Paula Otley
Calm, relational counselling with practical tools
About Paula
Paula Otley meets people where they are and offers calm, practical support for difficult times. She focuses on helping people cope with grief, anxiety, low mood and stresses that affect daily life. Paula works in plain language and aims to build a reliable therapeutic relationship first, so clients feel understood before any practical steps are taken.
Paula trained as an integrative counsellor with a person-centred and psychodynamic emphasis. She then added cognitive behavioural therapy in 2020 to widen the range of ways she can help.
Background and approach
Her credentials include BACP and NCPS registrations, and she has worked across NHS, GP practice, charities and personal settings. For more than 16 years Paula has supported people experiencing loss as a bereavement volunteer. That experience shaped her preference for a steady, relational approach when people are struggling with major life changes or trauma.
She draws on attachment-informed ideas to look at how past relationships affect present feelings and behaviour. Sessions are collaborative and paced to suit each person. Paula combines reflective listening with practical tools from CBT and mindfulness so people can try small changes between sessions.
She also addresses concerns such as addictions, sleep and eating problems, self-esteem and relationship difficulties. Paula offers online sessions in English and accepts international clients. She aims to help people find clearer ways to cope, make decisions and rebuild confidence after loss or other life challenges.
What Paula works with
How Paula works
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Listed by Paula among the ways they work.
Sessions & fees
Approaches you can use in online sessions
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape how people feel and respond now. It helps when past hurts or attachment patterns affect current stress, intimacy or grief. Client-centred therapy focuses on being listened to without judgement so people can find their own solutions; it suits those who want a steady, respectful space to talk. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) breaks down unhelpful thoughts and behaviours into manageable steps and is useful for anxiety, low mood and sleep or eating concerns.Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work together with the client to choose methods that match needs, goals and preferences. That might mean starting with a listening, person-centred approach and adding CBT tasks or attachment-focused reflection when useful.
Online therapy with Paula uses video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging to make counselling easier to fit into life. Video lets the therapist and client see non-verbal cues, phone calls need less bandwidth and can work well on busy days, and messaging or live chat can suit quick check-ins or people who prefer typing. These options offer flexibility for different schedules, quieter surroundings and practical ways to keep therapy consistent when life is busy.
| Session length | Typically 50 minutes |
|---|---|
| Client ages | Adults, 18 and over |
| Fees | Subscription via BetterHelp, cancel anytime |
| Insurance | Not billed directly |
Questions people ask
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Areas of focus
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counselling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 16 years
- Registered with
- BACP, NCPS
- Languages
- English