Kirsty Black , NCPS

Kirsty Black is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who brings four years of professional counselling experience. She is registered with the NCPS and holds a BA (Hons) in Counselling. Kirsty has a long history of support work and aims to create a calm, respectful space for people to talk about hard things.

She has worked in schools, universities, charities and private practice. That background means she is used to varied needs and different ways people communicate. Kirsty also draws on sixteen years of support-based roles outside formal counselling to inform her work.

Kirsty works integratively, choosing tools that suit each person. That might include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioural techniques, attachment-based ideas, or emotionally-focused ways of looking at relationships. She also uses client-centred principles to keep the focus on the person in front of her.

Her practice covers many concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family issues, grief, addiction, neurodiversity-related matters, parenting and intimacy-related difficulties. Kirsty notes additional focus areas such as body image, chronic health challenges, and caregiving stress.

She welcomes adults and young people and offers sessions online, by phone, by live chat, or through text messaging. Kirsty is undertaking further study in child and adolescent mental health and regularly engages in continuous professional development to extend her skills.

How Kirsty uses approaches online and by message

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people notice their thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It can be useful for anxiety, stress and coping with life changes. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and helps people create healthier ways of relating, which is useful for intimacy and relationship concerns. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) teaches practical steps to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, often used for anxiety, depression and sleep or eating problems.

Kirsty approaches these methods collaboratively. She will discuss options with each person and adapt techniques to fit their goals and preferences. Together they decide whether a more practical, reflective or relationship-focused path feels right, and this can change over time as needs evolve.

Online formats here include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text messaging. Video allows face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits shorter check-ins, and text messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family life or when travel is difficult, while keeping the focus on the therapeutic work and progress.