About Paula
Paula De Souza is a BACP counsellor practising in the United Kingdom. She draws on four years of experience supporting people with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, grief and health-related challenges. Paula works in a straightforward, person-focused way that helps people make sense of what is happening and decide practical next steps.
Clients often come with problems that feel tangled or overwhelming. Paula offers a calm, listening space where thoughts and feelings can be named and understood.
Background and approach
She helps people develop coping strategies and consider changes that fit their life and values. Her main approach is client-centred therapy, which means she follows the client’s agenda and values their perspective. She also uses psychodynamic ideas to look at patterns that repeat over time and link present problems to past experiences.
Paula adapts her work to what each person finds most useful. She has worked with issues such as trauma and abuse, parenting strain, compassion fatigue, eating concerns, bipolar mood challenges and bereavement. Additional areas include attachment concerns, chronic illness and communication problems.
Paula also notes LGBT concerns among the topics she supports. People describe her style as patient and non-judgemental, with a focus on building trust and working at a steady pace. The aim is practical progress you can bring into everyday life, whether that is better day-to-day coping or clearer decisions about relationships and work.
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
- LGBT
- Grief
- Eating disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Paula lists
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each counsellor names and does not check training records.
How Paula’s approaches work in online therapy
Client-centred therapy focuses on what matters to the person in front of the therapist. It means the counsellor follows the client’s lead, listens without judgement and helps people name their feelings and priorities. This approach is useful for stress, relationship issues and feeling stuck.Psychodynamic therapy looks at patterns that repeat in relationships and life choices. It helps people connect current difficulties with past experiences and can be helpful when problems return in similar ways over time.
Finding the right way of working is part of the process. Paula will discuss goals and preferences and together decide which approach, or which mix of ideas, feels most helpful. This is a collaborative decision and can change as the work progresses.
If you are considering online sessions, please confirm the available formats when you book as the therapist’s biography does not list specific session types. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also be useful when managing health or caregiving responsibilities, or when someone prefers not to travel to an appointment. Registered or accredited professionals can adapt their methods to work well online, and Paula will help plan sessions that suit your needs and daily routine.
Questions people ask about Paula
What kinds of problems does Paula help with?
She supports people with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, grief, trauma and health-related worries. Additional areas include eating concerns, bipolar mood issues and parenting strain.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is client-centred and steady, focusing on listening and following the client’s priorities. She also draws on psychodynamic ideas to look at repeating life patterns.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has four years of professional experience working in counselling and therapeutic roles in the UK.
What professional credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, listed as BACP, and practises in the United Kingdom.
Can sessions be held in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Are international clients accepted?
She does accept international clients, so people outside the UK can enquire about working together.
How are fees and payments handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
What do I need to do to begin sessions?
Choose the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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