About Cheryl
Cheryl McDonald-Tuckwell is a UK-based counsellor with 16 years of professional experience. She offers weekly online sessions by video, phone or chat and aims to create an accepting, non-judgemental space where people can speak openly. Cheryl identifies with the LGBTQIA+ community and provides support around identity and related concerns.
Her work is practical and person-focused. Sessions begin by listening to what matters most to the individual. Cheryl then helps people clarify goals, spot patterns in their thinking and behaviour, and try small steps that can make daily life feel more manageable.
How Cheryl works
Cheryl uses a mix of approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Client-Centred methods. She adapts techniques to each person’s needs rather than following one fixed model. This might mean working on thoughts and routines, exploring personal stories, or building motivation for change.
Her background includes experience in GP practices, schools, women’s services and support for people affected by serious loss and trauma. That work has involved supporting grief, parenting questions, exam anxiety, depression and other common struggles. Cheryl pays attention to attachment, adoption and foster care issues when they are relevant.
Cheryl is used to working with neurodiverse people and considers sensory and communication needs when using online formats. Appointments follow a weekly rhythm and use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
Cheryl lists 8 ways of working on the entry:
What Cheryl works with
The areas below are the ones Cheryl selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Narcissism
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 16 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Cheryl’s approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people notice what matters to them and take small committed steps towards those values, even when difficult feelings are present. It can help with anxiety, low mood and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings and actions and offers practical techniques to change unhelpful patterns, for example with worry, low mood or sleep problems. Client-Centred Therapy puts the person’s experience at the heart of the work, offering a listening, non-judgemental space that supports self-understanding and emotional recovery.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Cheryl will talk with each person about their needs and goals and agree a way forward together. That collaborative process can combine elements from different approaches so the sessions fit the individual rather than forcing a single method.
Online formats give practical flexibility. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation when a visual connection helps, while phone work can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for brief check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for shorter exchanges, step-by-step coaching, or for people who prefer not to use video. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, family life and other commitments, while keeping the focus on making steady progress.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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