Summar Ali, BACP

Summar Ali is a counsellor who focuses on helping people manage jealousy alongside other relationship and emotional concerns. She aims to make sessions straightforward and practical, helping clients talk through what matters most. Her approach is warm and down-to-earth, with an emphasis on understanding how past experiences shape current feelings.

Summar brings 11 years of experience across mental health settings. She has worked in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, school counselling, drug and alcohol services, bereavement support, and as a sexual trauma therapist for a local charity. She has also lectured at the University of Southampton and the Anna Freud Centre and teaches trainees working in the NHS.

Her training includes a BA in Counselling and Psychotherapy and postgraduate certificates in evidence-based interventions for children and young people, and in supervisory skills. She also holds a Higher Education Certificate in Academic Practice and Fellowship status, and has completed continuing professional development in the neurobiology of trauma. She is registered with the BACP, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

In sessions she blends practical tools with compassionate listening. Techniques come from approaches such as cognitive behavioural methods and acceptance-based work, along with attachment-informed thinking and person-centred ways of working. Clients can expect simple strategies for anxiety, stress, sleep and relationship worries, alongside space to reflect on past hurt.

Summar also practises animal assisted therapy when not working online, and she integrates that perspective into her relational style. People who want a thoughtful, experience-informed counsellor may find her supportive for dealing with jealousy and its wider impacts.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It supports setting personal values and taking manageable steps towards them, which can help with jealousy, anxiety and life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions link together and teaches practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns, useful for anxiety, sleep and mood problems. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to how early relationships shape current trust and closeness issues and can be helpful for intimacy and relationship worries.

Finding the right approach is a joint process. The therapist will work with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. Sessions often combine ideas from different approaches so the plan matches what the client wants to achieve.

If you are considering online work, confirm the session formats available before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also allow people in different regions to work with the same counsellor. Discuss practical arrangements and session length with the therapist so the format suits your everyday life and goals.