Carmen Matthews , BACP

Carmen Matthews is a counsellor registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) who has three years of professional experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression and major life changes. Carmen also works with those dealing with relationship and family concerns, grief, trauma and abuse, and career-related stress.

She believes the client is the expert in their own story and draws on each person’s strengths to work through hard moments. Carmen aims to create a calm space where people can talk about what feels difficult. She acknowledges that starting therapy can feel daunting and seeks to make the first steps straightforward.

In sessions she uses approaches that suit the person’s needs, including client-centred ways of listening, cognitive behavioural techniques for practical change, and psychodynamic ideas to look at repeating patterns. Solution-focused methods are used when clients want to set clear goals and try small, achievable steps.

Her work often addresses attachment and abandonment concerns, blended family issues, body image and codependency, as well as communication problems and family of origin issues. She also supports people facing addiction-related harms, dissociation, domestic violence impacts and feelings of emptiness.

Carmen describes therapy as a process built on time and trust, where steady progress often follows small changes. To begin, she asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions based on availability.

How Carmen’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centred Therapy in Carmen’s practice focuses on warm listening and following what matters most to the person. It helps when someone needs space to tell their story and build confidence in their own choices.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is used to notice unhelpful thoughts and try small experiments to change them. This can be useful for anxiety, low mood and practical problems that benefit from clear strategies.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Carmen will discuss goals and preferences and then suggest ways of working that suit those needs. She aims to match methods to what the person wants to change and how they like to work, so plans can be adjusted over time.

Session formats are not specified in the original biography, so please confirm the available online options before booking. Many people find online or remote sessions help fit therapy around work and family life, reduce travel time and make it easier to keep regular appointments. Online work can also allow shorter check-ins or more flexible scheduling to suit busy days.