Kay Holdsworth , BACP

Kay Holdsworth is a counsellor, psychotherapist and coach based in the United Kingdom who focuses on helping women make meaningful changes in their lives. She draws on a range of therapeutic methods to equip people with practical tools and strategies for managing stress, anxiety, low mood and low motivation, supporting clients to move from feeling stuck to a place of greater self-trust and inner calm.

Kay qualified with a Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2017 on an integrative and relational course and holds BACP accreditation, which indicates membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She has completed further training in solution-focused approaches, creative counselling and group-based wellbeing work, and she is experienced in using techniques such as guided relaxations, visualisations, writing therapies and mindfulness exercises when these suit a client’s needs.

Her background includes work as a Student Counsellor at a Leeds university three days a week and several years as a wellbeing practitioner, during which she delivered more than forty community courses on topics like mindfulness, meditation and relaxation. She also facilitated a mental health drop-in group called Peaceful Minds from 2018 to 2020. Kay often integrates creative and experiential ways of working into sessions and encourages practical between-session tasks such as journaling to support lasting change. She offers appointments on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care

Kay uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients clarify their values, accept difficult feelings and take committed action toward meaningful life goals; this approach can be useful for anxiety, low mood and situations that involve difficult decisions.

She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and offers practical strategies to reduce unhelpful thinking patterns and manage symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.

Mindfulness Therapy is another strand of Kay’s work, bringing simple attention and breathing practices into sessions to reduce overwhelm and improve present-moment awareness, which can support sleep, emotion regulation and coping with life changes.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Kay works collaboratively with clients to identify what fits best for their needs, goals and preferences. She adapts methods over time and may combine techniques to match each person’s circumstances.

Online therapy with Kay is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for people with busy schedules or limited mobility. These formats make it easier to access regular support from licensed professionals and to continue therapy from different locations while maintaining continuity of care.