Deborah Giannasi, BACP

Deborah Giannasi is a person-centred counsellor with 17 years of practice across school and private settings. She trained and works with Carl Rogers' person-centred model and brings a calm, accepting presence to sessions. Deborah supports people facing stress, anxiety, bereavement and major life changes. She also has focused experience with parenting challenges and attachment concerns.

She has worked extensively with children and young people in schools, using experiential play techniques where helpful. Deborah also sees adults for one-to-one counselling and has developed substantial knowledge of bereavement support through her career.

Deborah is a member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, BACP, and follows their code of practice. She completes regular safeguarding training and attends monthly supervision sessions to reflect on her work.

In sessions she aims to listen first and then follow the person’s lead, helping them name feelings and find practical ways to cope. Conversations are paced to the individual and often include practical strategies for managing stress and anxiety.

People come to Deborah for help with parenting strain, family separation, chronic illness or pain, social anxiety and questions about life purpose or self-worth. She encourages small, manageable steps and focuses on what the client wants to change next.

How person-centred and play-based ideas translate to online therapy

Deborah works from a person-centred framework which emphasises listening, empathy and helping people find their own direction. In practical terms this means sessions focus on what the client brings, with the counsellor reflecting feelings and asking gentle questions to clarify goals.

When working with children she uses experiential play techniques to help them communicate non-verbally and explore difficult feelings. For adults Deborah applies the same attentive, client-led stance to topics like bereavement, parenting stress and long-term health challenges.

Choosing the right approach is collaborative. Deborah will talk through what feels most helpful and adjust methods as the relationship develops. She aims to match techniques to the person’s needs, goals and preferences rather than following a fixed plan.

The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions around daily life, reduce travel time and allow check-ins from different locations. It can also offer quieter, shorter or more flexible appointments when that helps someone manage work, family or health demands.