- Client-centred work
- CBT techniques
- Hypnotherapy options
About Sharon
Sharon McHugh is a counsellor registered with the BACP with seven years' experience. She focuses on anxiety, trauma and related difficulties that can follow a difficult upbringing, including social anxiety and phobia and panic attacks.
Sharon offers sessions that are led by the client. She invites people to bring whatever they wish and she will ask questions to understand their experience from their point of view. In the first meeting she and the client agree goals and make a simple plan for moving forward.
Her work draws on client-centred ways of working alongside cognitive behavioural ideas and some skills-based approaches. She uses these to help people notice patterns, test unhelpful thoughts and try small changes between sessions. Hypnotherapy and solution-focused ideas are also part of her practice when they fit a client's aims.
Sharon has worked in private practice and in external agencies. This has included supporting people whose early experiences led them to develop coping strategies that now cause problems such as low self-esteem, people-pleasing and a strong sense of emptiness. She is used to helping people untangle how those patterns developed and what to try differently now.
Practical work in sessions can include gentle questioning, learning new coping skills and short, goal-focused tasks. Sharon describes the process as collaborative - she listens, offers reflections and works with each person to find manageable steps they can try between sessions.
How her approaches translate to online work
Sharon uses client-centred approaches alongside cognitive behavioural therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy ideas. Client-centred work focuses on listening and following what matters to the client, helping them put words on their experience. Cognitive behavioural therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours link and uses practical steps to test and change unhelpful patterns. Dialectical behaviour therapy offers skills for managing strong emotions and improving coping in stressful situations.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Sharon discusses goals and preferences with each person and they decide together which methods to try. That collaborative process helps shape short-term plans and the kinds of exercises used between sessions.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy around a day - for example shorter check-ins, sessions without video, or appointments that avoid travel. These practical choices can help people keep therapy manageable while they practise new skills and notice change over time.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
7+ years
Listed in
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she work with?
Sharon works with stress, anxiety, trauma and issues that often come from a difficult upbringing, including social anxiety and phobia and panic attacks.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Sessions are led by the client and explore the person's experience. She asks questions, reflects back and uses practical tools to help people make small changes.
How much experience does she have?
She has seven years' experience working as a counsellor in private practice and with external agencies.
What are her credentials and location?
She is registered with the BACP and practises in the United Kingdom.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin the process?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.