Isla Donaldson , NCPS

Isla Donaldson, NCPS, helps people who are coping with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and the effects of trauma and abuse. She works with concerns such as low self‑esteem, body image, guilt and shame, feelings of emptiness, loneliness and struggles with life purpose. Isla also supports people dealing with self‑harm, post‑traumatic stress, sexual assault and end‑of‑life worries.

She offers short, straightforward sessions where the person’s experience comes first. Conversations focus on what matters now and what feels most useful. Isla listens with presence and will reflect and gently challenge when it helps progress. Her aim is to help people notice their own strengths and make clearer choices.

Isla practises in a person‑centred, relational way, trusting each person’s capacity to grow. She also draws on somatic and trauma‑focused methods, paying attention to bodily sensations to understand emotions and memory. Work proceeds at a pace set by the individual and their needs.

Over five years she has worked with adults and young people on anxiety, depression, grief, low self‑esteem and relationship problems. She has particular experience supporting people who have lived through trauma, abuse or who struggle with suicidal thoughts or self‑harm.

Her qualification is a first‑class BA in Humanistic Counselling Practice and she holds NCPS. Isla has completed further training in somatics, trauma work, attachment and related areas. If someone wants to begin, they complete a short matching questionnaire and arrange sessions to suit their schedule.

Therapeutic approaches suited to online work

Client‑centred therapy focuses on the person’s own experience and priorities, offering empathic listening and reflection to help people clarify what they want to change or understand. It is useful for stress, relationship issues and low self‑esteem.

Somatic therapy pays attention to bodily sensations and how the body stores stress or trauma; it uses awareness of breath, posture and felt sense to anchor emotion and support regulation. This can help when anxiety, dissociation or post‑traumatic stress show up as physical tension or shut‑down.

Isla treats choosing an approach as a collaborative process. She will talk with the client about their needs, goals and preferences, and adapt methods as the work unfolds so the fit feels right for the individual.

Online sessions offer practical flexibility. Video calls allow near face‑to‑face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions suit times with less bandwidth or when a shorter check‑in is needed, and live chat or text messaging can work well for steady support between calls or for people who prefer not to use video. These options make it possible to arrange sessions around work, caregiving or travel and to keep continuity even when life is unpredictable.