Zaida Fontes, NCPS

Zaida Fontes is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who brings nine years of clinical experience to her practice. She holds the NCPS credential, a professional counselling qualification that reflects her training and commitment to therapeutic work. Zaida supports people facing a wide range of challenges, including addictions, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, depression, coping with life changes, family difficulties, grief, parenting concerns, and anger. She also works with related issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, codependency, caregiver stress, communication and commitment problems, and family of origin concerns.

Zaida approaches therapy with the belief that each person is the expert on their own story and has strengths that can be developed to navigate life's difficulties. She integrates evidence-informed methods to address emotional pain and relationship struggles while helping clients build skills for resilience and healthier connections. Comfortable working in both English and Portuguese, Zaida is available to international clients and focuses on creating a supportive, collaborative therapeutic relationship that helps people move toward greater wellbeing and more satisfying relationships.

Taking the first step toward change takes courage, and Zaida provides steady professional support to guide clients through that process while tailoring her approach to individual needs and goals.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Zaida uses several complementary approaches to help clients explore emotions, improve relationships, and build coping skills. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns of connection formed early in life and helps people understand and change relationship dynamics that contribute to distress - it can be useful for attachment issues, abandonment concerns, and family-related struggles. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes the client's perspective by offering empathy, acceptance, and collaboration so clients can clarify values and develop their own solutions; this approach supports work on self-esteem, grief, and life transitions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving distress tolerance, and strengthening interpersonal effectiveness, which can be helpful for anger, impulsive behaviors, and regulating overwhelming feelings.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Zaida works collaboratively with each person to identify which methods best fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts the focus over time as progress and priorities evolve.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility for people with busy schedules or those living at a distance. Zaida offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different communication styles and availability, making it easier to attend sessions, maintain continuity of care, and access support from licensed professionals regardless of location.