Paula Otley

Paula Otley is a counsellor who aims to help people facing stress, anxiety, grief and relationship difficulties. She meets each person as they are and focuses on building a trusting working relationship. Her style is down-to-earth and collaborative, so people can feel understood while they work through hard things.

Paula trained as an integrative counsellor with a focus on person-centred and psychodynamic approaches from a relational perspective. She is MBACP accredited and also holds NCPS, and has layered her practice with cognitive behavioural techniques since 2020. These different ways of working are used together to suit each person's needs rather than following a single method.

Her background includes over 16 years of experience offering bereavement support as a volunteer. That work shaped her interest in helping people through loss and other major life changes. She has also worked in GP practice, the NHS, charities, community counselling services, private practice and employee assistance programmes.

In sessions Paula often focuses on understanding patterns in relationships and emotional responses. She uses practical CBT tools when helpful, alongside relational and psychodynamic ideas about how early experiences shape current feelings. Mindfulness and client-centred listening are woven into conversations to help people notice what matters most to them.

Paula accepts international clients and works in English. To begin, readers follow the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

How Paula’s approaches translate to online counselling

Paula works from an integrative base that draws on attachment-based ideas and cognitive behavioural techniques. Attachment-based work focuses on relationships and how early bonds shape feelings today, which can help when someone struggles with trust, closeness or recurring relationship patterns. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) offers practical steps and exercises to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, which many people find useful for anxiety, low mood and coping strategies.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Paula collaborates with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That means trying out ways of working together and adapting them if something does not feel helpful.

The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. They also make it possible for people living further away or overseas to connect with a therapist without relocating. Registered or accredited professionals can use different tools and methods online, and Paula will discuss what will work best for each person during the initial matching and scheduling process.