Carmen Castillo , BACP

Carmen Castillo is a counsellor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression and major life changes. She offers a calm, down-to-earth presence for those dealing with trauma, grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, addiction, or self-esteem struggles. Carmen meets people from a range of cultural backgrounds and works in both English and Spanish.

Carmen uses simple, practical methods to help clients notice unhelpful patterns and try different ways of responding. She draws on cognitive behavioural ideas to challenge negative thinking and on mindfulness to build awareness and steadiness. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ideas support getting clearer about values and small steps to move toward them.

Her work also pays attention to attachment and past relationships to understand roots of current difficulties. Sessions invite people to connect feelings, bodily experience and life history so healing can feel more complete rather than just temporary.

Carmen describes her manner as gentle, non-judgemental and collaborative. She encourages self-care, self-compassion and building on a person’s existing strengths. Over time she helps people replace unhelpful behaviours with choices that fit the life they want.

She has around 10 years of professional experience and is a Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP. Carmen offers sessions by video, phone, chat or messaging and works with international clients in the United Kingdom and beyond.

Therapeutic approaches and online options

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, helps people spot unhelpful thinking and try small experiments to change moods and behaviour. It is often useful for anxiety, depression and sleep difficulties.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT, focuses on identifying what matters to someone and taking small actions towards those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. It can be helpful for stress, chronic pain and life transitions.

Attachment-Based Therapy looks at early relationship patterns and how they shape current ways of relating and coping. This approach can clarify why certain triggers feel so intense and open up new ways of connecting with others and oneself.

Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will work with the client to try methods that match their needs, goals and preferences, and adjust the plan as work progresses.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - video calls for in-depth conversation, phone sessions when bandwidth is limited, live chat for shorter check-ins and text messaging for ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family or mobility needs while still getting regular contact with a registered counsellor.