Sidonia Stiles , BACP

Sidonia Stiles offers calm, straightforward support for people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain and grief. She is a BACP counsellor with 27 years' experience and works in English and Portuguese. Sidonia helps people talk through difficult feelings and find practical ways to cope day to day.

She draws on person-centred ideas and relationship-focused work to understand how upbringing and family patterns shape current problems. Sessions often use genograms - a simple family map - to make sense of recurring conflicts and attachment patterns.

Sidonia has a long background working with residential young people and with families, where she learned to manage complex relationship dynamics and challenging behaviour. That experience informs how she supports people dealing with bereavement, loss, parenting strain, and compassion fatigue.

Her clinical toolkit also includes approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. These help with anxiety, low mood, addictive behaviours, sleep problems and coping with life changes by mixing practical skills with attention to values and relationships.

Sessions are offered online by video and phone, and through live chat or text-based messaging when needed. Sidonia works with people from different backgrounds, including LGBT clients, and accepts international clients who prefer English or Portuguese.

Approaches that suit online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings without getting swept away by them, and then focus on actions that match their values. It is useful for stress, anxiety and coping with life changes. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and aims to strengthen emotional connection and trust. It is often helpful for relationship issues and intimacy concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss your goals, concerns and preferences and suggest which methods to try. Clients often combine listening-focused, relationship work with practical skills from ACT or CBT so sessions are tailored to the person rather than being one-size-fits-all.

Online sessions can use video calls, phone conversations, live chat or text messaging to fit different needs. Video is good for face-to-face conversation and non-verbal cues. Phone sessions suit quieter bandwidth and shorter check-ins. Live chat or messaging can be useful for brief support, written reflection or when scheduling makes realtime conversation hard. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family life and time zones.