Julie Shankly, BACP

Julie Shankly is a counsellor with 21 years of professional experience in the United Kingdom. She is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She focuses on practical, conversational therapy and tailors sessions to each person's situation.

She helps people who are dealing with stress and anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy difficulties, family conflict, grief, trauma and abuse, and LGBT issues. She also supports those struggling with sleep or eating concerns, parenting stress, anger, low self-esteem, career changes, bipolar mood challenges, and ADHD. Additional focuses include body image, chronic illness, and communication problems.

Her working style is respectful and compassionate. Sessions are shaped around the client's needs and goals. She uses a mix of approaches so discussions and tools match what feels most useful in the room.

Julie commonly draws on client-centred ways of working to keep conversations focused on the person's experience. She also uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques to help change unhelpful thought patterns and everyday habits. Solution-focused ideas support practical short-term goals, while psychodynamic thinking can be used to understand deeper patterns.

She encourages people to take small, manageable steps and to notice what changes help day to day. Julie aims to make starting therapy less daunting by listening first and planning next steps together.

How Julie’s approaches adapt for online work

Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and following the person's lead, helping them feel heard and understood. This approach suits people who need space to talk and decide their own next steps. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts, feelings and everyday habits, and offers practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns; it can help with anxiety, low mood and sleep or eating habits. Solution-focused work aims for short-term goals and small changes, which can be useful when someone wants clear steps to try between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will collaborate with the person to identify which methods feel most useful. Goals, preferences and how someone responds in early sessions guide which approaches are used and how they are combined.

Confirm the available session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific options. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, for example by reducing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins during a break, or letting someone choose an audio-only meeting if video is difficult. Registered professionals can adapt tools and exercises for remote work so therapy remains practical and focused on everyday change.