About Paula
Paula Appleton is a counsellor with 14 years' experience practising in the United Kingdom. She holds BACP and NCPS credentials and uses an integrative style to tailor sessions to each person's needs. She offers work in English and American Sign Language and has experience supporting Deaf and hard of hearing clients using SSE and British Sign Language at NVQ Level 6.
Paula meets people where they are and helps them talk through immediate problems.
Background and approach
Sessions often focus on stress, anxiety, depression, grief and addiction, along with trauma and abuse. She also supports people facing issues around intimacy, self-esteem, parenting and career changes. Her approach blends techniques such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based work and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with client-centred listening.
Paula aims to adapt methods so they fit a person’s life rather than forcing a model on them. Conversations are practical and grounded, with attention to what feels useful day to day. She has particular experience with issues related to abandonment, adoption and foster care, neurodiversity including autism and Asperger syndrome, and long-term health concerns like chronic pain and cancer.
The listing also notes work with LGBT concerns and with people managing bipolar disorder and ADHD. Paula describes counselling as a chance to take time out and focus on wellbeing. She and the person seeking support use a short matching questionnaire and scheduling system to begin sessions and plan next steps.
What Paula works with
Everything Paula lists, in their own terms. LGBT is the reason Paula is listed here; the rest shows what else Paula works with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counselling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Paula lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centred Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Gottman Method
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Systemic Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each counsellor names and does not check training records.
Approaches that translate to online counselling
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people identify values and take practical steps toward them while learning to live with difficult thoughts or feelings. It can be helpful for anxiety, stress and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, CBT, looks at patterns of thinking and behaviour and offers structured ways to try different responses; it is often used for anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Attachment-Based work pays attention to how early relationships shape current ways of relating and can be useful for intimacy issues and relationship patterns.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most helpful and then tailor techniques together. That collaborative step helps make sure the methods used match the practical needs of the person seeking support.
Confirm the specific session options before booking as the biography does not list formats explicitly. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also suit people who prefer to use sign language support remotely. Registered or accredited professionals can adapt exercises, homework and check-ins to work well by distance while focusing on everyday problems and coping strategies.
Questions people ask about Paula
What kinds of problems does Paula help with?
The profile lists support for stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction, grief and relationship concerns among many other issues.
What is Paula's therapy style like?
She uses an integrative approach combining client-centred listening with techniques such as ACT, attachment-informed work and CBT to fit each person’s needs.
How much experience does she have?
The biography records 14 years of experience working in counselling roles.
Which credentials and region are listed?
The profile shows BACP and NCPS credentials and notes practice in the United Kingdom.
Which languages can sessions be offered in?
Sessions can be offered in English and American Sign Language, with additional support for Deaf and hard of hearing communication using SSE and BSL level NVQ 6.
Are international clients accepted?
The profile indicates that international clients are accepted.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to work together?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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