Victoria Mawdsley, BACP

Victoria Mawdsley is a counsellor who aims to help people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety or loss. She keeps sessions relaxed and centred on what the client needs. If someone is worn out from holding everything together, she offers a calm, listening space to start talking things through.

Victoria works from a person-centred standpoint that puts the client's experience first. She draws on that approach to help people feel heard and respected while they explore difficult emotions. Over time she also brings in practical tools and information to support coping and daily management.

She has three years of clinical experience and has run a private practice, VJM Counselling, for nearly two years. Before qualifying as a counsellor she spent over 20 years in health and social care, mainly as a healthcare assistant in dementia care. That background informs her work when clients want help understanding long-term illness, caregiving strain or the emotional impact of progressive conditions.

Victoria uses straightforward techniques such as grounding and breathing, gentle psychoeducation, and collaborative discussion about thoughts and behaviours. She adapts these to each person's pace and goals rather than following a rigid plan. Sessions aim to be practical and conversational, with space for emotion and reflection.

People come to Victoria for stress, anxiety, trauma and bereavement, depression or help through life changes. She also supports those dealing with chronic pain or illness, isolation, workplace pressures and the aftermath of domestic violence or abuse. Sessions are offered in English and take place online.

Person-centred approaches and online support

Victoria uses Client-Centred Therapy to make sure the conversation stays focused on the person's experience. This approach involves listening carefully, reflecting what the person says, and helping them find their own solutions; it is helpful for anxiety, grief and stress where someone needs a compassionate space to be heard.

She also brings in simple psychoeducation and practical coping ideas when they suit the client's goals. That can include breathing and grounding exercises, plain explanations about common reactions to trauma, or talking through ways to manage daily routines when energy is low. Deciding which methods to use is done together with the client rather than imposed by the therapist.

Online sessions offer flexibility and make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Video calls enable face-to-face conversation, phone sessions need less bandwidth, live chat can be useful for short check-ins, and text-based messaging lets someone write things down outside scheduled appointments. Registered or accredited professionals can adapt these formats to suit different needs, and Victoria will work collaboratively to find what feels most useful for each person.