She focuses on helping people manage anxiety, stress, depression and grief. Vanessa supports clients who are coping with trauma, low self-esteem and related emotional difficulties.

She draws on an integrative style that blends several evidence-based therapeutic techniques. That mix allows her to adapt how she works to each person’s needs rather than following one fixed method. Sessions are paced to suit the client and aim to build practical coping skills as well as understanding feelings.

Vanessa also addresses issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties and problems around communication. She helps people facing caregiver strain, chronic illness or the emotional fallout of separation and divorce. Vanessa pays attention to guilt, shame and struggles with self-love as part of broader healing.

Her approach is straightforward and warm. She listens carefully, offers reflective feedback and practises techniques that can be used between sessions. People can expect down-to-earth conversation and practical steps to try at home.

Most of her work is scheduled on Mondays and Fridays, with occasional other slots during the week that vary week to week. Sessions are offered using a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.

How evidence-based techniques translate to online therapy

Vanessa works from an integrative base and commonly uses cognitive-behavioural methods and person-centred ideas. Cognitive-behavioural methods focus on identifying unhelpful thoughts and trying practical experiments to change patterns of thinking and behaviour; they can help with anxiety, stress and mood problems. Person-centred work prioritises listening and empathic reflection to help people feel heard and to build self-understanding; this approach supports emotional processing after loss or trauma.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Vanessa will talk with each person about their goals and preferences, then agree on techniques to try together. Over time she adapts the mix of methods based on what helps most for day-to-day life and longer-term change.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging to suit different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and non-verbal cues, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging work well for short check-ins, ongoing support between sessions or when someone prefers typing to speaking. These options make therapy more flexible for people balancing work, caregiving or medical appointments.