Shelley Hughes
Calm practical therapy for everyday struggles
About Shelley
Shelley Hughes is a counsellor who works with people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, low self-esteem and big life changes. She helps with relationship and intimacy concerns, grief and trauma, as well as challenges like addiction, sleep and eating difficulties. Shelley welcomes clients who want practical support and a calm space to talk things through.
Shelley uses straightforward, evidence-informed approaches to help people understand what keeps problems repeating. She focuses on measurable steps you can try between sessions, and on building skills that reduce distress day to day.
Background and approach
Conversations are shaped around what matters most to each person rather than a one-size-fits-all plan. With five years of practice and more than 3,000 hours of counselling experience, Shelley draws on a mix of therapies to match client needs. She lists Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy among her approaches, alongside attachment-based and client-centred work.
These methods are combined to support things like coping after trauma, managing mood swings, and improving communication. Sessions aim to be practical and approachable. Shelley supports parents dealing with the strain of caring responsibilities, people navigating career or identity questions, and those coping with chronic illness or caregiving stress.
She also addresses concerns such as ADHD, codependency and body image, using techniques tailored to each situation. Shelley is registered with NCPS and works from the United Kingdom. Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
The initial process focuses on identifying goals and finding an approach that feels right for you.
What Shelley works with
How Shelley works
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Listed by Shelley among the ways they work.
Sessions & fees
How Shelley’s approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and reconnect with what they value. It emphasises practical actions rather than trying to stop thoughts, and can be helpful for anxiety, stress and coping with life transitions.Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behaviour that keep problems going. It uses structured exercises and homework to change unhelpful habits, which suits issues like insomnia, low mood and anxiety.
Shelley also uses attachment-based and client-centred ideas to create a steady therapeutic relationship where clients feel heard. Finding the right mix of approaches is a collaborative process; she will work with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs and preferences.
Online therapy offers flexibility for people with busy schedules or who live far from services. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option, and live chat or text messaging suit shorter check-ins or when typing feels easier. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy around work, caregiving or health demands while keeping continuity of care.
| Session length | Typically 50 minutes |
|---|---|
| Client ages | Adults, 18 and over |
| Fees | Subscription via BetterHelp, cancel anytime |
| Insurance | Not billed directly |
Questions people ask
What concerns does Shelley help with?
What is her therapeutic style?
How much experience does she have?
What qualifications and location are listed?
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How do I begin working with Shelley?
Areas of focus
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counselling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centred Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 5 years
- Registered with
- NCPS
- Languages
- English
