About Paula
Paula Bantick-Ward is a counsellor with eight years' experience who aims to make therapy accessible and practical. She offers support for a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, addiction, grief and relationship difficulties. Paula works with people facing life changes and career strain, as well as issues around intimacy, eating, anger and low self-esteem.
She holds BACP accreditation, which is shown as BACP, and practises from the United Kingdom.
How Paula works
Paula uses a person-centred stance that keeps the client’s experience at the heart of the work. That means she listens, reflects and helps people find their own voice rather than directing them. Sessions are conversational and grounded in everyday language.
Creative tools such as metaphor, journaling or creative writing may be offered when helpful. Alongside a client-centred approach, Paula draws on cognitive behavioural ideas and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try new ways of responding. She also works with attachment-informed thinking to understand how early relationships affect current difficulties.
This mix is chosen to suit each person's needs rather than following a fixed formula. People can expect a calm, non-judgemental space to talk through problems and make sense of feelings. Paula supports exploration of practical steps as well as emotional understanding.
Her aim is to help people move towards a life that feels more manageable and aligned with their values. Sessions are available online or by phone and Paula works under the BACP ethical framework with clinical supervision and professional insurance. She welcomes conversations in English and is able to work with international clients.
Paula lists 10 ways of working on the entry:
What Paula works with
The areas below are the ones Paula selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Fertility issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 8 |
| 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
Therapeutic approaches for online counselling
Paula commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Attachment-Based ideas alongside a person-centred way of working. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and commit to actions that match their values. It can be useful for anxiety, low mood and getting unstuck from unhelpful patterns. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship experiences shape current reactions and helps people make different choices in close relationships.Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and choose tools together. That collaborative decision means the work adapts if something isn't helpful or if needs change over time.
Online therapy can be delivered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging, which makes it easier to fit therapy around work, caring duties or travel. Phone sessions suit short check-ins or lower bandwidth situations, while video calls allow face-to-face conversation. Live chat and text messaging are useful for people who prefer writing or need flexible check-ins. These options aim to make it simpler to keep continuity with a therapist and try different ways of working.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with PaulaWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What kinds of issues can be discussed in therapy?
How would you describe the therapeutic style?
What is Paula's professional background?
Where is Paula based and what are her credentials?
Can I have sessions in languages other than English?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
How do I begin working with Paula?
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.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions