Sidonia Stiles, BACP

Sidonia Stiles introduces herself as Sidonia, often called Sonia. She practises from a professional practice base in Eastbourne and has many years working with relationship issues, bereavement, anxiety, stress and depression. She is a BACP counsellor who uses a person-centred stance alongside relationship-focused work to help people who are feeling overwhelmed or stuck.

Sidonia draws on 27 years of experience, including ten years as a group worker with residential young people for the local council. That work involved supporting families and handling difficult relationship dynamics, which informs how she looks at family patterns today.

Her training includes an HND Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling and a Level 5 Diploma in Relationship Therapy. She uses genograms as a practical tool to map family histories and the patterns that influence current relationships.

She works with grief and bereavement using ideas from Gestalt theory to help people honour their experience and find a way forward. She also offers help with intimacy-related concerns, communication problems, addiction and stress, and has past experience supporting people from the LGBT community in relationship and one-to-one work.

Sessions have been offered online since the COVID period. Sidonia explains therapy simply and focuses on each person’s background, culture and beliefs when talking about relationship meaning and conflict.

Therapeutic approaches and online support

Sidonia commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based ideas and Client-Centred practice. ACT focuses on helping people notice difficult thoughts and feelings and commit to actions that reflect personal values, which can be useful for anxiety, stress and coping with life changes. Attachment-Based work looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and can help people understand attachment wounds and improve closeness. Client-Centred therapy gives the person space to lead the conversation while the counsellor reflects and listens to what matters most to them.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and try approaches that match what the person needs. People often try different ways of working until they find what helps them make small, steady changes.

Sidonia began offering online sessions during the COVID period. The practical benefits of online work include fitting sessions into a busy day, avoiding travel time and choosing a quieter setting when that is more convenient. Please confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are available and can plan what will fit into your routine.