About Michael
Michael James is a counsellor who prioritises fitting therapy to the person sitting in front of him. He draws on almost three decades of practice to help people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, loss, or life transitions. Sessions focus on what matters to each individual and on small steps they can try between meetings.
He offers a person-centred way of working that keeps the client's concerns at the centre of each session.
Background and approach
That means conversations are guided by what the client brings rather than a fixed formula. Mindful awareness is used as a simple tool to notice patterns of thought and behaviour that keep people stuck. Michael describes mindfulness as intentional awareness that can be practised bit by bit.
He uses it alongside reflective dialogue to reframe problems and clarify values. This practical mix aims to help people see clearer options and move towards solutions they can live with. Trauma and past hurt are treated as important influences on present difficulties.
Work may include present‑centred body awareness and gentle exploration of past events to reduce their ongoing hold. The pace is adjusted to each person’s needs and readiness. He combines approaches that include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based ideas, Emotionally-Focused and Existential perspectives.
Michael is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP, and works with clients across the United Kingdom and internationally in English.
Approaches that suit online working
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions aligned with those values. It combines practical exercises with noticing thoughts to reduce the power of unhelpful thinking. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early and close relationships shape current patterns. It helps people understand connection needs, repair communication, and build safer ways of relating. Client-Centred Therapy places the person's experience at the heart of sessions and relies on a respectful, non-judgemental relationship to encourage change.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels helpful, and then adapt methods collaboratively. That means sessions can mix mindfulness, reflective conversation and action plans so they fit each person's life and aims.
Online formats make this flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions suit people who prefer no video or lower bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for short check-ins, notes between sessions, or support when time is limited. These options help people fit therapy around work, family and travel without losing continuity of care.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 28 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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