Jennifer "Jen" Somerville , BACP

Jennifer "Jen" Somerville is a counsellor who helps people deal with addictions, grief, parenting challenges and coping with life changes. She also supports people facing family strain, workplace issues and concerns that often affect women. Jen works with adults and young people and aims to make sessions straightforward and practical.

Jen qualified in 2018 and holds BACP registration, which she uses to guide ethical practice. She describes her approach as integrative, with a person-centred core. That means she begins from your experience and priorities, then brings in other ways of working as they fit your situation.

In a typical session she listens carefully and helps you name the problem. Sessions often focus on small, manageable steps to reduce pressure and build coping strategies. Conversations can include exploring choices around relationships, parenting, grief and recovery from addictive behaviours.

She has eight years' experience supporting people through bereavement, palliative care situations and child loss, as well as homelessness, adoption-related matters and school or study difficulties. She has also worked with people facing chronic illness, workplace stress and struggles with guilt or shame.

Jen offers both short-term and longer-term counselling. Sessions can be face to face, by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging. To begin, a simple online questionnaire is used to match you and then arrange sessions that suit your schedule.

How evidence-based approaches work online

Person-centred work begins by treating you as the expert on your life. A therapist offers a listening space, reflects what you say and helps you clarify goals. This approach supports people facing grief, parenting strain and identity questions by focusing on what matters most to them.

Integrative techniques mean the counsellor can add other evidence-informed methods when useful. That might include practical coping skills to manage stress and cravings, or structured talking exercises to address guilt, shame or relationship boundaries. These approaches aim to give simple, usable tools rather than lengthy theory.

Finding the right way of working is collaborative. The counsellor will talk through options and adjust methods as needs, goals and preferences become clearer. Clients can try an approach for a few sessions and then review progress together.

Online therapy is offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging, which makes it easier to fit sessions around work, childcare or study. Video calls let you use visual cues in conversation, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging can suit short check-ins or people who prefer not to be on camera. These options help make counselling more flexible and accessible while keeping the focus on meaningful progress.