Debra Hayman, BACP

Debra Hayman is a BACP counsellor practising in the United Kingdom with eight years' professional experience. She works with people who are stressed, anxious, struggling with relationships, or facing addiction and trauma. She also helps with low self-esteem, grief, and life changes.

Debra spent seven years working with drug and alcohol misuse, and that experience informs how she talks about co-occurring issues such as domestic abuse, bullying, eating problems and depression. She draws on different therapy styles depending on what each person brings to a session. Sessions are meant to be straightforward conversations that look at feelings, choices and next steps.

Her approach uses client-centred listening alongside techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy and emotionally-focused work. She also uses mindfulness and existential ideas to help people notice patterns and consider what matters to them. That mix is used to address practical problems like setting boundaries, coping with stress, or changing unhelpful routines.

Debra is clear that medication is not always the answer and that talking can help people understand their responses and make different choices. She works with people who mention caregiver strain, codependency, attachment and blended-family pressures, and with those dealing with ageing and bereavement.

To begin, people fill a short matching questionnaire and schedule an initial session. Debra accepts clients from outside the UK and conducts work in English.

How her approaches translate to online work