Laura West

• Stress and anxiety
• Grief and loss
• CBT and psychodynamic

About Laura

Laura West works with stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, depression and coping with life changes using an integrated approach that combines psychodynamic ideas with person-centred practice. She is a member of the National Counselling Society and has 19 years of professional experience, including a background in nursing and specialist cancer care.

Laura trained in psychotherapy and counselling after a long nursing career. She spent 17 years as a Registered General Nurse in NHS hospitals and later worked as a Macmillan Breast Cancer Specialist Practitioner. Those roles involved supporting people and their families through difficult medical treatment and emotional challenges.

In practice she draws on different ways of working rather than a single method. Psychodynamic ideas help look at past patterns that affect current feelings. Client-centred techniques focus on listening and reflecting what a person brings to the room.

She also uses practical, goal-focused tools from cognitive behavioural therapy and solution-focused therapy when appropriate. These approaches are used to help with unhelpful thoughts, everyday coping strategies and short-term problem solving.

Sessions aim to help people clarify what matters to them and make changes they find useful. Laura has specific experience helping with abandonment issues, chronic pain or illness, communication problems, divorce and separation, isolation and finding life purpose.

She offers counselling in English and does not work with international clients at present. Costs vary by location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session through the site.

How Laura uses different approaches in remote work

Client-centred therapy puts the person’s experience at the heart of sessions. The counsellor listens, reflects and helps the person make sense of their feelings and choices; this can help with grief, low self-esteem and coping with life changes.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) looks at links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. It offers straightforward techniques to test unhelpful thoughts and build practical coping strategies for anxiety and depression.

Psychodynamic ideas examine patterns shaped by past experiences that influence current reactions and relationships. This can be useful when longstanding patterns such as abandonment worries or repeated relationship difficulties are present.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The counsellor will discuss goals, preferences and practical needs and then agree which methods to try. Clients are involved in decisions about how sessions proceed and what to focus on.

Confirm the exact session formats before booking, as the biography does not list them. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Registered or accredited professionals can often adapt techniques used in face-to-face work so they remain practical and relevant in remote sessions.

Topics Laura lists

• Stress and anxiety
• Grief
• Self-esteem
• Depression
• Coping with life changes
• Abandonment
• Chronic pain, illness, and disability
• Communication problems
• Divorce and separation
• Isolation and loneliness
• Life purpose
• Narcissism
• Post-traumatic stress
• Self-love
• Social anxiety and phobia

Ways of working

• Client-Centred Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Solution-Focused Therapy

Questions about Laura

Does she work with anxiety?

Yes. Anxiety and social anxiety are listed areas she helps people with.

What kind of counselling does she offer?

She uses an integrated model combining client-centred, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural and solution-focused methods.

How much experience does she have?

She has 19 years of professional experience, including 17 years as a Registered General Nurse and later as a Macmillan Breast Cancer Specialist Practitioner.

Where is she based?

She practises in the United Kingdom and is a member of the National Counselling Society.

Can I have sessions in another language?

Sessions are offered in English.

Does she take international clients?

She does not accept international clients at present.

How much do sessions cost?

Cost varies with location and sessions run via a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.

How do I start working with her?

Use the Talk to a counsellor online button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule a first session.