Simon Barkley, BACP

Simon Barkley is a counsellor registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and has eight years' experience. He works with people dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction, anger, low self-esteem, relationship and family concerns, grief, trauma, sleeping problems, career strain and depression. He also lists codependency and related issues such as attachment and communication problems.

He uses practical talking therapy methods and asks straightforward questions to help people notice what is getting in the way. Sessions focus on what matters now - coping with life changes, reducing urges and reactive behaviours, and rebuilding confidence. He draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred ideas to make that work day to day.

Simon also works with motivation and behaviour change when addiction or compassion fatigue are present. He offers a mix of structured techniques and time to narrate difficult experiences. That can include looking at patterns that keep people putting others first, and learning steps to set clearer boundaries.

He describes the person in therapy as the expert on their own life and aims to build on their existing strengths. He helps spot blind spots and offers practical tools to manage anxiety, cravings, mood swings and sleep disruption. Approach is direct and conversational, with a focus on small, usable changes.

Sessions often involve homework or short experiments between meetings to test what helps. Simon combines evidence-informed tools such as CBT with relational work to address attachment, abandonment and codependency-related patterns. He works with people across the UK and with international clients in English.

Approach and how online sessions can work