Melanie O'Brien

Melanie O'Brien is a counsellor who works from a person-centred approach. She offers a calm, respectful space to talk through worries and difficult feelings. Melanie uses simple, direct listening to help people feel heard and understood.

She commonly supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief and relationship difficulties. Eating and body-image concerns are also within her focus, alongside issues such as addiction, trauma and self-esteem. Melanie aims to help people make sense of what is happening and to find practical ways to cope.

Melanie trained in person-centred counselling and is listed with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP. She also draws on elements of counselling for depression and cognitive behavioural ideas when these suit a person’s needs. She works at the client’s pace and adapts her approach as conversations progress.

Across five years of practice she has worked with a wide range of problems, including family and parenting stress, chronic illness and communication difficulties. Her style is gentle and straightforward, offering reflections and questions to help clients see patterns and options.

Melanie invites people to begin even when things feel unclear. She aims to make the first steps simple - a short matching process followed by scheduling that suits the client. Conversations focus on what’s happening now and what small changes might help next.

How a person-centred approach shapes online therapy

Client-centred therapy focuses on creating an accepting space where the client’s own goals guide the work. The counsellor listens with openness and reflects back what they notice, helping people clarify feelings and decide next steps. This approach is helpful for anxiety, depression, grief, relationship concerns and eating or body-image issues.

Melanie also uses elements of counselling for depression and some cognitive behavioural ideas when these suit a person’s needs. These additions are used to offer practical tools such as simple activity planning, thought awareness or gentle behavioural experiments alongside the core person-centred relationship.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Melanie will work collaboratively to identify which methods feel most useful based on a person’s goals and preferences. Sessions are paced to the client and can shift over time as priorities change.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into daily life by reducing travel, allowing shorter check-ins around work breaks and offering flexible scheduling. It can also suit people who prefer talking without meeting in person while still keeping the focus on listening and practical steps.