Gillian Macmillan, NCPS

Gillian Macmillan is a counsellor with seven years of experience working in the United Kingdom. She holds the NCPS credential and focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, addictions and grief. Gillian aims to make the first step into therapy feel achievable and supportive. She creates an open space where thoughts and feelings can be shared without judgement. Sessions emphasise practical skills for building confidence and motivation. That can include coping strategies for depression, sleep and eating concerns, and help with parenting pressures. Gillian draws on therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try small changes. She also uses Attachment-Based and Client-Centred approaches to explore how relationships and early experiences shape current responses. Her work addresses relationship strain, intimacy-related worries, infidelity and jealousy alongside trauma and abuse recovery. She supports people coping with process addictions like pornography, exercise or gambling, and works with consequences of postpartum depression, self-harm and compassion fatigue. The practical side of sessions focuses on clear steps and skills you can use between meetings. Gillian encourages collaboration on goals and tailors tools to whatever feels most useful for the person in front of her.

How therapeutic approaches shape online sessions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and focus on actions that match their values. It is useful when anxiety, low mood or avoidance get in the way of daily life. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy looks at links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and teaches practical exercises to change those patterns, often helping with anxiety, sleep and mood problems.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Gillian will discuss what feels most useful and try different tools with the client. Decisions about methods are collaborative and based on individual needs, goals and preferences rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.

Session formats are not specified here, so please confirm the current options when you book. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. They also let people use approaches like ACT and CBT at home or during a break from work, bringing practical exercises directly into everyday life.