Tracey Gardener, BACP

Tracey Gardener is an integrative counsellor who draws on attachment ideas and trauma-aware work to help people make sense of anxiety, relationship patterns and self-esteem struggles. She uses everyday language and a steady style to make therapy feel manageable for people under pressure. Tracey aims to create a calm room where someone can pause, reflect and find clearer ways forward.

With 12 years of practice, Tracey adapts her approach to each person’s needs. She combines attachment-based thinking with cognitive and mindfulness tools to look at how past experiences affect current behaviour. This can help when someone feels stuck by fear of abandonment, codependency, control issues or avoidant patterns.

She commonly supports people coping with stress, depression, family and relationship difficulties, parenting strain, anger and the aftermath of trauma and abuse. Tracey also works with concerns such as body image, eating and substance issues, and problems that arise around separation and blended family dynamics.

Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Integrative Counselling, an FdA in Counselling and a Diploma in Mindful Mental Health. Recent continuing professional development covers attachment theory, mindfulness, eating disorders and creative methods such as sandtray work.

Tracey describes her manner as warm and down-to-earth. Sessions tend to be paced to what feels safe and useful, with both practical techniques and space to reflect on deeper patterns. She encourages people to take small steps and notice real changes over time.

How attachment and CBT can work online

Attachment-based work helps people notice how early relationships shape current worries and repeated patterns. It focuses on understanding why certain reactions feel automatic and on building safer ways of relating to others.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. It gives straightforward tools to challenge unhelpful thinking and to try new behaviours, which can reduce anxiety and improve mood.

Finding the right fit is part of the process. Tracey will work collaboratively to decide which approaches suit a person’s needs and goals. That decision considers what feels helpful in session, how someone prefers to reflect, and practical life demands such as time and energy.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to attend sessions around a busy day, move between shorter check-ins and longer therapy, or use mindfulness exercises at home. It can also allow people to continue continuity of care if circumstances change, while the therapist and client agree together on how best to structure meetings.