- Person-centred focus
- Trauma-informed care
- BACP member
About Shirley
Shirley Banton is a counsellor with 11 years' experience who works from a person-centred approach. She is a BACP member and offers a calm, reflective way of working that aims to help people feel heard and understood.
Her style is collaborative and paced to each person. Shirley focuses on emotional safety and gentleness while encouraging honest reflection. She often supports people who feel overwhelmed, stuck, exhausted, or disconnected from themselves.
Shirley draws on a mix of practical and reflective methods rather than a single technique. She uses cognitive and solution-focused ideas alongside mindfulness and psychodynamic thinking to help people notice patterns, set boundaries, and rebuild confidence. Conversations look at current problems and the life story that shapes them.
She has particular experience with trauma and relational abuse, including coercive control and long-term relational trauma. Her background in further and higher education also gives her insight into anxiety, burnout and identity pressures faced by students and educators.
Shirley works well with people who want steady, consistent support rather than quick fixes. She avoids directive advice and instead helps people explore meaning, make sense of difficult feelings and plan practical next steps. If someone prefers immediate solutions or short-term directive coaching, her approach may not be the best fit.
How Shirley’s approaches translate to online therapy
Shirley commonly integrates client-centred work with cognitive behavioural ideas and mindfulness practices. Client-centred therapy focuses on listening deeply and helping people find their own pace and direction, which suits conversations about identity, boundaries and emotional exhaustion. Cognitive behavioural techniques look at patterns of thought and behaviour and support practical changes for issues like anxiety, low mood or disrupted sleep. Mindfulness approaches teach simple attention and breathing practices to reduce stress and improve emotional regulation.Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy journey. Shirley works collaboratively with each person to try ideas, notice what helps, and adjust methods according to goals and preferences. This might mean combining reflective talking with short exercises or practical strategies agreed together.
The biography confirms that she offers online therapy, which can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life. Online work can reduce travel time and allow check-ins from different locations, and some people find phone or video sessions make it simpler to keep a regular routine. Please confirm the exact session options available before booking so arrangements match personal needs.
Areas of focus
Frequently asked questions
What issues can Shirley help with?
She supports people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and relational abuse, as well as concerns like grief, addiction, eating and sleeping difficulties and self-esteem.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her work is person-centred and collaborative, combining reflective listening with practical tools from cognitive and solution-focused approaches.
How much experience does she have?
She has 11 years of professional experience and substantial background working in further and higher education settings.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is a BACP member and is based in the United Kingdom.
Can I work with her if I live outside the UK?
Sessions are offered to international clients and are conducted in English.
What session formats are available?
The original biography notes that she offers online therapy; please confirm current session formats with the service before booking.
How is cost handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability, and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin working with Shirley?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.