Victoria Porteous, NCPS

Victoria Porteous is a therapist and coach based in the United Kingdom with 11 years of experience, bringing both professional training and personal experience to her work. Her first exposure to therapy came at age 22 after the death of her mother, an experience that shaped her understanding of grief, anger and addictive patterns and later informed her compassionate, practical approach to supporting others.

She describes her style as personable and conversational, often using gentle humour to ease difficult conversations and avoiding overly clinical exercises. Victoria aims to build a strong therapeutic connection so sessions can feel natural - like a meaningful conversation - while also offering respectful challenges to help clients consider new perspectives. She holds the NCPS credential, a professional counselling qualification, and is also qualified as a Menopause Healthcare Professional.

Victoria has experience running a government-backed trauma charity's counselling services for 18 months during the Covid period, working primarily with people who had experienced complex trauma. She also accepts referrals from charities and clients referred by doctors or government agencies. Her practice has drawn testimonials from a range of clients, including senior public sector leaders, prominent legal professionals and elite athletes, and her average client review scores have consistently been 4.9 or 5 out of 5.

Prior to counselling she worked as a private investigator, a role she says honed listening skills, attention to non-verbal cues and the ability to ask targeted questions to build a clearer picture. In private practice she offers tailored counselling and coaching both onsite and through other modalities, supporting people with stress, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, addictions, relationship and family issues, blended family challenges, estrangement and step-parenting, career and motivation concerns, and a wide range of related difficulties. Victoria aims to be the kind of therapist she wished she had - authentic, curious and committed to helping clients make meaningful, sometimes difficult, changes when they are ready.

Evidence-informed approaches for online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people accept difficult thoughts and feelings while clarifying personal values and taking committed action toward a meaningful life. It can be useful for anxiety, stress, avoidance and issues that involve difficult emotions. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships shape expectations and patterns in current relationships - it supports work on connection, abandonment concerns and improving trust and communication with partners and family members. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practical, skills-based approach that explores the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and offers strategies to reduce unhelpful patterns; it is commonly used for anxiety, low mood and stress-related problems.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Victoria works collaboratively with each person to identify which methods best suit their needs, goals and preferences. She tailors sessions and draws on different approaches as required rather than following a single fixed model.

Online therapy with Victoria is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging to provide flexibility that fits into everyday life. These options make it easier to access support from home, work or while travelling, and they allow therapists and licensed professionals to maintain continuity of care when in-person sessions are not possible.