Nicola Heaps , BACP

Nicola Heaps is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who helps people manage stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties and grief. She also supports those facing parenting pressures, life changes, trauma and issues with intimacy or self-esteem. Nicola brings a direct, compassionate manner to sessions and focuses on what you need right now.

Nicola uses person-centred ways of working to hear what matters to each person. She also draws on solution-focused ideas to help clients set small, practical goals and notice progress. Sessions are shaped around the individual rather than a fixed formula.

She is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, often shown as BACP. Nicola has three years of experience working with a wide range of concerns, including depression, anger, compassion fatigue and family-related stress. She also offers support around topics such as adoption and foster care, attachment issues, body image and chronic illness.

Sessions aim to be straightforward and problem-solving when that helps, or more open and reflective when that is needed. Nicola explains things plainly and helps people find manageable steps forward. Many clients use talking and short practical strategies together to move towards clearer thinking and steadier days.

To begin, she asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedules sessions that suit both parties. Nicola promotes respectful, sensitive conversations and encourages people to try a first session to see how it feels.

How her approaches shape online therapy

Nicola uses client-centred counselling to focus on the person's own views and priorities. This approach means sessions begin by listening carefully and following the pace you set, which helps when discussing grief, self-esteem or relationship concerns.

She also uses solution-focused therapy to set clear, achievable steps. This method looks for small changes that make a difference and can be useful for managing stress, anxiety and coping with life changes.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Nicola will ask about your goals and preferences and then recommend ways of working that suit you. Decisions about method and pace are made collaboratively as you try different things and see what helps.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video is good for face-to-face conversation, phone works well when bandwidth is low, live chat suits shorter check-ins and messaging can be used for ongoing notes between sessions. These options make it easier to attend sessions around work, family and travel commitments and to pick the format that feels most comfortable.