Dr. Pegah Houshmand, HCPC

Dr. Pegah Houshmand is a HCPC practitioner psychologist with over 12 years of experience in the United Kingdom. She trained to doctoral level in counselling psychology and has worked across the NHS and independent settings. Her work focuses on helping people navigate difficult emotions and practical life challenges. She brings a calm, respectful presence and aims to make therapy straightforward and usable.

Dr Houshmand uses an integrative approach, blending different methods to suit each person. She explains things plainly and helps clients set clear, realistic goals. Sessions are collaborative - she listens, reflects, and offers practical steps to try between meetings.

Her background includes work with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief and relationship difficulties. She also supports those dealing with trauma, addictions, eating and sleeping problems, and intimacy-related concerns. Jealousy is one of the relationship topics she addresses when relevant.

She works with issues linked to attachment, body image, ADHD and complex life transitions. Additional focus areas include caregiving stress, chronic illness, and aspects of sexual diversity such as BDSM and kink when these are part of a client's concerns. The aim is to reduce distress and build coping strategies that fit everyday life.

Dr Houshmand offers a warm, non-judgemental space where strengths are noticed as well as difficulties. Her style balances emotional understanding with practical techniques so people can make steady, manageable changes.

Therapeutic approaches and online working

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that reflect their values. It can be useful for anxiety, depression and for anyone wanting to live a more meaningful life. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and gives clear skills to reduce symptoms such as panic, worry or low mood. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) concentrates on emotions within close relationships and can help people understand and change patterns that fuel hurt and distance.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will listen to your history, goals and preferences and then suggest which methods to try. Decisions are made collaboratively and can be adjusted as therapy progresses.

Please confirm the current online session options before booking, as formats are not specified here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, avoid travel time and maintain continuity when life is unpredictable. It also allows shorter check-ins when needed and can suit people who prefer not to be on camera or who need lower-bandwidth options. Registered or accredited professionals can adapt techniques such as ACT, CBT and EFT to work well in an online setting, focusing on coping skills, emotional processing and relationship patterns without promising specific outcomes.