Avril Harding, BACP

Avril Harding is a BACP counsellor with six years of professional experience. She helps people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, or past trauma. Her approach is warm and down-to-earth, which can help someone take that first step toward getting support.

In sessions she aims to make it easy to talk about difficult thoughts and feelings. Avril focuses on listening and reflecting back what she hears, so people can make sense of their experience. She works with practical strategies alongside space to process emotions.

Her work draws on several well-known approaches, including cognitive behavioural ideas and emotion-focused ways of relating. Avril also uses attachment-based thinking and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles to help people understand patterns and build values-led changes. She adapts what she does to each person’s needs rather than following one fixed method.

Avril has supported people with a wide range of concerns such as addictions, ADHD, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping difficulties, parenting strain, anger and self-esteem. She also has experience with complex areas like dissociation, domestic violence and substance misuse, and with relationship difficulties such as communication and commitment issues.

Sessions are conducted in English and she is based in the United Kingdom. If you are thinking about starting, Avril encourages people to notice the courage it takes to begin and to take the next small step when ready.

How Avril's approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and focus on actions that match their values. It can be useful for stress, anxiety and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour and offers simple exercises to test new ways of responding to problems. Emotionally-Focused Therapy concentrates on feelings in relationships and can help people understand patterns in how they relate to others.

Finding the right approach tends to be a collaborative process. Avril will talk with each person about their goals and try different ways of working to see what feels helpful. She adapts techniques based on what the person prefers and what fits their situation.

The practical benefits of online therapy include fitting sessions into a busy week and removing travel time so it is easier to keep appointments. Because the biography does not list specific formats, confirm current session options before booking. Registered or accredited professionals and therapists often use online sessions to offer flexible scheduling, shorter check-ins when needed, and easier access when balancing work, family or other commitments.