About Debra
Debra Laking is a counsellor who focuses on practical, evidence-informed approaches to anxiety and stress. She uses straightforward talking, reflective listening and active tools to help people facing worry, life changes and relationship strain. Debra holds BACP accreditation and works with adults from the United Kingdom and overseas in English.
Her approach mixes elements from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioural ideas and client-centred listening. Sessions aim to identify thoughts and patterns that make anxiety worse, then try small experiments to shift those patterns.
Background and approach
Debra uses mindfulness techniques to help people notice their experience without getting swept away by it. She also supports people coping with grief, low self-esteem and big life transitions. Practical steps and short-term goals are often used alongside deeper reflection.
Communication and commitment concerns in relationships are addressed with clear conversation skills and problem-solving work. Debra has four years of practice experience. She describes the therapeutic space as warm and non-judgemental, where clients are treated as the expert on their own life.
The work is collaborative - the counsellor and client decide what to try together. Sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat or messaging. People who choose online work often value the flexibility to fit therapy into a busy life and to use the format that feels most comfortable for them.
Practical approaches for online anxiety and relationship work
Debra commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and cognitive behavioural ideas in online sessions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and then commit to actions that reflect their values, which can reduce the time spent struggling with anxiety. Cognitive behavioural methods look at links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour and offer simple experiments and skill practice to change unhelpful patterns.She also uses client-centred listening to provide empathy and understanding. That approach focuses on being heard and respected, which helps people feel safer to try new ways of coping. Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work, and the therapist will collaborate with each person to decide what fits their priorities and goals.
Online therapy offers practical benefits such as fitting sessions around work, caring or medical commitments. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions suit lower bandwidth or no-camera days, and live chat or messaging can be useful for short check-ins or when writing feels easier. Many people find the flexibility helps them keep up with regular sessions and progress steadily.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Divorce and separation
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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