Valerie Taylor , BACP

Valerie Taylor is a counsellor who focuses on helping people navigate everyday pressures and big life changes. She works with those feeling stressed, anxious, depressed or overwhelmed by relationship and family difficulties. Valerie also supports people dealing with grief, addiction, body image and self-esteem concerns. She has a particular interest in women’s issues and the challenges many face during different life stages.

Valerie uses straightforward conversations to help clients make sense of what is happening. She listens without judgement and aims to build on each person’s strengths. Sessions usually involve looking at current problems and practical steps to reduce distress.

Her practice draws on client-centred therapy, which keeps the person’s perspective at the heart of work. Valerie also uses cognitive behavioural approaches to spot unhelpful thinking and try small experiments to change patterns. Both methods are used flexibly to suit what a person needs in the moment.

With 19 years of experience in the United Kingdom, she has worked with many common life difficulties such as career strain, parenting stress, chronic illness and trauma. Valerie describes therapy as a collaborative effort where clients set the pace and goals. She aims to help people find more manageable ways to cope and clearer choices about next steps.

Valerie encourages anyone feeling stuck to consider a brief initial assessment. That first step helps identify priorities and the best way to move forward together.

How Valerie’s approaches translate to online therapy

Client-centred therapy emphasises a warm, non-judgemental relationship where the client leads the pace and topics. Online sessions still focus on listening closely, reflecting concerns and helping people clarify their goals in everyday language.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, involves identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behaviour changes. Through video or text exchanges, clients can try short experiments between sessions and review what worked in the next meeting.

Valerie will work with each person to decide which approach, or combination, fits best. She treats that choice as a collaborative process and adjusts methods to match a person’s needs, goals and preferences over time.

Online formats offer practical flexibility. Video calls give face-to-face interaction for deeper conversations. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging suit shorter check-ins, journalling between sessions or people who express themselves better in writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family or mobility needs while keeping therapeutic continuity.