Directory entry

Jill Atkinson, BACP

Credentials: BACP
Experience: 3 years
Practising in: United Kingdom
Languages: English
Sessions: Online only
Client ages: Adults, 18 and over

Works with Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesSelf esteem Depression Coping with life changes

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Jill Atkinson is a counsellor who draws on cognitive behavioural ideas and compassionate approaches to help people manage stress, anxiety and low mood. She blends practical tools with gentle inquiry to help clients make clearer choices and feel more settled. Jill’s style is down-to-earth and focused on small, useful changes.

She trained after a psychology degree and has worked in NHS and mental health settings in Scotland. That work shaped her interest in a broad view of wellbeing that includes the body, relationships and the wider environment.

Background and approach

Her SCOTACS Diploma in Counselling and Group Work - a Cognitive Behavioural Approach is part of her formal background, and she also brings group-work experience to her practice. Jill runs groups on self-compassion, low self-esteem and managing anxiety. She has completed additional professional development in Compassion-Focused Therapy, Transactional Analysis, mood and food connections, somatic therapy and outdoor therapy.

These elements are woven into sessions when they help. In a one-to-one session she listens for the habits, beliefs and emotional patterns that keep people stuck. Then she offers concrete steps to try, such as experiments, body-based practices or communication exercises.

The aim is to build trust in yourself and greater day-to-day control. People who come to Jill often want help with relationships, communication problems, guilt or shame, loneliness and finding purpose. She supports work on women’s issues, self-love and the effects of narcissism.

Jill accepts international clients and works in English.

How Jill uses therapeutic approaches online

Jill blends cognitive behavioural ideas with compassion-focused work to help people notice unhelpful thinking and try small behavioural experiments. This approach is useful for stress, anxiety, low mood and social fears because it focuses on practical changes and clearer thinking.

She also draws on somatic-informed practices and elements from outdoor and body-based work to help people tune into bodily signals and reduce tension. Those methods can be helpful when emotions are felt strongly in the body or when someone needs grounded ways to calm themselves.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Jill discusses goals and preferences with each person and offers a collaborative plan that may mix approaches. Together they decide what feels most helpful and adjust it as progress is made.

Online sessions make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be simpler for a quick check-in, while live chat or text messaging suit people who prefer short written exchanges or flexible timing. These options support continuing the work from different locations and at different times to suit the client.

What concerns does Jill focus on?

Jill focuses on stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, self-esteem and depression. She also works with life changes, attachment issues, guilt and shame, loneliness and women’s issues.

What is her therapeutic approach and style?

Sessions draw on cognitive behavioural ideas and compassion-focused methods, alongside somatic and outdoor practices when useful. The style is practical, warm and geared towards simple steps people can try between sessions.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has three years of professional experience, including roles in NHS and mental health organisations and work facilitating groups on self-compassion and anxiety.

What qualifications and location are listed?

She holds a SCOTACS Diploma in Counselling and Group Work - a Cognitive Behavioural Approach and is BACP registered. She is based in the United Kingdom.

Which languages are supported and can international clients join?

Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients.

In what formats are sessions delivered?

Jill provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging as session formats to suit different needs.

How does payment and cost work?

Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions are arranged through a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.

What are the first steps to begin working together?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist’s availability.

Areas of focus

What this therapist works with

Most often

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Self esteem

Also listed

Experience: 3 years
Registered with: BACP
Languages: English

Contacting Jill

Jill takes enquiries through BetterHelp. You answer a few questions about what you are looking for, then arrange sessions if it seems like a fit. Browsing costs nothing and you are not committing to anything by reading this page.

Jill Atkinson, BACP

Background and approach

How Jill uses therapeutic approaches online

Areas of focus

What this therapist works with

Others working with stress, anxiety