About Petra
Petra Vidal helps people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety or low mood. She focuses on building a calm, non-judgemental space so people can talk about what is worrying them. Petra works with issues such as self-esteem, motivation and relationship strain, and she supports people facing grief, career uncertainty and life transitions.
Petra is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, abbreviated BACP, and has three years of professional experience.
How Petra works
She aims to keep conversations straightforward and practical, so people leave sessions with ideas they can try between meetings. Sessions are conversational and paced to each person's needs. Her practice also addresses longer-standing difficulties such as attachment wounds, feelings of emptiness, abandonment concerns and patterns linked to dependent or avoidant personality tendencies.
She pays attention to family of origin problems, shame and guilt, and the impact these issues can have on day-to-day life. Petra uses a mix of talking therapies and practical techniques. She draws on client-centred principles to make people feel heard, and on cognitive behavioural ideas to help change unhelpful thoughts and habits.
Mindfulness and existential reflection are offered where they suit someone’s goals. People start by describing what matters most to them and what they hope to change. Petra then works with each person to set realistic steps and check progress over time.
Her approach is collaborative and grounded in common sense, with attention to emotional safety and steady progress.
Petra lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Petra works with
The areas below are the ones Petra selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Relationship issues
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 3 |
| 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 Petra's approaches work online
Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening without judging and following what matters most to the person. It helps people feel understood, which can ease anxiety and open up deeper topics. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at links between thoughts, feelings and actions and offers simple exercises to test and change unhelpful patterns. This is practical for anxiety, mood and motivation issues.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Petra will discuss goals and preferences in early sessions and suggest a mix of methods that fit the person's needs. Decisions are made collaboratively, and methods can be adjusted as progress is observed.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when visual cues matter. Phone sessions suit people who prefer not to be on camera or need a lower bandwidth option. Live chat and text-based messaging can be useful for brief check-ins, quick coping strategies or when someone wants written reflections to revisit later. These formats make it easier to fit therapy around work, family and daily life while keeping the focus on steady progress and usable strategies.
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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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