About Lorraine
Lorraine McDonnell is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom with four years of clinical experience and a BACP membership. She focuses on helping adults who feel overwhelmed by anxiety, depression, grief, or persistent negative thinking. Lorraine aims to create a calm, respectful space where people can begin to make small, steady changes.
She draws on Client-Centred Therapy to listen without judgement and help clients find their own pace of change.
How Lorraine works
Lorraine uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try practical experiments to shift them. She also uses Psychodynamic ideas to look at recurring life patterns and Solution-Focused methods to set achievable goals. Sessions typically involve talking through current struggles, noticing unhelpful thoughts, and practising manageable steps that fit into daily life.
Lorraine emphasises straightforward tools rather than jargon, so people can use what they learn between sessions. She works with issues such as stress, self-esteem, coping with life changes, addictions, relationship concerns, trauma and sleeping difficulties. Additional areas of focus include caregiving stress, chronic illness and end-of-life concerns, body image, career questions, and feelings of isolation or emptiness.
Lorraine supports people dealing with anger, compassion fatigue and ADHD-related difficulties. Her approach blends listening, practical skills and reflection to help clients move forward. People can expect a collaborative process where the counsellor and client decide what to try next.
Lorraine aims to help people feel more able to manage day-to-day challenges and make choices that fit their values.
Lorraine lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Lorraine works with
The areas below are the ones Lorraine selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 4 |
| 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 Lorraine’s approaches work online
Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding without judgement. Online sessions using this approach give people space to be heard and to explore what matters to them. It is helpful for building self-understanding and easing feelings of isolation.Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions interact. In video or phone sessions the therapist and client identify unhelpful thinking and set simple experiments to try between appointments. CBT suits worries, low mood, sleeping problems and stress by offering clear steps to test and change patterns.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Lorraine will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most useful, then try methods that match those needs. She adapts the plan as progress is seen and as clients give feedback, so therapy stays practical and collaborative.
Online sessions offer flexibility for people with busy lives or mobility limits. Video calls work well for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions use less bandwidth, and live chat or text messaging can suit quick check-ins or those who prefer writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving or medical appointments while keeping a steady therapeutic rhythm.
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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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