Chris Orton, BACP

Chris Orton works with people who are facing difficult, sometimes overwhelming parts of their lives and offers a steady, empathic presence as they explore those challenges. He believes that with courage and focused reflection individuals can uncover why unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving have developed and then build new ways of living that feel more authentic and sustaining.

Chris places trust in each person's capacity to use the therapeutic relationship as a catalyst for greater self-understanding and change. He adopts a client-centred stance - privileging the uniqueness of every individual - and aims to listen deeply so that he can accurately understand how a person experiences their world. That understanding, he believes, supports meaningful shifts in self-acceptance and daily living.

He combines empathic presence with appropriately gentle challenge, encouraging clients to explore emotions, thoughts and behaviours at a pace that feels right for them. Chris also recognises that distress often arises from both internal processes and external social pressures; where changes to broader circumstances are limited, he focuses on helping people adapt their relationship to those pressures in ways that increase resilience and choice.

Chris is registered in the United Kingdom with the BACP, the professional association for counselling and psychotherapy, and trained at postgraduate level in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Before private practice he worked in a university counselling service supporting a diverse student and client population. His work is informed by humanistic and experiential traditions and a research interest in cross-cultural therapy.

Client-Centred and Existential Therapy Online

Chris offers client-centred therapy that prioritises the individual's experience, creating space for people to explore their feelings and beliefs without judgement. This approach is helpful for those seeking greater self-understanding, improving self-esteem, and working through relationship or identity concerns.

He also draws on existential therapy to help clients examine questions about meaning, choice and responsibility. Existential work can support people facing life transitions, feelings of emptiness, or dilemmas about commitment and purpose by encouraging honest reflection about values and options.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work itself and will be addressed collaboratively. Chris will work with each person to identify which methods best match their needs, goals and preferences and will adjust the focus as the therapy unfolds.

Online sessions by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into everyday life. These options enable regular contact with licensed professionals while accommodating different schedules, locations and communication styles, supporting continuity of care and practical access to therapeutic support.