Abida Haroon , BACP

Abida Haroon is a counsellor with six years of experience offering calm, practical support for people feeling overwhelmed. She works with stress, anxiety, depression and relationship concerns and helps people dealing with grief, trauma and issues around intimacy. Abida speaks English, Punjabi and Urdu and practises in the United Kingdom.

Her approach starts with listening. She aims to understand each person's experience and to see the situation from their point of view. Sessions focus on building self-awareness, resilience and choices that feel manageable in day-to-day life.

Abida uses a blend of talking and practical techniques. She draws on client-centred work to follow what matters most to the person in front of her. She also uses trauma-focused methods to help people who have been harmed or feel overwhelmed by past events.

People often come to her for help with family problems, parenting strain, workplace stress, identity and cultural issues, or with feelings of emptiness, guilt and shame. She has supported women who have experienced domestic abuse and brings understanding of cultural and religious pressures from her Asian background.

In sessions she aims to keep language simple and grounded. The goal is to make small, steady changes that add up over time. People are invited to take the pace that suits them and to focus on the most pressing concerns first.

Approaches that suit online counselling

Client-centred work puts the person's concerns at the heart of the conversation and helps them set the direction of therapy. This approach is useful for building self-awareness and confidence when life feels confusing.

Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on understanding and shifting emotional patterns that keep causing pain in close relationships. It can help people clarify feelings about intimacy, attachment and painful interactions.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Abida will discuss different ways of working and will help decide what fits your goals and preferences. That choice is made together and can change over time as needs shift.

Online sessions can be delivered by video calls, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video works well when you want face-to-face contact, while phone calls use less bandwidth and can fit a break at work. Live chat or messaging can be helpful for shorter check-ins or when writing feels easier than talking. These options make counselling more flexible and easier to fit into everyday life.