Cheuk Ka Karlie Lam, BACP

Therapeutic approaches and online options

Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person's experience. The counsellor offers a supportive space where someone can speak freely while the therapist helps them find their own solutions. This approach is often helpful for stress, low self-esteem and parenting worries.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, looks at unhelpful thought patterns and practical actions to change them. It involves simple exercises and experiments to test new ways of thinking and behaving, which can help with anxiety, depression and sleep problems.

Mindfulness therapy teaches gentle awareness of thoughts and bodily feelings. Short attention practices are used to reduce reactivity and support calmer responding to difficult moments, useful for impulse control and stress management.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most useful, then adapt methods together. That collaborative process helps choose whether to emphasise listening, practical CBT tasks or mindfulness practice.

Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging to increase flexibility. Video is useful for full conversations and seeing non-verbal cues, while phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text options suit short check-ins, written reflection, or times when typing feels easier than speaking. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy around parenting duties and busy schedules.