Julie Shankly, BACP

Julie Shankly is a counsellor with 21 years of professional experience in the United Kingdom. She is registered with the BACP, and she focuses on helping people who are managing stress, anxiety, relationship and family concerns. Julie aims to offer a respectful and compassionate space for people to begin hard conversations.

Julie works with each person to shape sessions around their needs. She tailors how she talks and what she suggests so the work fits the individual rather than a one-size-fits-all plan. She emphasises practical steps alongside time to reflect.

Her background includes supporting people with intimacy-related issues, grief, trauma and abuse, and challenges such as eating, sleeping and self-esteem difficulties. She also helps people facing career pressures, bipolar mood changes, ADHD and compassion fatigue. Julie is comfortable discussing long-term health issues such as chronic pain, illness and disability, and the emotional impact of cancer and caregiving roles.

The approaches she uses include client-centred work, cognitive behavioural techniques, psychodynamic ideas, solution-focused conversations and hypnotherapy. She draws on these methods to help clients notice patterns, try small changes and rethink unhelpful thinking. Sessions balance practical tasks with space to process feelings.

If you are weighing whether to start therapy, Julie encourages taking that first step. She offers supportive, down-to-earth conversations and a personalised plan designed around what matters to you.

How Julie uses different approaches online

Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and building understanding. The counsellor follows the person's lead, reflects feelings and helps people make sense of their experience, which can help with stress, relationship worries and grief.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours interact. It uses straightforward tasks and experiments to reduce anxiety or low mood and to improve sleep or eating patterns.

Hypnotherapy involves guided relaxation and focused attention to support change in habits or to reduce distress. It can be used alongside conversation-based work to address symptoms like sleep problems, pain management and stuck patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The counsellor will discuss goals, preferences and needs and then suggest ways of working together. This is a collaborative process and plans can adapt as things progress.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm which online or in-person options are offered before booking. Many people find online counselling helps fit therapy into busy days, reduces travel and allows shorter check-ins when needed. Registered or accredited professionals can use a mix of talking and practical tasks to make sessions useful even when working remotely.