Vanessa Putnam, BACP

Vanessa Putnam is a counsellor with nine years' experience based in the United Kingdom. She uses a person-centred approach and aims to make first sessions straightforward for people who are worried or uncertain about therapy. Her manner is respectful and calm, with an emphasis on listening and tailoring each session to the individual.

Vanessa helps people who are facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief and life changes. She also supports those dealing with relationship and family problems, parenting concerns, addiction, sleeping and eating difficulties, and compassion fatigue. Additional areas of attention include attachment issues, blended family matters, chronic illness or pain, and caregiver stress.

Her practice draws on Client-Centred Therapy to prioritise the client’s experience and on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to work on practical thinking and behaviour patterns. She also uses psychodynamic ideas when exploring past experiences that affect current feelings, and systemic perspectives for family and relationship patterns.

Vanessa has worked across a range of settings during her nine years in practice. Her approach is to adapt conversations and plans to what each person needs. She describes the therapeutic relationship as a collaborative process where small steps are planned and reviewed together.

Sessions are conducted in English and Vanessa is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, shown as BACP. If you are considering therapy she asks that you use the site’s Start Therapy button to complete a short matching questionnaire and arrange sessions according to the therapist's availability.

How Vanessa’s approaches work for online counselling

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding what matters to the person. It helps people feel heard and shapes sessions around their priorities rather than imposing a rigid plan. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions and supports practical changes in thinking and routine to reduce symptoms like anxiety and low mood.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals and preferences, and together they will try methods that suit the situation. That collaborative approach means plans can be adjusted as progress is made or needs change.

The practical benefits of online therapy can include fitting sessions into a busy week and avoiding travel time, which helps when juggling work, caregiving or medical appointments. Before booking, confirm the exact session options available with the therapist, as formats are set by the practitioner. Registered or accredited professionals can use online work to maintain continuity of care and make regular check-ins easier to arrange.