Petina Walker , BACP

Petina Walker is an advanced integrative therapeutic counsellor based in Devon in the United Kingdom who brings a calm, empathic presence to work with people facing addiction, anxiety, relationship difficulties and a wide range of life challenges. She is a member of the BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - and describes her practice as client-led, tailoring interventions to what a person brings to each session. Petina combines solution-focused, intuitive ways of working with an underpinning framework of Transactional Analysis, and she may also draw on cognitive behavioural techniques, NLP and mindfulness strategies to meet individual needs.

Her background includes roles as a counsellor, trainer and a drugs and alcohol professional, and she has experience facilitating groups, running treatment programmes and completing assessments as part of a clinical assessments and brief interventions team. In recent years she has concentrated on developing a private practice and on personal and professional development, with plans to publish material about her integrative approach to addiction and co-dependency.

Across her work Petina supports people with issues such as stress, grief, trauma and abuse, eating and sleeping concerns, parenting and career stressors, bipolar and depression, intimacy and attachment difficulties, and compassion fatigue. She values active listening and creating a holding, nurturing environment where people can be heard and begin to gain clarity and direction.

Attachment, Emotion-Focused and Mindfulness Approaches Online

Petina commonly draws on Attachment-Based Therapy to explore how early relationship patterns shape current connections and emotional responses - this approach can help with intimacy issues, abandonment concerns and attachment difficulties. She also uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) to help people identify, express and shift core emotions within relationships, which can be useful for couples work and for resolving patterns of conflict and disconnection. Mindfulness Therapy is integrated into sessions to help clients build present-moment awareness, reduce stress and develop practical skills for managing anxiety, cravings and overwhelming feelings.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the collaborative process. Petina works with each person to determine which methods best fit their needs, goals and preferences, adapting techniques across sessions as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexibility and accessibility by allowing people to meet with licensed professionals via video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives, to maintain continuity when circumstances change, and to access support from wherever a person is located.