Elaine Bell , BACP

Elaine Bell is a BACP-registered and insured counsellor based in Lisburn with 9 years of professional experience working across the charity sector and in private practice. She holds a Foundation Degree in Counselling (2017), an Honours Degree in Counselling and Professional Issues (2020), and a Level 6 Certificate in Counselling Supervision, and is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Trauma-informed in her work, Elaine supports people facing a wide range of concerns, including relationship difficulties, neurodivergence, trauma and abuse, grief and loss, anger management, self-esteem challenges, and spiritual exploration. Her practice also addresses stress, anxiety, addiction-related issues, parenting and family dynamics, career and life transitions, and intimacy-related matters.

Her integrative approach draws on existential, psychodynamic, person-centred, and focusing-oriented therapies. She works relationally, attending to emotional depth, embodied experience, and the personal scripts that shape how people relate to themselves and others. Elaine aims to create a therapeutic space that values the client as the expert of their own story while offering professional guidance and reflective insight.

Elaine believes that seeking a more authentic and fulfilling life takes courage and that many of the resources needed for change already exist within each person. She offers support and empowerment to help clients navigate challenges and explore meaningful change.

Important Update - Effective from Monday 14th April 2025: to align with the BACP Ethical Framework and to maintain clear therapeutic boundaries, Elaine now offers weekly phone, video, and live chat sessions only for all new clients. Asynchronous messaging will be limited to practical matters such as scheduling, sharing resources, or session-related materials. Clients may use the message space as a personal journal, but journal entries will not receive a therapeutic response. This change is intended to support focused and contained therapeutic work.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Elaine uses client-centred (person-centred) therapy to place the individual at the heart of the work, offering empathetic listening and support that helps people explore their feelings and values and build self-trust. Existential therapy is used to explore meaning, choice, and the challenges of existence, which can be helpful for those facing life transitions, questions of purpose, or deep anxiety about identity. Psychodynamic therapy helps uncover patterns and unconscious influences from past relationships that shape current behaviour and emotional responses, useful for longstanding relational and self-esteem issues.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the collaborative process. Elaine works with each person to identify which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences, adapting her practice as trust and understanding develop between therapist and client.

Online therapy with Elaine is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for people balancing work, family, or geographic distance. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into daily life and maintain continuity of care, while still supporting meaningful therapeutic connection and progress.