Melinda Best, BACP

Melinda Best is a United Kingdom based therapist with 16 years of professional experience and a BACP credential. BACP denotes membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and signals adherence to established counselling standards in the UK. Over the course of her career she has worked extensively with people facing addictions, relationship difficulties, family conflicts, and challenges with motivation, self-esteem, and confidence, and she also brings experience in executive and professional coaching.

Melinda approaches each person with the assumption that they are the expert of their own life and that they already possess strengths that can be drawn on during change. She blends practical support with encouragement, helping clients identify goals and steps toward a more fulfilling life. Taking the first step to seek change is often a courageous act, and Melinda offers steady, empathetic support as clients explore their priorities and develop new strategies.

Her practice addresses a broad range of concerns including addiction, family problems, communication difficulties, midlife and life-purpose questions, caregiver stress, and chronic illness or pain. Melinda aims to create a collaborative space where practical coaching and therapeutic work come together to help clients move forward.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Support and Growth

Melinda draws on client-centered therapy to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space where the client’s perspective guides the work. This approach focuses on understanding each person’s experience and helping them build on their own strengths, which can be especially helpful for relationship concerns, self-esteem, and life-purpose questions.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical skills for managing emotions and behaviours. CBT is often effective for issues such as addiction-related coping, anxiety around life transitions, and addressing negative self-talk.

Mindfulness-based techniques are incorporated to support awareness and emotional regulation, offering straightforward practices that can reduce reactivity and increase present-moment clarity for people dealing with chronic stress, caregiver strain, or chronic pain.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Melinda works with clients to explore which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the focus as therapy progresses to ensure the plan feels useful and achievable.

Online therapy options - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging - provide flexibility for clients balancing work, caregiving, or health limitations. These formats make it easier to access licensed professionals and therapists from the client’s own environment and can support consistent progress through convenient scheduling and varied ways to engage.