Rebecca Barley Hawkins, BACP

Rebecca Barley Hawkins is a professionally qualified counsellor based in the United Kingdom with seven years of experience supporting people of different ages and backgrounds. She offers face-to-face, telephone, and online sessions delivered with empathy and respect, creating space for clients to explore life events and the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours that follow. Rebecca works from an accepting, non-judgmental stance and recognises that each person responds to challenges in their own way.

She believes that speaking with someone outside of day-to-day life can make it easier to feel heard and understood when emotions feel overwhelming, repetitive, or isolating. Her practice addresses a range of concerns including stress and anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, and issues that affect young adults. Additional areas of focus include abandonment, communication problems, divorce and separation, guilt and shame, loneliness, life purpose, panic disorder, self-love, and social anxiety.

Rebecca aims to build a trusting therapeutic relationship marked by warmth, integrity, and honesty. She offers a non-directive, person-focused approach that allows clients to explore what matters to them at a pace that feels right. Over time she supports clients to process past and present challenges and to discover greater autonomy in how they respond to life. Rebecca is accredited by the BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Evidence-based approaches for online counselling

Rebecca draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques tailored to each person. She practices a non-directive, person-focused style that prioritises listening, creating space for clients to explore feelings and experiences at their own pace - an approach that can be especially helpful for building trust and working through relationship issues, low self-esteem, and life transitions.

For people affected by trauma and abuse she uses trauma-informed principles that emphasise safety, stabilization, and gradual processing; these methods help manage overwhelming reactions and support recovery from traumatic experiences. She also incorporates practical skills-based strategies for stress and anxiety, such as grounding and breathing techniques and activity planning, which aim to reduce acute symptoms and improve day-to-day coping.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Rebecca works collaboratively with clients to identify methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts techniques as therapy progresses so the work remains relevant and effective for each individual.

Online therapy through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging offers flexibility for arranging appointments around work, study, or family commitments. These options can make it easier to maintain continuity of care, access support from home, and choose the communication style that feels most comfortable while working with licensed professionals and therapists.