Counsellor profile
Paula De Souza, BACP
Counsellor - relationships and stress
See online counselling options- Person-centred approach
- Psychodynamic ideas
- Working through grief
About Paula
Counsellor Paula De Souza is BACP registered and has four years of practice in the United Kingdom. She works with people on stress, anxiety, relationships, trauma and abuse, grief and a range of other concerns. Sessions focus on talking through what matters now and finding clearer ways to cope.
Paula begins by listening to what a person brings. She uses a person-centred approach that keeps the client’s priorities central. That means the client directs the pace and focus, while Paula reflects, asks questions and helps make sense of difficult feelings.
She also draws on psychodynamic ideas to look at recurring patterns and past influences. This can help when problems repeat themselves or when early relationships affect current life.
Common issues she supports include parenting strain, caring responsibilities, work stress, relationship conflict, bereavement, eating concerns and long-term health conditions. She also works with people affected by trauma, attachment difficulties, ageing and illness-related challenges.
Paula uses conversations to build coping skills and clarity. Practical steps and personal reflection are both part of the work. People are encouraged to move at their own pace and to agree the next steps together.
Therapeutic approaches and remote counselling
Paula uses person-centred counselling and psychodynamic ideas in her practice. Person-centred counselling focuses on the client’s experience and priorities, with the counsellor following the client’s lead to explore feelings and choices. This approach can help when someone needs an accepting listener to sort out current problems. Psychodynamic work looks at patterns that repeat over time and the influence of earlier relationships. A couple of sessions may be used to notice these patterns so that a person can make different choices in their present life. Finding the right way of working is part of the process. Paula will discuss how these approaches might help and will work with the client to pick what feels most useful. That choice is collaborative and can change as therapy progresses. Please check which session formats are offered before booking, because formats are not specified here. Online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions around work or caring responsibilities, reduce travel time and allow short check-ins when needed. Different formats also suit different needs - for example a phone call can be a quicker check-in, while a video call lets a counsellor and client use visual cues.Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
4+ years
Listed in
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What issues does she commonly help with?
Paula helps people with stress, anxiety, relationship problems, trauma and abuse, grief and caring responsibilities among other concerns.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She follows a person-centred approach and draws on psychodynamic ideas, so the work is led by the client and looks at current problems and repeating patterns.
How much experience does she have?
She has four years of professional practice working with a range of mental health and life issues.
Which professional body is she registered with?
She is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, shown as BACP.
Are sessions offered in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the UK work with her?
International clients are accepted.
What formats are used for sessions?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not specified here.
How are bookings and costs handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time; start by completing the matching questionnaire and scheduling a first session.
Details come from information the counsellor supplied to BetterHelp. A membership or registration can be checked on the professional body's own register.
Online counselling is not emergency care. In an emergency call 999, or see the help numbers.